Federal Funding Now Available to ACFs and Assisted Living Providers
LeadingAge NY is pleased to report that federal funding is now available to adult care facilities (ACFs) and assisted living providers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that “private pay” assisted living facilities have been added as eligible applicants for federal funding under the Provider Relief Fund Phase 2 General Distribution. Like other providers applying for Phase 2 funding, eligible assisted living providers will receive 2 percent of their annual revenue from patient/resident care. The deadline to apply for these funds is Sept. 13th.
Eligibility
HHS has announced that this opportunity is available to assisted living providers that may have been previously ineligible to apply for Phase 2 General Distribution funding. An assisted living entity is defined as a state-licensed or certified assisted living facility, so we believe that all ACFs (including enriched housing programs) and assisted living residences are eligible in New York. The entity must have provided patient/resident care after Jan. 31, 2020 and must not have permanently ceased providing patient/resident care. The entity must also have either (i) filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years (FY) 2017, 2018, or 2019 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. See the HHS website for more details on eligibility.
The funding opportunity is for “private pay” facilities, which we understand to mean providers that do not accept Medicaid funding. We do not believe that assisted living programs (ALPs) are eligible if they already received funding equal to 2 percent of the annual revenues. However, providers that have received a payment under Phase 1 of the General Distribution are no longer prohibited from submitting an application under Phase 2. Providers that received a previous Phase 1 General Distribution payment are eligible to apply and, if they have not yet received a payment that is approximately 2 percent of annual revenue from patient care, may receive additional funds.
You must take the necessary first step in the process to begin the application by entering the Tax Identification Number (TIN) for validation by Sept. 13th.
I Already Submitted Information. Do I Still Need to Apply?
Yes! Our colleagues at LeadingAge National have been working to ensure that our ACF/assisted living members have access to this much-needed funding. As part of that effort, we worked with LeadingAge National and other national organizations to assist HHS in developing a list of licensed facilities to assist HHS in the development of this funding opportunity. HHS has developed a “curated list” based on this process and information from state licensing boards/organizations. According to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the HHS site, “Providers with TINs on the curated list must meet other eligibility requirements including operating in good standing and not be excluded from receiving federal payments. As a next step, HHS will work with states and its partners to authenticate assisted living facilities not on the curated list. Please note that it may take additional time to validate an applicant’s TIN. If they receive the results of that validation after September 13, they will still be able to complete and submit their application.”
If you submitted your information through our data collection effort with LeadingAge National, this process will move forward more expeditiously, but you must still apply. If you did not previously supply your data, you can still apply.
Application and Resources
Helpful information can be found on the Provider Relief Fund website, which includes previously recorded Phase 2 application webinars and other information on how to apply. The Provider Relief Funding FAQs have useful information as well. Members are reminded to act quickly, to begin the process by the Sept. 13th deadline.
Reminder for Other Providers
Sept. 13th is also the deadline for Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers, as well as those Medicare providers who received less than 2 percent of their annual patient revenue in Provider Relief Funding, to apply for this funding through the same portal, regardless of a shared TIN. More information for those providers is here.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, or Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383