CMS Reevaluates Accelerated Payment Program and
Suspends Advance Payment Program

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is
reevaluating the amounts that will be paid under its Accelerated Payment Program
and suspending its Advance Payment Program to Part B suppliers effective immediately.
The agency made this announcement following the successful payment of over $100 billion
to healthcare providers and suppliers through these programs and in light of the $175 billion
recently appropriated for healthcare provider relief payments.


CMS had expanded these temporary loan programs to ensure providers and
suppliers had the resources needed to combat the beginning stages of the 2019
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Funding will continue to be available to hospitals and other
healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response primarily from
the Provider Relief Fund. The Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) Programs are
typically used to give providers emergency funding and address cash flow issues for
providers and suppliers when there is disruption in claims submission or claims processing,
including during a public health emergency or Presidentially-declared disaster.

Since expanding the AAP programs on March 28, 2020, CMS approved
over 21,000 applications totaling $59.6 billion in payments to Part A providers,
which includes hospitals. For Part B suppliers, including doctors, non-physician
practitioners and durable medical equipment suppliers, CMS approved
almost 24,000 applications advancing $40.4 billion in payments. The AAP programs
are not a grant, and providers and suppliers are typically required to pay back the
funding within one year, or less, depending on provider or supplier type.
Beginning today, CMS will not be accepting any new applications for the
Advance Payment Program, and CMS will be reevaluating all pending and new
applications for Accelerated Payments in light of historical direct payments made
available through the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS)
Provider Relief Fund.

Significant additional funding will continue to be available to hospitals and
other healthcare providers through other programs. Congress appropriated
$100 billion in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act (PL 116-136) and $75 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program and
Health Care Enhancement Act (PL 116-139) for healthcare providers. HHS is distributing
this money through the Provider Relief Fund, and these payments
do not need to be repaid.

The CARES Act Provider Relief Fund is being administered through HHS and has
already released $30 billion to providers, and is in the process of releasing an
additional $20 billion, with more funding anticipated to be released soon.
This funding will be used to support healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue
attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure uninsured
Americans can get treatment for COVID-19.

For more information on the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund
and how to apply, visit hhs.gov/providerrelief

For an updated fact sheet on the Accelerated
and Advance Payment Programs,

visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/Accelerated-and-Advanced-Payments-Fact-Sheet.pdf