HHS extends deadline for acceptance of terms and conditions for Provider Relief Fund payments

HHS announced another extension to the deadline to accept the Terms and Conditions for Provider Relief Fund payments from the $50 billion general distribution. Providers now have 90 days from the date they received a Provider Relief Fund payment to accept the Terms and Conditions or return the funds. For example, providers that received funds on April 10 will have a new deadline for attestation of July 9. Furthermore, providers that do not accept the Terms and Conditions after 90 days of receipt will be deemed to have accepted the funds and associated Terms and Conditions.

MGMA will continue to track and report developments pertaining to the HHS Provider Relief Funds, including the nearly $100 billion in appropriated funding that has yet to be allocated.

Newly updated MGMA resource: Commercial health plan COVID-19 policies

MGMA developed and recently updated the Commercial Health Plan COVID-19 Policies resource to help groups better understand key COVID-19 related health plan policies that impact medical practices. The resource incorporates information from large commercial plans such as Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, and others. The resource outlines each plan’s policies on advanced payments, telehealth, prior authorization, billing/coding, and other relevant COVID-19 changes.

SBA releases long-awaited PPP loan forgiveness guidance

The Small Business Administration (SBA) released new interim final rules on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness and loan review process. The loan forgiveness guidance mostly clarifies information already published in the PPP loan forgiveness application, such as FTE reduction exceptions, how to calculate employee salary/wage reductions, and when payroll/nonpayroll costs must be incurred and/or paid to be eligible for forgiveness. The SBA loan review procedure guidance describes the process by which SBA plans to undertake PPP loan reviews, and reiterates that a lender must issue a decision to SBA on loan forgiveness within 60 days. That decision can take the form of an approval (in whole or in part), a denial, or a denial without prejudice due to a pending SBA review of the loan.

New draft legislation to amend PPP loans

After hearing from constituents, Congress identified several issues with the PPP as currently implemented. As a result, a number of bills were introduced to amend the PPP to provide borrowers with more flexibility. One of these bills, the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, is scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives today. MGMA supports this legislation, which would allow loan forgiveness for expenses beyond the eight-week covered period, eliminate the restriction that limits nonpayroll expenses to 25% of the loan amount, extend the two-year maximum loan term requirement, and allow PPP borrowers to utilize the payroll tax deferment incentive established in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.