The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced on July 10 that an application is now open for dental providers who may not have previously been eligible to receive funding through the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund. Many dental providers have already successfully applied for funding under the Medicaid-focused General Distribution.

Eligible dentists will receive a reimbursement of 2% of their annual reported patient revenue and have until July 24, 2020, to apply for funding. To be eligible to apply, a dental provider must meet all of the following requirements:

1. must not have received payment from the initial $50 billion Medicare-focused General Distribution; and
2. must not have received payment from the $15 billion Medicaid and CHIP Distribution; and
3. must have either (i) filed a federal income tax return for fiscal years 2017, 2018 or 2019 or (ii) be an entity exempt from the requirement to file a federal income tax return and have no beneficial owner that is required to file a federal income tax return. (e.g. a state-owned hospital or healthcare clinic); and
4. must have provided patient dental care after January 31, 2020; and
5. must not have permanently ceased providing patient dental care directly, or indirectly through included subsidiaries; and
6. if the applicant is an individual, have gross receipts or sales from providing patient dental care reported on Form 1040, Schedule C, Line 1, excluding income reported on a W-2 as a (statutory) employee.

HHS has published a series of FAQ’s on the Provider Relief Fund’s dental distribution. 

Please note if you are applying as a Medicaid/CHIP provider (not a provider as described above), you must submit your application by July 20, 2020. AGD has composed an overview of the Provider Relief Fund with pertinent information and resources, as well as descriptions of the different types of funding. Members can view this summary under “Regulatory Resources” on the AGD Coronavirus Wepage, or by clicking here.

Impact on General Dentistry: AGD strongly recommends that eligible practices act promptly, as the July 20 and 24 deadlines are quickly approaching. AGD is pleased that HHS has followed through on opening the distribution of relief funds to a broader group of eligible dentists.