Bipartisan legislation introduced in Senate, House would allow some providers more time to use PRF money

The Provider Relief Fund Deadline Extension Act (S. 2493/H.R. 4735) was introduced yesterday in the Senate and House. The AHA-supported bill would allow providers that received COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund payments prior to June 30, 2020, to use their payments through Dec. 31, 2021, or the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, whichever is later. The Department of Health and Human Services required providers that received PRF money from April 10, 2020, through June 30, 2020, to spend those funds by June 30, 2021. Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., introduced the bill in the Senate. Reps. Cynthia Axne, D-Iowa, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, introduced the House bill.