It's not a surprise that there are potential liabilities and whistleblower risks associated with application, certification, and receipt of COVID-19 government loans and grants as well as the utilization of government regulatory waivers specific to the public health emergency. We want to keep you ahead of the learning curve on these. We did an in-depth webinar on this a few weeks ago, but below is a summary and then link to the PowerPoint and recording of the webinar are below.

The Government Relief Funds have been divided into two funds — the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Provider Relief Fund. There is, unfortunately, room for error, with both.

The purpose of PPP is to provide relief and support for small businesses at a 2 year, 1% fixed rate, with 6 months of deferred payment as long as the organization has less than 500 employees and completes certifications in good faith. This loan is eligible for loan forgiveness if it is used for payroll costs, mortgage costs, utility costs, and all employees/corporate leases are maintained.

The Provider Relief Fund (CARES Act) provides relief to hospitals and healthcare providers to aid in their coronavirus response. Through the CARES Act, providers who receive funds must sign an attestation confirming receipt of funds and agree to the terms and conditions of payment and confirm the CMS cost report. Failure by a provider that received a payment from the Provider Relief Fund to comply with any term or condition can subject the provider to recoupment of some or all of the payment. For providers receiving more than $150,000 of stimulus fund, the HHS Terms and Conditions state that those providers must submit a report to the HHS Secretary and the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter.

All recipients must keep financial records and any supporting documents pertaining to financial award must be kept for three years from date of final expenditure report submission. Additionally, 1135 waivers have been issued by CMS to provide flexibility to providers to respond to COVID-19. The purpose of these 1135 waivers is to ensure sufficient healthcare items and services are available to meet the needs of Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance program beneficiaries.

For more information on the webinar we presented, Enforcement Implications of COVID-19 Government Relief Funds and Regulatory Waivers: Minimizing the Risks, please select this link and reach out to any of us directly with questions.  We are happy to help.