Newsroom

Many health care providers, including healthcare systems, hospitals, group practices, nursing homes, diagnostic and treatment centers, and home health agencies may be eligible for significant grants that periodically become available through various government funded programs.  Two such programs administered by the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) were the Vital Access Provider Program (“VAP”) and the Statewide Healthcare Facility Transformation Program (”Facility Transformation Program”).  The VAP program, which was announced in December 2013, provided funding in excess of $375 million, and the Facility Transformation Program, which was announced in July 2016, provided funding of approximately $195 million.

It is important for healthcare providers to keep abreast of the types of grant programs discussed above since they can provide much needed capital for their respective organizations.  The New York State Grants Gateway (https://grantsreform.ny.gov/), through its Grant Opportunity Portal, is a good resource to identify and even receive electronic notification when specific funding opportunities become available.  The Grant Opportunity Portal will also provide the eligibility requirements for each specific grant, as well as how the funds must be used, e.g., for operating costs or for capital expenditures.

The grant application process is a fairly stringent one that requires providing both financial and operating data.  Many applications require audited financial statements, but exceptions are often made if compiled or review level financial statements are available, and sometimes when only internally prepared financial statements are available, as long as the application is otherwise complete.  Generally, it is advisable to have at least compiled or reviewed level financial statements since this will give greater credibility to the overall application submission.  In addition to historical financial statements, applicants typically have to provide financial forecasts, along with supplemental forecasted operating data; typically for a three year period.

For many healthcare organizations, the challenge in the application process is simply not having the requisite financial and operating data readily available to submit an accurate and timely application.  Accordingly, having up-to-date accounting records, financial reports, patient volume data, payer data, service line data, full-time equivalent employee data, and other operating and statistical data is imperative if the application process is to be successful.

Once a grant application is approved, funds are generally disbursed over a certain period of time.  The funding for the VAP program, for example, was disbursed over a three year period.  During the funding period, the applicant is typically required to submit additional financial and operational data to the DOH, usually quarterly, to attest that the healthcare organization is meeting the financial and operational goals that were specified in the original application.  Failure to provide such reports in a timely manner can nullify the grant, therefore, it is of utmost importance that financial records and operating reports be kept up to date.

If you would like assistance in identifying and/or applying for healthcare grants, as well as developing and implementing the requisite financial and operational reporting required for healthcare grants when they become available, please contact one of the partners in Gettry Marcus CPA’s health care group who can assist you and provide you with the necessary guidance.

Gettry Marcus CPA, P.C.’s health care group is comprised of CPA’s who provide accounting, tax, audit, financial, and business consulting to physicians, hospitals and other providers across the health care spectrum.  If you would like to discuss how one of our health care CPA advisors can assist you, please contact Lee Ferber, CPA.