COVID-

19 emergency funding for FQHCs: What you need to know

Read this if your facility or organization has received provider relief funds.

The rules over the use of the provider relief funds (PRF) have been in a constant state of flux since the funds started to show up in your bank accounts back in April. Here is a summary of where we are as of November 30, 2020 with allowable uses of the funds.
 
The most recent Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements is dated November 2, 2020. In accordance with the notice, PRF may be used for two purposes:

1. Healthcare-related expenses attributable to coronavirus that another source has not reimbursed and is not obligated to reimburse
2. Lost revenue, up to the amount of the difference between 2019 and 2020 actual patient care revenue

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued FAQs as recently as November 18, 2020.  The FAQs include the following clarifications on the allowable uses:

Healthcare related expenses attributable to the coronavirus

1. PRF may be used for the marginal increased expenses or incremental expenses related to coronavirus.
2. Expenses cannot be reimbursed by another source or another source cannot be obligated to reimburse the expense.
3. Other sources include, but are not limited to, direct patient billing, commercial insurance, Medicare/Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or other funds received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Provider Relief Fund COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health Care Providers and Facilities for Testing, Treatment, and Vaccine Administration for the Uninsured, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Treasury’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This would also include any state and federal grants received as a result of the coronavirus.
4. Providers should apply reasonable assumptions when estimating the portion of costs that are reimbursed from other sources.
5. The examples in the FAQs for increased cost of an office visit and patient billing seem to point to only supplemental coronavirus related reimbursement needing to be offset against the increased expense.
6. PRF may be used for the full cost of equipment or facility projects if the purchase was directly related to preventing, preparing for and responding to the coronavirus; however, if you claim the full cost, you cannot also claim the depreciation for any items capitalized.
7. PRF cannot be used to pay salaries at a rate in excess of Executive Level II which is currently set at $197,300.

Lost revenues attributable to the coronavirus

1. Lost revenues attributable to coronavirus are calculated based upon a calendar year comparison of 2019 to 2020 actual revenue/net charges from patient care (prior to netting with expenses).
2. Any unexpended PRF at 12/31/20 is then eligible for use through June 30, 2021 and calculated lost revenues in 2021 are compared to January to June 2019.
3. Reported patient care revenue is net of uncollectible patient service revenue recognized as bad debts and includes 340B contract pharmacy revenue.
4. This comparison is cumulative, for example, if your net income improves in Q4, it will reduce lost revenues from Q2.
5. Retroactive cost report settlements or other payments received that are not related to care provided in 2019 or 2020 can be excluded from the calculation.

Whether you are tracking expenses or lost revenues, the accounting treatment for both is to be consistent with your normal basis of accounting (cash or accrual).
 
As a reminder, the first reporting period (through December 31, 2020) is due February 15, 2021. The reporting portal is supposed to open January 15, 2021. Any unexpended PRF at December 31, 2020 can be used from January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021, with final reporting due July 31, 2021.

The guidance continues to change rapidly and new FAQs are issued each week. Please check back here for any updates, or contact Mary Dowes for more information.

Read this if you are an administrator, manager, or director at a Rural Health Clinic (RHC) or Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

The following outlines key due dates related to various CARES Act funding streams that you may have received. Updated as of April 27, 2020.

Read this if you are an administrator, manager, or director at a Rural Health Clinic (RHC) or Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).

CMS just released an article outlining new and expanded flexibilities for RHCs and FQHCs during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). The article includes the following information:

• Payment rate for telehealth services
• How to bill for telehealth services
• Expanded virtual communications services

Payment for telehealth health services during the PHE (from January 27, 2020 through the end of the PHE) is $92. Billing for telehealth is segmented into two periods:

1. January 27, 2020 – June 30, 2020, bill using the 95 modifier
2. July 1, 2020 – end of PHE, bill using code G2025

The article further outlines that for telehealth services billed through June 30, they will be paid at the PPS rate. The claims will then be automatically reprocessed in July and a recoupment will occur for the difference between the $92 and your PPS rate. 

It will be important for you to keep track of the telehealth visits paid at your PPS rate and what the recoupment by Medicare will be so that when it occurs you will not be caught unawares.

Virtual communication services have been expanded to include digital evaluation and management services. Online digital evaluation and management services are non-face-to-face, patient initiated, digital communications using a secure patient portal. 

