On June 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that they will move forward with the addition of support specific to Medicaid and CHIP program providers to be considered for financial assistance. Dentists are being considered as critical providers for funding within this program. Please visit the HHS CARES Act Provider Relief Fund website for important information about this opportunity.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recently published an article notifying their members that if they are an eligible Medicaid or CHIP providers, they can apply to receive funding under this program. The full text of this article can be found at: https://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2020-archive/june/hhs-releases-provider-relief-funds.

The deadline for submissions is July 20, 2020.

You can apply through the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Payment Attestation Portal. You may download and review the Medicaid Provider Distribution Instructions and the Medicaid Provider Distribution Application Form prior to applying.

Payments will be made by UnitedHealth Group (UHG) on behalf of HHS. No determinations and/or payment will be issued by MCNA or any State Agency. To be eligible for relief funds, the applicant must meet all of the following requirements:

• Must not have received payment from the $50 billion General Distribution (this includes providers who have billed Medicare on a fee-for-service basis [Parts A or B] in Calendar Year 2019).
• Must have directly billed Medicaid for health care-related services during the period of Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019, or own (on the application date) an included subsidiary that has billed Medicaid for health care-related services during the period of Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019.
• Must either have filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years 2017, 2018 or 2019 or be an entity exempt from the federal income tax return filing requirement and have no beneficial owner who is required to file a federal income tax return (e.g. a state-owned hospital or health care clinic).
• Must have provided patient care after Jan. 31, 2020.
• Must not have permanently ceased providing patient care directly, or indirectly through included subsidiaries.
• Must have 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 if the applicant is filing as an individual.

HHS Service Staff members are available to provide real-time technical support, as well as service and payment support. You may contact them at 1-866-569-3522, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Central Standard Time (CST).

Helpful Links to HHS Resources

• HHS CARES Act website - https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/cares-act-provider-relief-fund/index.html
• FAQ - https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/cares-act-provider-relief-fund/faqs/index.html#medicaid-targeted
• Provider Relief Fund general information - https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/cares-act-provider-relief-fund/general-information/index.html
• HHS announcement - https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/06/09/hhs-announces-enhanced-provider-portal-relief-fund-payments-for-safety-net-hospitals-medicaid-chip-providers.html