{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-axne-applaud-extension-relief-health-care-providers", "Miller-Meeks & Axne Applaud Extension of Relief for Health Care Providers", "2021-06-14", "2021", "2021-06", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Mariannette Miller-Meeks", "M001215", "millermeeks.house.gov", "millermeeks", "https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Today, June 14th, 2021, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) and Cindy Axne (IA-03) applauded the updated guidance issued late last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives healthcare providers more time and flexibility to use financial assistance provided by Congress.\n\nIn May, Miller-Meeks and Axne led a bipartisan group of 77 members urging HHS to extend the original June 30th deadline for hospitals and other health centers to use their portions of the $178 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) relief approved by Congress in 2020.\n\n\u201cI applaud HHS for giving flexibility to healthcare providers who are still working hard to combat COVID-19. Ensuring that providers have access to these COVID-19 relief funds is critical for their financial well-being and ensuring they can continue to provide critical care to their communities,\u201d said Miller-Meeks. \u201cAs a doctor and the former Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, I know the challenges our providers are facing. We must support them as we come out of this pandemic so they can continue their work to keep us safe and healthy.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis past year has reminded us how critical access to healthcare is for our families \u2014 and how indispensable our health centers are to protecting our communities. I commend HHS for hearing the wide concerns that myself and my colleagues conveyed to them earlier this year, and for extending the deadline for the majority of our providers who are still navigating tough financial circumstances after a very demanding year,\u201d said Axne. \u201cWhile effective, widely available vaccines are protecting more and more Americans every day from COVID-19, our healthcare providers have been clear \u2013 the fight against COVID-19 is not over. These new guidelines from HHS will help ensure that assistance we made available to providers last year is not severed while they are still treating patients and facing higher prices for the equipment they need to keep Iowans safe.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nLast Friday, HHS announced updated Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements for healthcare providers who received assistance from the PRF. The new guidance includes key changes that will ensure providers have at least a full year to use their award and more time to complete reporting requirements.\n\nThe new guidance will:\n\nBase the deadline to use funds on when payment is received while making sure providers have at least twelve months to use that payment.\n\nPreviously, all payments were required to be used by June 30, 2021, regardless of when they were received.\n\nUnder the new guidance, payment deadlines will depend on the time period the payment was made.\n\nRather than reporting cumulatively across all payments, direct recipients would report each payment received period in which they received total payments in excess of $10,000.\n\nExtend the window to complete reporting requirements from 30 days to 90 days.\n\nMiller Meeks is a co-sponsor of Axne\u2019s Eliminating the Provider Relief Fund Tax Penalties Act, which would ensure that all healthcare providers, regardless of taxpaying status, will not be subject to taxes on aid provided through the PRF \u2013 and guarantees expenses attributable to the PRF are tax-deductible.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:57:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-axne-applaud-extension-relief-health-care-providers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4484829735010862, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}