While federal COVID-19 relief funding for health systems sounds good in theory, many organizations have found accessing and using these monies overwhelming and frustrating. Federal guidance has been inconsistent or incomplete, and continued changes to relief packages and policies challenge organizations to develop pragmatic financial recovery strategies. Financial leaders who are confronting more questions than answers need a simple framework to move confidently into recovery. The following five expert financial- and healthcare-based guidelines will help organizations navigate and optimize COVID-19 relief funding: Regularly review legislative and regulatory updates and agency activity. Make the most of what’s available. Use required reporting as a decision-making tool. Prepare now for the inevitable audit. Test compliance now to eliminate headaches (or litigation) later.

1. Healthcare Relief Funding:
Five Steps to Maximize COVID-19 Dollars
Greg Anderson, CPA/ABV, CVA, HORNE LLP
Jeff Grandia, MBA, SVP, Sales

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Healthcare Relief Funding
Many healthcare organizations have more
questions than answers regarding recent
guidance on COVID-19 relief funding for
hospitals and health systems.
The logistical and compliance realities of
managing funding from the CARES Act,
FEMA, the Paycheck Protection Program,
and other emergency resources are often
overwhelming and frustrating, as federal
guidance has been inconsistent or incomplete.

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Healthcare Relief Funding
The following expert
financial- and healthcare-
based guidelines will help
organizations navigate
and optimize COVID-19
relief funding.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
Five solutions combine financial and healthcare
industry expertise to offer a strategic, data-driven
approach to help organizations maximize relief
dollars and create a financially sustainable future:
1. Regularly Review Legislative and Regulatory
Updates and Agency Activity
2. Make the Most of What’s Available
3. Use Required Reporting as a Decision-Making Tool
4. Prepare Now for the Inevitable Audit
5. Test Compliance Now to Eliminate Headaches
(or Litigation) Later

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
1. Regularly Review Legislative and Regulatory Updates and Agency Activity
Legislative and regulatory bodies and
associated agencies often introduce
new relief guidance, sometimes in
conflict with earlier direction, and
continually update past guidance.
Healthcare organizations must
consistently follow legislative and
agency activity and regulatory updates,
watch for new emergency funding
sources, and continuously monitor
potential sources of funding.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
1. Regularly Review Legislative and Regulatory Updates and Agency Activity
Financial teams that don’t have the extra
bandwidth to monitor healthcare relief
funding updates can look to education and
information resources (e.g., webinars,
blogs, podcasts, and newsletters).
Additionally, trusted sources (e.g., an
accounting and business advisory firm
such as HORNE and a healthcare domain
expert like Health Catalyst) will provide
more personalized, in-depth support.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
2. Make the Most of What’s Available
Organizations optimize relief funds by first
adopting best practices to capture expenses
attributable to COVID-19 per regulations,
government agency pronouncements,
reporting requirements, and FAQs.
Successful organizations must also clearly
separate “healthcare-related expenses
attributable to coronavirus” to apply against
appropriate funding sources and employ
compliant lost revenue calculations.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
2. Make the Most of What’s Available
While official definitions of terms, such as
“lost revenue,” and thus federal guidance,
remain somewhat in flux, organizations
still have the opportunity to optimize their
current funding.
Doing so involves regularly following
legislative updates (as in guideline #1,
above) and tracking all funds received and
the applicable terms and conditions for
each funding source at the Taxpayer
Identification Number (TIN) level.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
3. Use Required Reporting as a Decision-Making Tool
Timely filing of all required reports to the
appropriate federal agency is critical in
optimizing funding.
However, even prepared financial teams
need to look closely at the data in their
reports.
They must adapt accounting systems to
identify, capture, and correctly document
all healthcare-related expenses.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
3. Use Required Reporting as a Decision-Making Tool
Many organizations are overlooking eligible
expenditures associated with COVID-19—
including prevention, preparation, or
response and expenses related to
maintaining healthcare delivery capacity.
Regularly reviewing expenditures in careful
detail will inform timely decisions about the
most appropriate revenue recognition
policies and maximization of stimulus funds.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
4. Prepare Now for the Inevitable Audit
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has
indicated that audits for relief funds are not
a question of “if” but “when.”
Contemporaneous documentation in the
form of support for lost revenue and
healthcare-related expenses, including
receipts, calculations, and regulatory
guidance at the time of decisions, is key to
audit preparation.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
4. Prepare Now for the Inevitable Audit
It’s in a health system’s best interest to
prepare schedules to support emergency
funding activity by entity and source
alongside cumulative lost revenues and
healthcare-related expenses.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
5. Test Compliance Now to Eliminate Headaches (or Litigation) Later
No health system leader wants to put their
facility at risk of fines, returning of funds,
litigation, bad press, or closure due to error
or non-compliance.
However, changing rules and regulations
make compliance hard to understand and
challenging to follow.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
5. Test Compliance Now to Eliminate Headaches (or Litigation) Later
To test compliance preparedness,
organizations can make appropriate
modifications and assess compliance
programs regularly to minimize risk.
They must also establish a robust set of
internal controls over relief funding to
ensure its appropriate use.
Financial leadership should also educate
and communicate with the organization’s
stakeholders on legal, business, and
compliance risks.

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Five Ways to Make the Most of COVID-19
Healthcare Relief Funding
5. Test Compliance Now to Eliminate Headaches (or Litigation) Later
Health systems that emphasize compliance early in
the relief funding process will be more inclined to
view relief funds through the appropriate compliance
lens and make fewer errors in the long run.
Strong external partners, such as HORNE and
Health Catalyst, can positively impact this process.

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Navigating Healthcare Relief Funding
One Step at a Time
The scope and continual evolution of all
forms of COVID-19 relief funding have
made the development and execution of
pragmatic financial strategies daunting.
And, though healthcare organizations
can’t predict the next phases of funding
or impending changes, they should
position themselves to maximize their
current relief dollars and manage
compliance with this simple five-step
actionable, informed approach.

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For more information:
“This book is a fantastic piece of work”
– Robert Lindeman MD, FAAP, Chief Physician Quality Officer

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More about this topic
Link to original article for a more in-depth discussion.
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Greg leads HORNE’s healthcare data analytics practice and consults with clients to
drive optimization with COVID-19 relief funding and value-based payment models. For
over 20 years, Greg has focused his work on healthcare appraisal and is a leading
voice on topics of healthcare valuation and physician incentive compensation plans.
Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
Click to read additional information at www.healthcatalyst.com
Greg Anderson

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Jeff started his career in telecommunication focused on federal funding for states and
education organizations. He is a recognized expert in the FCC’s E-rate program and
founding board member of the National E-rate Service Providers Association driving
millions for technology in public educations. Jeff’s experience with federal government
funding lead him to become a national expert on the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act helping Western states secure millions in grant funds and
appropriately comply, monitor, and use those funds. Jeff has been a team member of Health Catalyst
since 2012 and currently serves as a Senior Vice President.
Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
Click to read additional information at www.healthcatalyst.com
Jeff Grandia

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Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
Click to read additional information at www.healthcatalyst.com
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