June 03, 2022

Phase 4 PRF On Hold Until Optum Pay Established

BY Nicole

HRSA has said that they have made multiple attempts to notify providers about this important step to secure their Phase 4 funding. This outreach was conducted by their contractor, UnitedHealth Group, and the communications would have been sent from: UHG_HRSA@ProviderEmail.uhc.com. Providers could start by checking their email inbox and spam or junk folders to see if these communications were misdirected. 

Providers who applied for Phase 4 PRF payments but have not yet received them should ensure that they have an Optum Pay account set up. If not, providers should begin the process now to establish an Optum Pay account, which can be done by visiting: https://myservices.optumhealthpaymentservices.com/beginEnrollment.do . The enrollment process can take up to two weeks to complete.  HRSA will continue to attempt to distribute payments to these eligible providers on a weekly basis but it could take up to 2 additional weeks after enrollment in Optum Pay for the provider to receive their Phase 4 payment. 

Here are the Optum Pay account set up instructions:

Visit https://myservices.optumhealthpaymentservices.com/beginEnrollment.do to begin the online enrollment process. Providers must use the TIN associated with their Phase 4 PRF application to enroll. This process will not involve credentialing or contracting with UnitedHealth Group. The information providers submit will only be used to administer PRF and ARP Rural payments. Required information:

  • Organization demographic information (name, phone number and email address)
  • Contact information for one or two individuals from the organization to support administration and oversight of the account, including editing bank account deposit information for any future payments
  • The organization’s banking information (routing number, account number and account type)
  • Clear, legible, and unaltered voided check and/or a bank letter signed and dated from a bank officer
  • Clear and legible IRS Form W-9 signed and dated within 1 year

HRSA encourages providers to claim their available funds as soon as possible. While they have not said anything further, it may be possible that funds that are not claimed soon may be returned to the remaining PRF bucket for redistribution to other providers. If providers encounter any trouble with the Optum Pay enrollment process, they should reach out to the Provider Support Line at 866-569-3522.