Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant Program

The Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant Program has ended.

Background

On July 2, 2020, Governor Scott signed legislation establishing the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant Program to cover a broad array of providers.  Funds available initially totaled $275 million but were then reduced to $247.5 million based on projected need. These funds have been made available to the State of Vermont through the Federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) CFDA #21.019. The Agency of Human Services (AHS) is administering this program in two rounds of applications. Health care and human service providers used the application to seek grant funding for both COVID-19-related lost revenue and COVID-19-specific incurred expenses for March 1 – September 15, 2020.

Application Portal

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• New Users (Application has closed for new users)
• Returning Users (to view application, status, and documents)

Guidance Clarification for Health Care Provider Stabilization Grants

1. Do I need to use my grant award by a certain date?
   AHS guidance had previously stated that all health care and human services providers receiving a grant must spend the grant money by December 30, 2020. We are pleased to clarify that if a health care and human services provider obtains a grant for qualifying losses incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020, the awarded grant funds are not required to be spent by the grantee by December 30, 2020. There is no deadline by which grantees must spend the replaced lost revenue.
2. Am I limited in the use of my grant award?
   Awards from the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant program are considered revenue replacement for the awardee to help cover documented losses which occurred in 2020 due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.  The grant has already been deemed to have been used upon issuance as a means of replacing the lost revenues. There are, therefore, no restrictions on the use of funds aside from the fact that funding must be used for normal or traditional purposes of health care and human services provider and must not be used for personal expenses.
3. The Sustained Monthly Retainer award noted that 10% of grant awards could be subject to recoupment.  What could trigger a recoupment?  Am I required to meet any performance measures in connection with my grant award? 
   If providers signed the Coronavirus Relief Fund Grant Agreements, it is expected that providers will be able to keep the entirety of the grant awards to the extent that the grantee has eligible COVID-19 expenditures that are not covered by other sources and are in compliance with grant provisions.

   You do not need to take any action to accept the grant funds.

   The funds from this grant can be used to pay necessary expenditures that your entity faces and costs directly associated with your entity’s response to COVID-19. If it is found that this grant was issued due to error, misrepresentation of facts, or fraud in your application, you will be required to return the funds to the Vermont Agency of Human Services.

4. How do I know if I should be concerned about a duplication of benefits?
   The Agency of Human Services issued the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grants to provide support to those health care and human services providers in Vermont that have suffered costs and/or revenue losses as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. There are (and have been) several other sources of support available for health care and human services providers, including (but not limited to) the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). The State recognizes that these other programs only cover a portion of the costs and/or lost revenues that providers face as a result of COVID-19, and believes that it has appropriately designed the program to provide support beyond these programs, and that addresses the portion of costs/lost revenues not covered by other sources of funding.

   Because applicants may have received funding from sources other than the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grants, an applicant may experience what is called a “duplication of benefits.”

   For the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant program, your entity will be at risk of duplication of benefits if, at the end of 2020, your entity’s COVID-19 related total revenue decline from March-December of 2020, when compared to March-December of 2019, are less than the total amount of aid your entity has received from:
   ​ a. Economic Recovery Grants,
    b. Forgiven PPP loans,
    c. EIDL Advance Grants,
    d. Business interruption insurance, and
    e. Any other federal grants or credits grant your entity has received related to COVID-19.  (See our financial guidance for more information)
    
   ​The AHS grant application collected information about the amounts that an applicant received from other sources including PPP loans, EIDL Advance grants, and any other federal grant or credit reimbursement for COVID-19 related damages or expenses at the time of application. The application also required applicants to certify that they would not use their Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant to cover any expenses for which they have already received other reimbursement. Going forward, should additional assistance be made available, grantees may not apply for multiple sources of assistance based on the same decreased revenue compensated for with the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant. Health care and human services providers that have a duplication of benefits may need to repay a portion of the grant later if it appears that the total grant proceeds from the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant plus any of the above listed sources of assistance exceed the aggregate amount of the losses in 2020.

   Health care and human services providers that sought grant funding from sources other than the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant program are strongly encouraged to consider if the total grant funding received from all sources may put them at risk of having a duplication of benefits. If you have questions about the calculation of a potential duplication of benefits, for your specific organization, we recommend that you contact your accounting or legal professionals.

   If you believe that your organization has received a duplication of benefits, you may return the amount of the duplication by following these steps:

   Please send an email notification to AHS - COVID 19 Financial <AHS.COVID19Financial@vermont.gov>, explaining that you are returning Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant funds as a result of a duplication of benefits and the amount being returned.

   Make your check out to: State of Vermont, Agency of Human Services
   Include the application number and the grant award number on the check, and

   Send the check to:
   State of Vermont Agency of Human Services
   Office of the Secretary Attn: AHS CO Accounts Payable
   280 State Drive, Center Bldg
   Waterbury, VT 05671-1000

5. Do I need to maintain records as a result of receiving a grant award?  Are there any reporting requirements or reconciliation information at this time?
   AHS has not yet determined additional reporting and/or reconciliation requirements at this time.However, grantees must maintain all records pertaining to the use and expenditure of their award. Records include any written or recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which is produced or acquired by the grantee in the performance of this agreement. Records produced or acquired in a machine-readable electronic format shall be maintained in that format. The records described shall be made available at reasonable times during the period of the award and for five years thereafter or for any period required by law for inspection by any authorized representatives of the State or Federal Government. If any litigation, claim, or audit is started before the expiration of the five-year period, the records shall be retained until all litigation, claims or audit findings involving the records have been resolved.
6. Why are all the references to the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant?  What if I received a different grant (such as the April Retainer, Sustained Monthly, etc.)? 
   All COVID-19-related financial relief provided by AHS is from the same fund source (CARES ACT), and thus subject to the same guidelines.

Guidance Documentation

• Program Overview (10/12/2020)
• Frequently Asked Questions (10/16/2020)
• Application Readiness & Document Uploads Guide (10/12/2020)
• Expenditures Guide (10/12/2020)
• Revenue Guide (10/12/2020)
• Financial Assistance Guide (10/12/2020)
• Peer Support & Program Pre-Approval Certification (10/16/2020) 
• Terms & Conditions of the Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant Award (10/16/2020)
• Application Timeline & Review Process (11/25/2020)
• Post-Award Guidance (3/29/2021) 

Other Resources

Please review the Program Guidance documents above.  For additional assistance, please consider the following:

• For questions related to this program, please direct emails to AHS - COVID 19 Financial <AHS.COVID19Financial@vermont.gov> 

• For questions related to any payment program, you may also contact Member and Provider Services at 802-879-5900, option 6.

• For questions regarding Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance, please review the:

  • FEMA Applicant Quick Guide