HHS Set to Reopen Covid Aid Reporting After Clawback Threats

The Health Resources and Services Administration plans to reopen the reporting period for pandemic assistance money after thousands of recipients were asked to return the money for missing the deadline.

Providers who didn’t complete a report “as a result of specific extenuating circumstances” will be given another chance to do so, a spokesperson for the agency said. HRSA did not provide more detail on what those circumstances are or when the portal will open again.

The announcement comes after Bloomberg Law reported on efforts to claw back the funds and dozens of medical groups sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services’ HRSA. The medical groups urged the agency to give providers another chance to report how they spent the funds.

HRSA could’ve taken back as much as $100 million from providers who received the money without asking for it and said they didn’t know there were strings attached. Some providers were asked to return as much as $250,000 amid unprecedented inflation and increased financial burden due to new virus variants.

The agency required facilities that received more than $10,000 to report how they spent the money by Sept. 30, 2021. But many providers didn’t receive reminder emails about the reporting requirements, leaving them unaware they needed to submit a report.

HRSA reminded providers of the requirement via email, mail, outreach to organizations, and social media, a spokesperson for the agency previously told Bloomberg Law.