Reimbursement Deadline Approaching for the COVID-19 Prevention and Mitigation Assisted Living Communities and Personal Care Homes Grant Program

In a previous article, we discussed Georgia’s announcement to award over $217 million to eligible healthcare facilities as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), which was signed into law by Congress on March 11, 2022. As a reminder, of the $217 million, $47 million of that grant funding (up to $100,000 per facility) was allocated for licensed assisted living communities and personal care homes with 25 or more beds to help prevent and mitigate the spread and effects of COVID-19.

Providers should be aware that the reimbursable dates for the grant will end on December 1, 2022, as the grant program only allows reimbursement for expenses incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 1, 2022. To be able to continue to submit for reimbursement, the community point of contact (i.e., authorized representative, “POC”) must have started the process by December 1, 2022. Each community’s POC can be found on the Office of Planning and Budget Grant (“OPB”) website.¹ Community POCs should have received a Terms and Conditions email the week of March 14, 2022, from echosign@echosign.com or adobesign@adobesign.com. The email contained an agreement requiring the signature of an authorized official to accept the conditions of the award.

To update a POC and begin the reimbursement submission process, the community representative applicant must complete and submit the Authorized Representative Form.² To add a user, the applicant must upload a signed memo from the head of the agency designating an authorized user.  If a community is updating or adding an authorized user, that user will not automatically receive a Terms and Conditions Agreement, which must be executed to begin submitting reimbursement requests. If a new authorized representative is being added to an account and would like to request Terms and Conditions after the representative is successfully added, the representative must indicate that in the request.

If eligible recipients have not already, they must obtain access to the GeorgiaGrants portal upon signing the Terms and Conditions.³ Then, a completed Vendor Management Form is required to create a vendor ID number and/or connect to the specified bank account in the state’s financial system.⁴ The community’s authorized representative must complete and sign the form online, and it will be sent automatically to OPB for review, then the State Accounting Office for approval and setup before a community can begin submitting reimbursement requests.

Eligible communities are encouraged to use these funds and submit reimbursement requests in advance of the deadline to emphasize how the assisted living and personal care home industry has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and such funds will provide economic recovery for communities supporting Georgia’s seniors.

For more information, please contact please contact Change of Ownership (CHOW) team attorneys Hedy Rubinger, Alexander Foster, and Kadeja Watts.

The Arnall Golden Gregory CHOW team leads all regulatory aspects of healthcare transactions for investors, operators, managers, capital partners, and developers of every size in all 50 states. The team streamlines the regulatory process so that clients close their transactions on or ahead of schedule. Whether obtaining licensure and Medicare/Medicaid approvals, structuring transactions to expedite closings, anticipating issues to minimize cash flow disruption, negotiating regulatory terms in deal documents, creatively resolving diligence issues, or advising on CHOW guidelines and compliance, the team provides extensive experience and practical solutions. To date, the CHOW team has served as primary regulatory counsel in transactions valued at more than $35 billion.

[1] See https://opb.georgia.gov/covid-19-prevention-and-mitigation-assisted-living-communities-and-personal-care-homes-25-beds (last accessed Nov. 14, 2022).

[2] Authorized User Designation form available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/audform (last accessed Nov. 14, 2022).

[3] A detailed step-by-step guide of how to obtain GeorgiaGrants access can be found at https://opb.georgia.gov/step-2-georgiagrants-portal-access (last accessed Nov. 14, 2022).

[4] See https://opb.georgia.gov/step-3-vendor-management (last accessed Nov. 14, 2022).