Eyeworld

N MAY 2020 | EYEWORLD | 27 Contact McCann: nmccann@ascrs.org the Paycheck Protection Program. This includes $310 billion in additional funding for the Pay- check Protection Program. Provider Relief Fund Ms. McCann mentioned that the CARES package also set aside a $100 billion public emergency fund for payments to providers. The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act includes $75 billion in addi- tional funding for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (healthcare provid- ers), $60 billion in separate disaster loans to small businesses, and $25 billion for COVID-19 testing. The U.S. Department of Health and Hu- man Services (HHS) announced in late April additional plans for distributing funds from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund and stated that $50 billion would be for "general distribu- tion" based proportionately on the provider's 2018 net patient revenue. Of that $50 billion, $30 billion has already been distributed to pro- viders, and $10 billion was released on April 24 for those who had already shared key data with HHS. Those who received funds from the initial $30 billion and would like to receive additional funds must sign into the General Distribution Portal to provide revenue data. Providers must attest to each payment associated with their billing TIN. Providers will also need to attest to the terms and conditions for the first $30 bil- lion. At this time, the General Distribution Por- tal is only for organizations that have already received payments through the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund. Initially, some states and specialties thought that physicians must also submit cost reports, but HHS has verified this is not the case. Physicians, however, do need to submit their revenue information so that it can be verified through the portal. HHS has also released a user guide to assist with the data submission process. HHS will use the data to calculate providers' proportional 2018 net revenue and provide funds via elec- tronic deposit. Payments will go out weekly, on a rolling basis, as information is validated. Editors' note: All information in this article is current as of April 28, 2020. The latest ophthalmology news delivered to your inbox every Friday Subscribe to the mailing list by emailing ellen@eyeworld.org. WEEKLY

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