Medicare Phase IV Provider Relief Funds Released

On December 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the distribution of approximately $9 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments to health care providers who have experienced revenue losses and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The average payment announced for small providers is $58,000, for medium providers is $289,000, and for large providers is $1.7 million. More than 69,000 providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and eight territories will receive Phase 4 payments. Payments will start to be made in late December.

The PRF Phase 4 payments, in addition to the $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments to providers and suppliers who serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries, are part of the $25.5 billion the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing to health care providers to recruit and retain staff, purchase masks and other supplies, modernize facilities, or other activities needed to respond to COVID-19. The AMA has advocated for more of the PRF to be distributed, particularly to those providers who serve in rural areas and who see low-income patients. In response, HHS is reimbursing smaller practices at a higher percentage of their revenue losses and expenses due to COVID-19, as well as using Medicare reimbursement rates to calculate payments for practices that care for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP patients.

Funds received over $10,000 in the aggregate during a PRF reporting period will trigger a reporting requirement through the Provider Relief Fund Reporting Portal. Additional information on PRF reporting and auditing may be found

here

For more information on the PRF Phase 4 monies, see the press release and state-by-state breakdown links:

State-by-state breakdown of the Phase 4 payments