Psychologists are eligible to receive payments from the Health Resources and Services Administration through the latest Phase 3 distribution of $20 billion in assistance under the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) established earlier this year to help health care providers who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While earlier rounds of payments were reserved for Medicare and Medicaid providers, eligibility for payments under this latest phase of the program is open to any behavioral health care provider who has billed a patient or health insurance company for health care services.
Recipients may qualify regardless of whether they were eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or rejected payment from prior PRF distributions. As part of Phase 3, psychologists who have not yet received a payment from the PRF of approximately 2% of annual revenue from patient care will receive at least that amount, and may be eligible for additional payments to account for changes in operating revenues due to the pandemic.
Providers must meet the following eligibility criteria for Phase 3 assistance:
- Be a behavioral health provider as of March 31, 2020 who has billed a patient or health insurance company for services
- Have filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years 2017, 2018, or 2019 (if in operation before January 1, 2020), or a quarterly tax return for the fiscal year 2020 (if operations began on or after January 1, 2020), or be exempt from filing a return; and
- Have provided patient care after January 31, 2020; and
- Not have permanently ceased providing patient care; and
- For individuals providing care before January 1, 2020, have gross receipts or sales from patient care reported on Form 1040 (or other tax form).
The November 6th deadline to apply is quickly approaching—apply now.
These distributions do not need to be repaid to the US government, assuming providers comply with the terms and conditions.
HHS will host a webcast on November 2, 2020 at 3 p.m. ET for potential applicants to review the application process and answer questions. Register here
For more information, visit CARES Act Provider Relief Fund: For Providers or call the provider support line at (866) 569-3522; for TTY dial 711. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.