PRB General Distribution and ARP Rural FAQ

Payments will be made to applicant providers who are in the filing TIN curated list from CMS if they are a Medicaid or CHIP provider. If a TIN is not on the curated list of state-submitted eligible Medicaid/CHIP providers or T-MSIS, it will be flagged as invalid. In these cases, HHS will work with the states/territories to verify whether the TIN should be included as a valid Medicaid or CHIP provider in good standing.

If a TIN is not on the curated list of dental providers, HHS will conduct additional analysis related to the TIN and any active dental providers associated with the TIN.

If a TIN is not on a curated list of assisted living facilities, HHS will conduct additional analysis related to the TIN and any currently operating assisted living facilities associated with the TIN.

If the TIN is subsequently marked as valid, the provider will be notified to proceed submitting data into DocuSign even if validation occurs after the September 13, 2020 deadline. Applicants validated after that date will have until October 4, 2020, 11:00pm EST to submit an application to be considered for funding under Phase 2.  TINs that cannot be validated will not receive funding. Please note, the additional TIN validation may result in a delay in processing the application.

(Updated 10/1/2020)

If a TIN is not on the curated list of eligible providers, HHS will conduct additional analysis related to the TIN and any active providers associated with the TIN. If the TIN is subsequently marked as valid, the provider will be notified to proceed submitting data into DocuSign. TINs that cannot be validated will not receive funding.

(Added 10/5/2020)

Yes. Applicant may include costs that support the delivery of care, such as the health care providers' information technology, finance, and human resources costs, as part of "operating expenses from patient care" when applying for Phase 3 General Distribution payments.

(Added 10/28/2020)

The portal currently will say "Get Started" until a final determination has been made on provider payment. If and when a payment has been made, you will be able to move on in the portal to attest to the payment.

(Added 10/5/2020)

To be eligible to apply, the applicant must have met all of the following requirements:

1. Must fallen into one of the following categories:
   1. Must have either directly billed, or owned (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, their state/territory Medicaid program (fee-for service or managed care) or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020; or
   2. Must have been a dental service provider who has either directly billed, or owned (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, health insurance companies or patients for oral health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020;
   3. Must have either directly billed, or owned (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, Medicare fee-for-service (Parts A and/or B) or Medicare Advantage (Part C) for health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020;
   4. Must have been a state-licensed/certified assisted living facility on or before December 31, 2020;
   5. Must have been a behavioral health provider who has either directly billed, or owned (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has directly billed, health insurance companies or patients for health care-related services during the period of January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020;
   6. Must have received a prior Targeted Distribution payment.
2. Must have either (i) filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years 2018, 2019, or 2020, or (ii) be an entity exempt from the requirement to file a federal income tax return and have no beneficial owner that is required to file a federal income tax return (e.g. a state-owned hospital or health care clinic); and
3. Must have provided patient care after January 31, 2020; and
4. Must not have permanently ceased providing patient care directly, or indirectly through included subsidiaries; and
5. If the applicant was an individual that was providing patient care, had gross receipts or sales from providing patient care reported on Form 1040, Schedule C, Line 1, excluding income reported on a W-2 as a (statutory) employee.

(Added 9/29/2021)

No. Providers may use these payments to cover eligible health care-related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus incurred between January 1, 2020 and the end of applicable period of availability. Providers have at least 12 months, and as much as 18 months, based on the payment received date, to control and use the payments for expenses and lost revenues attributable to coronavirus incurred during the Period of Availability. For more information, please refer to the Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements (PDF).

(Added 9/29/2021)

In accordance with the statutory requirements, to be eligible to apply for ARP Rural Payments, the applicant or at least one subsidiary TINs must have been:

1. A rural health clinic as defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of the Social Security Act; or
2. A provider treated as located in a rural area pursuant to section 1886(d)(8)(E), such as critical access hospitals; or
3. A provider or supplier that:
   1. Has directly billed for health care-related services between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020:
      1. Medicare fee-for-service (Parts A and/or B);
      2. Medicare Advantage (Part C)
      3. Their state/territory Medicaid program (fee-for service or managed care); or
      4. Their state/territory Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); and
   2. Operated in or served patients living in the HHS Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (FORHP) definition of a rural area:
      1. All non-Metro counties;
      2. All Census Tracts within a Metropolitan county that have a Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) code of 4-10. The RUCA codes allow the identification of rural Census Tracts in Metropolitan counties;
      3. 132 large area census tracts with RUCA codes 2 or 3. These tracts are at least 400 square miles in area with a population density of no more than 35 people per square mile; and
      4. 295 outlying Metropolitan counties with no Urbanized Area population.

(Added 9/29/2021)

Yes. To ensure the funds reach providers serving rural communities, control and use of the ARP Rural payment must be delegated to the entity that was eligible for and received the Payment. Unlike Phase 4 of the Provider Relief Fund, ARP Rural payment recipients must certify that they will allocate the ARP Rural payment to the provider(s) associated with the applicable subsidiary or billing TIN.

(Added 9/29/2021)

Yes. HRSA will use the most current definition of “rural” to calculate ARP Rural payments. The HHS Federal Office of Rural Health Policy recently expanded the definition of “rural.” For more information, please visit Defining Rural Population.

(Added 9/29/2021)

No. You can only submit one application.

(Added 9/29/2021)

Applications must be consolidated across eligible subsidiaries and submitted by the parent entity. Applications must be made at the filing TIN level, whenever possible. Applications must include all subsidiaries that provide patient care.

HRSA will review exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Applications that fail to meet this requirement may be deemed ineligible for funding. (See additional requirements in the Instructions (PDF) at Field 17 Annual Revenues from Patient Care Worksheet and Field 18 Organizational Structure Documentation.)

(Added 9/29/2021)

Yes. Similar to the Phases 2 and 3 General Distribution applications, in cases where a parent files a group tax return for itself and all/or some of its subsidiaries, the parent entity must submit the group tax return that includes all subsidiaries on behalf of which the parent entity is applying. (For additional requirements, see Instruction Field 17 Annual Revenues from Patient Care Worksheet. Application Instructions (PDF))

(Added 9/29/2021)