Providers should not offset their expenses on the Medicare Cost Report based on the relief fund payments they’ve received. That’s according to a newly released document from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The agency clarified how Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments should be reported on the Medicare Cost Report (in terms of revenue) in an updated FAQ document released last week. It explained that providers should not adjust the expenses on the cost report based on PRF payments received.
“However, providers must adhere to [Health Resources and Services Administration’s] guidance regarding appropriate uses of PRF payments, in order to ensure that the money is used for permissible purposes (namely, to prevent, prepare for, or respond to coronavirus, and for health care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus) and that the uses of the PRF payments do not violate the prohibition on using PRF money to reimburse expenses or losses that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse,” the agency wrote.
Additionally, CMS noted that all providers must report their payments on the cost report’s statement of revenues for informational purposes, and the revenue amount must be identified as COVID-19 PHE PRF. For SNFs, relief fund payment amounts must be reported in aggregate on the form CMS-2540-10, Worksheet G-3, line 24.50.
The FAQs also address how the Small Business Administration Loan Forgiveness amounts should be reported on the Medicare Cost Report.
The full document can be found here.
