HRSA Set to Stop Accepting Claims on March 22, 2022
March 18, 2022
On Wednesday, March 15, 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submitted a letter to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, regarding concerns of dwindling funds for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Uninsured Program. In this letter, OMB stated that “On March 3, we requested $22.5 billion in emergency funding by mid-March to avoid severe disruptions to our COVID response.” Since said request has not been granted, the letter went on to articulate the consequences, including “no additional purchases of monoclonal antibodies sent to states, fewer treatments for the immune-compromised, and a risk of running short on vaccines.”
On March 22, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET, HRSA will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment.
On April 5, 2022 at 11:59 pm ET, HRSA will stop accepting claims for vaccinations.
As a result, HRSA announced its plans to stop accepting claims for testing and treatment on March 22, 2022, due to a lack of sufficient funding. HRSA also announced it will stop accepting claims for vaccinations on April 5, 2022. While the House is expected to propose and pass a standalone COVID funding bill to allocate more money for the Uninsured Program, the bill is not expected to pass the Senate.
Given the potentially significant impact on HRSA laboratory claims that are currently pending or soon to be filed, laboratories are encouraged to file any pending HRSA claims as soon as possible to help ensure payment. HRSA has indicated submitted claims will be paid subject to the availability of funds.
Additionally, laboratories will want to perform impact analyses to determine potential revenue impacts on delayed or denied payments due to this announcement.