PRB General Distribution and ARP Rural FAQ

In accordance with the statutory requirements, to be eligible to apply for ARP Rural Payments, the applicant or at least one subsidiary TINs must have been:

1. A rural health clinic as defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of the Social Security Act; or
2. A provider treated as located in a rural area pursuant to section 1886(d)(8)(E), such as critical access hospitals; or
3. A provider or supplier that:
   1. Has directly billed for health care-related services between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020:
      1. Medicare fee-for-service (Parts A and/or B);
      2. Medicare Advantage (Part C)
      3. Their state/territory Medicaid program (fee-for service or managed care); or
      4. Their state/territory Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); and
   2. Operated in or served patients living in the HHS Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (FORHP) definition of a rural area:
      1. All non-Metro counties;
      2. All Census Tracts within a Metropolitan county that have a Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) code of 4-10. The RUCA codes allow the identification of rural Census Tracts in Metropolitan counties;
      3. 132 large area census tracts with RUCA codes 2 or 3. These tracts are at least 400 square miles in area with a population density of no more than 35 people per square mile; and
      4. 295 outlying Metropolitan counties with no Urbanized Area population.

(Added 9/29/2021)

Yes. To ensure the funds reach providers serving rural communities, control and use of the ARP Rural payment must be delegated to the entity that was eligible for and received the Payment. Unlike Phase 4 of the Provider Relief Fund, ARP Rural payment recipients must certify that they will allocate the ARP Rural payment to the provider(s) associated with the applicable subsidiary or billing TIN.

(Added 9/29/2021)

Yes. HRSA will use the most current definition of “rural” to calculate ARP Rural payments. The HHS Federal Office of Rural Health Policy recently expanded the definition of “rural.” For more information, please visit Defining Rural Population.

(Added 9/29/2021)