Resources

Client Alerts, News Articles, Blog Posts, & Multimedia

Everything you need to know about BMD and the industry.

Important Items Every Provider Should Know if Accepting the HHS Provider Relief Funds

Client Alert
April 22, 2020

On April 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued $30 billion to healthcare providers as part of the Provider Relief Fund under the CARES Act.  Providers will have 30 days from the date of receipt to access the HHS portal, attest to the payment, and accept the Terms and Conditions. The Terms and Conditions require providers to take substantial steps to ensure compliance. Here is what every provider should know: 

  • Providers should ensure that they attest on the HHS portal to ensure that the money allocated by HHS is consistent with the amount they received, as HHS will certainly recoup any excess amount and the provider will have an obligation to repay such excess.
  • Providers are required to follow 45 CFR 75.302 with respect to financial record-keeping. Providers must adopt a written policy that includes a documented process for ensuring proper allowability of costs and expenses in furtherance of the Provider Relief Fund Terms and Conditions. 
  • Providers are required to comply with 45 CFR 75.361-365 with respect to record retention requirements. This affords HHS a 3-year lookback opportunity to audit providers’ compliance with the Provider Relief Fund Terms and Conditions. 
  • Providers cannot “balance bill” patients for any COVID-related treatment. All providers must bill patients as if the provider is an in-network provider even if the provider is out-of-network. 
  • The Provider Relief Fund Terms and Conditions contain whistleblower protections.

We anticipate that HHS will audit providers’ compliance. Therefore, we recommend the following: 

  • Identify a compliance officer or individual who will be responsible for these funds.
  • Adopt a written policy and procedure to ensure compliance with the Terms and Conditions. This policy should be incorporated into your Compliance Plan.
  • Adopt a written compliant financial record-keeping process.
  • Adopt a written billing policy and update your Patient Financial Responsibility Form. Under the FFCRA and the CARES Act, private insurance plans are required to waive patient co-sharing payment requirements. Providers should have a documented plan for compliance.
  • Providers that received money under another federal COVID-related program (PPP, EIDL, etc.) must separately account for such funds and maintain appropriate records.

Here are some other helpful tips:

  • Providers must ensure vendors and contractors meet certain requirements in order to allocate Provider Relief Funds to these vendor/contractor expenses.
  • Providers should carefully review Confidentiality Agreements, NDAs, and Severance and Settlement Agreements to ensure that language is compliant with the Terms and Conditions.
  • Providers should carefully allocate appropriate expenses as well as properly document “lost revenues.” 
  • Providers cannot allocated expenses twice to two different funding sources.
  • Providers must develop a strategy to use the Provider Relief Funds in accordance with other COVID-related funding (e.g. PPP, EIDL, etc.)

BMD can provide you with a written policy as well as review your agreements to ensure compliance with the Term and Conditions. For questions or more information, please contact Amanda Waesch at alwaesch@bmdllc.com or 330-253-9185.

HHSDepartment of Healthhealthcare providersProvider Relief FundCARES ActTerms and ConditionsComplianceBMD Healthcare & Hospital Law GroupAmanda L. WaeschProvider Relief Fund Terms and Conditions
Client Alert

Latest Batch of Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board Rules: What Providers Should Know

March 25, 2024The Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board recently released several new rules and proposed amendments to existing rules over the past few months. A hearing for the new rules was held on February 16, 2024, but the Board has not yet finalized them.Client Alert

Now in Effect: DOL Final Rule on Classification of Independent Contractors

March 21, 2024Effective March 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted a new standard for the classification of employees versus independent contractors — a much anticipated update since the DOL issued its Final Rule on January 9, 2024, as previously discussed by BMD.  In brief, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) creates significant protections for workers related to minimum wage, overtime pay, and record-keeping requirements. That said, such protection only exists for employees. This can incentivize entities to classify workers as independent contractors; however, misclassification is risky and can be costly.Client Alert

Florida's Recent Ruling on Arbitration Clauses

March 15, 2024Florida’s recent ruling on arbitration clauses provides a crucial distinction in determining whether such clauses are void as against public policy and providers may have the opportunity to include arbitration clauses in their patient consent forms. On March 6, 2024, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded Florida’s Fifteenth Circuit Court ruling of Piero Palacios v. Sharnice Lawson. The Court of Appeals ruled that the parties’ arbitration agreement did not contradict the Legislature’s intent of Florida’s Medical Malpractice Act (the “MMA”), but rather reflects the parties’ choice to arbitrate claims entirely outside of the MMA’s framework. Therefore, the Court found that the agreement was not void as against public policy.Client Alert

Corporate Transparency Act Update 3/14/24

March 14, 2024On March 1, 2024, a federal district court in the Northern District of Alabama concluded that the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) exceeded Congressional powers and enjoined the Department of the Treasury from enforcing the CTA against the plaintiffs. National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.). On March 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the district court’s decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.Client Alert

The Ohio State University Launches Its Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program

February 27, 2024In response to Ohio’s nursing shortage, The Ohio State University College of Nursing is accepting applications for its new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (aBSN). Created for students with a bachelor’s degree in non-nursing fields, the aBSN allows such students to obtain their nursing degree within 18 months. All aBSN students will participate in high-quality coursework and gain valuable clinical experience. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to take the State Board, National Council of Licensure Exam for Registered Nursing (NCLEX-RN).
Older posts
Newer posts