September 30, 2021 4:07 pm Health Policy | Practice Finances HHS Opens Application Portal for $25.5 Billion in Provider Funding HHS yesterday opened the Provider Relief Fund Application and Attestation Portal, which providers can use to apply for a new round of $25.5 billion in funding for providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are made up of $8.5 billion from the American Rescue Plan for providers serving rural Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare patients, and $17 billion for Phase 4 of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) for providers with lost revenue and other expenses due to the pandemic. The application period runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 26. The portal is accessible here. News & Knowledge All Curi recommendations are based on current CDC criteria at the time of publication. CDC guidance for SARS-CoV-2 infection may, or may not, be adopted by state and local health departments to respond to rapidly changing local circumstances. Providers should always check with their local health department to see if the CDC’s guidance on any given topic has been modified (particularly if more restrictive) from the CDC’s recommended guidelines. Follow this link https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/index.html for contact information to your state/local health department. If local recommendations vary from those of the CDC, and you are unsure what recommendations to follow, then it is safer to follow the more restrictive guidelines/recommendations.