In a move welcomed by the long term care profession, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 11 released updated reporting requirements for recipients of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments.

According to a summary by the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), with this announcement, HHS expands the amount of time providers will have to report information, aims to reduce burdens on smaller providers, and extends key deadlines for expending PRF payments for recipients who received payments after June 30, 2020.

Some key updates include:

• The period of availability of funds is based on the date the payment is received (rather than requiring all payments be used by June 30, 2021, regardless of when they were received).
• Recipients are required to report for each Payment Received Period in which they received one or more payments exceeding, in the aggregate, $10,000 (rather than $10,000 cumulatively across all PRF payments).
• Recipients will have a 90-day period to complete reporting (rather than a 30-day reporting period).
• The PRF Reporting Portal will open for providers to start submitting information on July 1, 2021.

Mark Parkinson, president and chief executive officer of AHCA/NCAL, said, “The extensions by HHS regarding the use and reporting of aid received through the Provider Relief Fund is welcome news to the long term care profession.”

He added that “we greatly appreciate the administration recognizing that our battle with COVID-19 is not over yet, and that our ongoing efforts require ongoing resources. We now strongly encourage the agency to distribute the remaining funds and to dedicate a significant portion to long term care, which has been the epicenter of the pandemic and now faces imminent closures without additional aid.”