HHS Provider Relief Fund deadline is Sept. 13

Washington — The ADA is reminding dentists that they have until 11:59 p.m. ET Sept. 13 to apply for funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal.

The first step in the application process is for dentists to have their Taxpayer Identification Numbers validated. Dentists who have their TIN numbers validated after Sept. 13 will still be permitted to complete the full application; however, those applications must be completed in a timely manner once the validation is complete. HHS has also recently simplified the application form.

The Provider Relief Fund was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act — known as the CARES Act — and allows dental providers to apply for payments made for health care-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to the pandemic.

According to HHS, it is basing relief payments on 2% of gross revenues for patient care.

The phone number for the HHS Provider Support Line is 866-569-3522 and the hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT, Monday – Friday.

For more information about the Provider Relief Fund, the ADA has created an FAQ which is updated with the most popular Provider Relief Fund questions the Association has received from dentists.

There are also a number of HHS resources online, including HHS instructions for filling out the revised application and the Provider Relief General Information and Phase 2 (Dental) Distribution FAQs.

For more information about the ADA's advocacy efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit ADA.org/COVID19Advocacy.