DMAS has issued instructions on how nursing facilities (NFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs) can access the $33 million and $20 million, respectively, in CARES Act funding distributed by Virginia. The program provides funds to cover expenses incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic for the period from July 1, 2020 through October 31, 2020.

In June, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Virginia will use federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to support licensed NFs and ALFs in the Commonwealth with unreimbursed COVID-19 costs. Funding can be used to reimburse spending on staffing shortages, increasing infection control measures, purchasing personal protective equipment, and other demonstrated COVID-19 costs. To receive reimbursement through this CARES Act funded program, facilities must first offset any other revenues specifically provided for COVID-19 expenses. For NFs this includes federal Provider Relief Funding, Virginia $20 per diem, etc.

Keep in mind that VHCA-VCAL is attempting to modify the program rules through the General Assembly action. Most notably for NFs, DMAS will not recognize lost revenue as a legitimate COVID-expense neither for this funding, nor for the direct provider relief you have received directly from the CARES Act. In other words, if you use the direct provider relief for lost revenue, it will not be considered “spent” for purposes of accessing this new funding. Unless that changes, we are recommending that invoices should not be submitted unless they show eligible unreimbursed “direct” costs above the amount of your lost revenue.

DMAS has been designated as the responsible agency to implement the program. For more information, please review the following documents:

The enrollment form for eligible providers—both NF and ALFs: 

• DMAS CARES Act Enrollment Form with Instructions [pdf]

Letters detailing eligible expenses, enrollment requirements, maximum reimbursement, and relevant deadlines:

• CARES Act Program Welcome Letter for Nursing Facilities [pdf]
• CARES Act Program Welcome Letter for Assisted Living Facilities [pdf]

The required invoice workbooks that must be submitted with supporting documentation for reimbursement. The invoice files (there are separate files for NFs and ALFs) are posted on the DMAS COVID-19 Response webpage—scroll to find the yellow “Support for Providers” icon and look for the files called

• CARES Act Invoice Workbook with Instructions for Nursing Facilities [xlsx]
• CARES Act Invoice Workbook with Instructions for Assisted Living Facilities [xlsx]

DSS also issued this letter and timeline about the funding for ALFs in July.

Specific questions from providers should be directed to MSLC at caresactinvoicing_nf@mslc.com.