Additionally, the payment rate for these services will be $24.76 beginning March 1, 2020 through the end of the PHE instead of the CY 2020 rate of $13.53, and should bill using code G0071. 

Consider how the medical records component of your system interfaces with the billing component to ensure you capture these services for billing.

The full article can be accessed here: MLN Matters Special Edition Article 20016.
 

Read this if you are a director, manager, or administrator at a Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) or Rural Health Clinic (RHC).

The latest COVID-19 bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included enhancing Medicare telehealth services for FQHCs and RHCs. This legislation waives the Section 1834(m) restriction on FQHCs and RHCs that prohibits them from serving as distant sites. This means during the COVID-19 State of Emergency, FQHCs and RHCs will be able to serve as distant sites to provide telehealth services to patients in their homes and other eligible locations. The legislation will reimburse FQHCs and RHCs at a rate that is similar to payment for comparable telehealth services under the physician fee schedule (Medicare Part B). FQHCs and RHCs will not be paid the Medicare PPS rate for these services.

Currently, Medicare, unlike many Medicaid programs and commercial payers, still requires the video component for telehealth. Effective immediately, the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services will exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Rules against covered health care providers in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. Providers who want to use audio or video communication technology to provide telehealth during the COVID-19 State of Emergency can use any non-public facing remote communication product that is available to communicate with patients. Examples of acceptable platforms (non-public facing) include Apple FaceTime, Google G Suite Hangouts Meet, and Skype for Business.

We would also like to remind you of the ability to bill for virtual communication services. Virtual communication services are a brief, non-face-to-face check-in with a patient via communication technology, to assess whether the patient's condition necessitates an office visit. The call must be initiated by the patient and to be billable, the call must be between the patient and a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, certified nurse midwife, clinical psychologist, or clinical social worker. If the discussion is conducted by a nurse, health educator, or other clinical personnel, it is not billable as a virtual communication service. There is no video component required for virtual communication services. The check-in cannot relate to a visit with the patient during the previous seven days or result in a visit with the patient within the next 24 hours (or next available appointment). Read the FAQs from Medicare on the virtual communication services.

We continue to be here to support you. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us. 

Read this if you work for a not-for-profit organization. 

Our annual not-for-profit Recharge event provides attendees with an opportunity to hear about hot button issues in the not-for-profit industry. We polled registrants from across the country to see where they are focusing their attention in the current landscape. 

Employee retention

Overwhelmingly, employee retention is a number one concern for organizations, with 78% of respondents saying they were strongly focused on it in 2022. Not surprisingly, financial stability (67%), cybersecurity (50%) and concerns about access to government funding (43%) were of common concern among respondents.

 
Remarkably, employee retention in 2022 weighed more heavily on respondents than concerns around the remote workplace in 2021. While over 57% of respondents were concerned about the remote workforce in 2021, employee retention did not even make it into the top four concerns for organizations. This shift is consistent with what we are seeing in our client base, as organizations embraced hybrid and remote working arrangements and are well into codification of and adherence to the policies in place. Organizations reported taking significant efforts toward employee retention, most commonly looking at increasing salaries and allowing hybrid and flexible work arrangements as methods to help retain employees.

Financial stability

The concern around financial stability is slowly starting to decline. While financial stability was a top concern for 83% of organizations in 2021, that percentage dropped to 67% of respondents listing it as a top concern in 2022, While multiple factors certainly contribute to these results (availability of COVID relief funds, for example), the decline is significant, especially in this time of inflationary growth and demands on the labor market. This decline may be reflective of the continued transition away from short-term emergency response and toward a more future-oriented mindset. 

Other concerns

Both cybersecurity and government funding concerns held relatively steady in 2022 compared to 2021, with 45% of respondents concerned with cybersecurity and government funding in 2021, compared to 50% and 43% in 2022, respectively. 

Participants also reflected on the perceived top concerns for their board members, with employee retention and recruitment and overall financial stability leading in top importance. These mirrored concerns are of no surprise, but speak to the continued need for regular and reliable reporting to boards to allow for continued rapid response by those charged with governance.

If you have any questions about your specific concerns or situation, please don’t hesitate to contact our not-for-profit team. We’re here to help.