Deadline for Cares Act Provider Relief Fund this week

To all dentists and doctors:

If your accountant has not briefed you on the Cares Act Provider Relief Fund (PRF), then you are missing out on a grant you qualify for. To make it simple, this relief fund is now in phase 3 of funding. If you received grants for phase 1 or phase 2, you still qualify for phase 3. If you did not receive phase 1 or phase 2 funds, you still qualify for phase 3. Time is of the essence as the fund closes November 6, 2020. Our firm has helped many of our clients who received phase 1 and 2 funds and are in line for phase 3, and we can assist you in obtaining funds too. Most people do not know that this grant—2% of your 2019 gross income—is available. Following is an excerpt of the Act and what we need to help you get this grant.

What is the Cares Act Provider Relief Fund?

The Provider Relief Fund supports health-care providers in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPCHE), the federal government has allocated $175 billion in payments to be distributed through the PRF.

Qualified providers of health care, services, and support may receive PRF payments for health-care-related expenses or lost revenue due to COVID-19. Separately, the COVID-19 Uninsured Program reimburses providers for testing and treating uninsured individuals with COVID-19.

These distributions do not need to be repaid to the US government, assuming providers comply with the terms and conditions.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made $20 billion in new funding available for phase 3 general distribution allocation. Providers who have already received PRF payments are invited to apply for additional funding that considers financial losses and changes in operating expenses caused by the coronavirus. Previously ineligible providers, such as those who began practicing in 2020, will also be invited to apply. An expanded group of behavioral health providers will be eligible for relief payments as well.

HHS is allocating targeted distribution funding to providers in areas particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, rural providers, and providers requesting reimbursement for the treatment of uninsured Americans. The fast and transparent dispersal of funds gives relief to those providers who are struggling to keep their doors open.

The deadline to submit your taxpayer identification number (TIN) and all financial information is November 6, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

You may be eligible if you are a:

Behavioral health provider
Dental provider
Home and community-based services provider
Primary care or specialty practice

You are eligible to apply whether you were eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or were rejected prior PRF payment. Apply for phase 3 if you experienced a decrease in operating income attributable to COVID-19.

Which providers are eligible?

All providers eligible for a previous PRF distribution, in addition to new 2020 providers and behavioral health providers, may apply for PRF distributions. Providers may be eligible regardless of whether they were eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or were rejected payment from prior PRF distributions.

To be eligible to apply, the applicant must meet at least one of the following criteria:

Billed Medicaid/CHIP programs or Medicaid managed care plans for health-related services between January 1, 2018, and March 31, 2020
Billed a health insurance company for oral health-care-related services as a dental service provider as of March 31, 2020
Be a licensed dental service provider as of March 31, 2020, who does not accept insurance and has billed patients for oral health-care-related services
Billed Medicare fee-for-service during the period of January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020
Be a Medicare Part A provider who experienced a CMS-approved change in ownership prior to August 10, 2020
Be a state-licensed/certified assisted living facility as of March 31, 2020
Be a behavioral health provider as of March 31, 2020, who has billed a health insurance company or who does not accept insurance and has billed patients for health-care-related services as of March 31, 2020
Received a prior targeted distribution

Additionally, to be eligible to apply, the applicant must meet all of the following requirements:

Filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years 2017, 2018, or 2019 if in operation before January 1, 2020, or quarterly tax returns for fiscal year 2020 if operations began on or after January 1, 2020, or be exempt from filing a return
Provided patient care after January 31, 2020 (Note: patient care includes health care, services, and support, as provided in a medical setting, at home, or in the community)
Did not permanently cease providing patient care directly or indirectly
For individuals providing care before January 1, 2020, have gross receipts or sales from patient care reported on Form 1040 (or other tax form)

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Perio-Implant Advisory, a newsletter for dentists and hygienists that focuses on periodontal- and implant-related issues. Perio-Implant Advisory is part of the Dental Economics and DentistryIQ network. To read more articles, visit perioimplantadvisory.com and subscribe at this link.

Richard Eitelberg, CPA, obtained his BS in accounting from Michigan State University in 1984 and his CPA license in 1992. He worked for a CPA firm from 1984 to 1988 and was hired away by a client. He then spent the next 15 years as chief financial officer/chief operating officer organizing and running companies that imported, exported, and had domestic production. Eitelberg started and ran a corporate lending firm from 2003 to 2016 that specialized in financing purchase orders. He went back to accounting in 2017 and spent three years as a corporate accounting manager. In April 2020, he started his own firm, Richard Eitelberg, CPA, PC. If you have any questions, please call (631) 623-2400 or email [email protected].