The AMA released the following update on January 26, 2022:
Today, HHS announced that it will be disbursing an additional $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 payments this week. Like the payments allocated in December, these payments will be based on lost revenues and increased expenses due to COVID-19 and will be made to physicians who previously applied for relief funds. HHS will reimburse a larger share of losses and increased expenses for smaller providers and a portion of the payments will be based on the amount and type of services provided to Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP patients. To mitigate disparities due to varying Medicaid reimbursement rates, HHS is using Medicare reimbursement rates in calculating these payments. Physician practices that receive more than $10,000 in payments will be required to report on their use of the funds.
Phase 4 General Distribution Payments
In December 2021, HRSA began releasing Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 General Distribution payments to providers and suppliers based on changes in operating revenues and expenses from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Phase 4 payments also include new elements specifically focused on equity, including reimbursing smaller providers for their changes in operating revenues and expenses at a higher rate compared to larger providers, and bonus payments based on the amount of services providers furnish to Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicare beneficiaries.
Phase 4 General Distribution December 2021 (Batch 1) and January 2022 (Batch 2):
| State | Batch 1 Providers (#) | Batch 1 Payments ($) | Batch 2 Providers (#) | Batch 2 Payments ($) | Total Providers (#) | Total Payments ($) |
| Delaware | 169 | $20,757,455 | 17 | $4,692,314 | 183 | $25,449,769 |
| New Jersey | 2,129 | $274,369,060 | 314 | $25,850,944 | 2,318 | $300,220,004 |
| New York | 4,852 | $753,346,333 | 559 | $299,552,390 | 5,310 | $1,052,898,722 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,702 | $440,967,353 | 256 | $105,960,758 | 2,892 | $546,928,111 |
Each row represents the number of providers qualified to receive a payment in our region and the total payments distributed. HRSA dataset will be updated as additional payments are released. The data does not reflect recipients’ attestation status, returned payments, or unclaimed funds.
