In a time when everything is changing, commitment and reliability are essential. At Draffin Tucker, our team of dedicated experts is staying informed of funding options, healthcare reimbursement changes, regulatory considerations, and all other developments related to COVID-19. We are committed to supporting businesses in the communities we serve by providing timely advice, staffing assistance, and information through education platforms, email alerts, one-on-one conversations, and our online COVID-19 Resource Center.

If you have specific questions on how these resources apply to your organization, please contact a member of our team, visit our COVID-19 Impact Assessment page or send an email to Coronavirus@draffin-tucker.com.

COVID-19 Impact Assessment Services
PPP Loan Forgiveness Assistance
Single Audits of Provider Relief Funds

Visit the following organization’s COVID-19 webpage for more resources and information by clicking on their name.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

  • 2% Sequestration Suspension – As part of the CARES Act, all healthcare providers receiving Medicare payments will see the 2% sequestration reduction suspended during the period May 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.  Find that information here.
  • 20% Payment Add-On – As part of the CARES Act, providers being reimbursed under the Medicare hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) will experience a 20% increase in reimbursement for Medicare fee-for-service patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis code.  Find that information here.
  • Advance/Accelerated Payments – Hospitals were eligible to receive advance or accelerated payments from the Medicare Program. They were to submit applications for these programs to their Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), which are listed below.  A fact sheet is located here.
    • CMS is not accepting any new applications for the Advance or Accelerated Payment Programs.
  • Medicare fee-for-service billing FAQs related to COVID-19 can be found here.

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)  – CARES Act Provider Relief Fund of $175 billion. Terms and conditions for all distributions can be found here.  Distributions to date are:

  • $88 billion in general distribution (Phases 1-3)
  • $22 billion in high impact relief funds
  • $11.3 billion in rural provider relief funds
  • $14.7 billion in safety net hospital provider relief funds
  • Uninsured relief funds (distributed on a per claim basis)
  • $7.4 billion for skilled nursing facilities
  • $500 million for Tribal Hospitals, Clinics, and Urban Health Centers

HHS has announced new reporting requirements, as discussed here, for providers that received more than $10,000 in Provider Relief Funds.  Below is a timeline and links related to these reporting requirements:

  • Notice of reporting requirements was announced on July 20, 2020 and can be found here.
  • Instructions and required data elements were released on September 19, 2020 and can be found here.
    • These instructions were amended on October 22, 2020 and can be found here.
    • These instructions were amended once again on November 2, 2020 and can be found here.
  • The reporting system is expected to be available in early 2021.
  • Recipients with over $10,000 of payments must report expenditures for the period ending December 31, 2020 by February 15, 2021.
  • Recipients with unexpended funds on December 31, 2020 must submit a second and final report no later than July 31, 2021 for the time period January 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021.

These reporting requirements do not apply to the Nursing Home Infection Control distribution or the Rural Health Clinic Testing distribution.  Separate reporting requirements will be announced for these distributions.

These reporting requirements also do not apply to reimbursement from the HRSA Uninsured Program.  Additional reporting may be announced in the future for these payments.

Single Audit Auditee Summary
New to Single Audit?  Check out this resource – Single Audit Auditee Summary – to learn more about the requirements and how to prepare for a Single Audit.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – COVID-19 impact on the 340b program

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – COVID-19 Telehealth Program

  • As of June 25, 2020, the FCC stopped accepting new applications for this program.

Organizations

Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs)

Visit the following organization’s COVID-19 webpage for more resources and information by clicking on their name.

Visit the following organization’s COVID-19 webpage for more resources and information by clicking on their name.

Social Security Payroll Tax Deferral

Under the Presidential Memorandum issued on August 8, 2020, the employee’s share of Social Security taxes may be deferred for those employees earning less than $4,000 on a biweekly basis (or the prorated amount for those on other payroll schedules) for payroll occurring between September 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. These amounts are to be repaid in 2021. On August 12, 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that the program was not mandatory, allowing employers to choose whether they would participate in the deferral program.

On August 28, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-65, which was the first guidance provided for the deferral of employee Social Security taxes.

Under the Notice, the Treasury outlined that the repayment of the deferral would occur through additional withholding from the employee’s payroll during the period January 1, 2021 through April 30, 2021. The Notice also stated that employers should make alternate arrangements with any employee from whom the additional withholding could not be collected. It was also clarified that the $4,000 limit was determined on a payroll-by-payroll basis, and that prior payrolls should not be considered.

While the Memorandum suggested Treasury “explore avenues, including legislation, to eliminate the obligation to pay the taxes deferred…”, no such steps toward forgiveness were outlined in the Notice. Therefore, at this time, it is prudent for employers and employees to plan for the deferred amounts to be repaid in 2021.

Please check back for additional updates. The information above represents a general overview. You should consult your payroll and/or tax advisor prior to making decisions related to this program.

Visit the following organization’s COVID-19 webpage for more resources and information by clicking on their name.