Application Process FAQs
Hospital and Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 Worker Retention Payments
1. How do I submit my employee's information?
As Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) develops a system for application and data submission, guidance and updates will be provided through various channels, including:
DHCS Worker Retention Payment (WRP)
webpage. DHCS will regularly update this page with useful content, including FAQs and submission information for eligible employees
Subscribe to the
WRP listserv.
DHCS weekly stakeholder updates
Collaborative messages from provider associations and SEIU
DHCS social media channels (Twitter,
Facebook)
2. What employee information will be required in the attestation?
At a minimum, Covered Entities (CEs) or Covered Services Employers (CSEs) will submit to DHCS the following information for each eligible worker by a date specified by DHCS (includes, but is not limited to):
Name of the eligible worker
Mailing address of the eligible worker
The total amount of matching retention payments that the CE or CSE paid or will pay to the eligible worker
Total number of hours for which the CE or CSE compensated the eligible worker during the qualifying work period
A list of CEs that are contracted with the CE or CSE
However, additional information necessary to make payments and ensure the appropriateness of payments will also be required. DHCS will provide more detailed guidance in the coming weeks.
3. Will CEs or CSEs that are a part of a large network be allowed to apply systemically rather than by location? (updated as of 11/18/2022)
Yes. DHCS supports
and encourages systemic applications, as long as the system entity qualifies as
a CE or CSE and is the employer of all system-wide workers. When completing the
application, you must submit applications for all qualified workers from each
qualified facility for which you are applying.
4. Does DHCS envision a process for eligible workers to receive payment if their employer refuses to submit an attestation for the base retention payment?
No, DHCS does not intend to make retention payments to individual eligible workers without the attestation from a CE or CSE.
5. What if there is a change in ownership of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) during the qualifying work period? How will the application and payment process work?
Eligible employees are entitled to payments. In the event the ownership of a CE or CSE changes during the qualifying work period, it is the responsibility of both the prior and new owner of the CE or CSE to notify DHCS and to take all actions necessary to ensure that eligible employees receive their retention payments.
6. For a qualifying medical group with physicians who are independent contractors or where the medical group contracts with another medical group for physician services, who would submit the application for the WRP?
Where the medical group has an independent contract with the physician's professional corporation, the physician's professional corporation would apply for payments. Similarly, when the medical group contracts with another medical group for physician services to be provided to a hospital, the other medical group would apply for payments.
7. For physicians who are working at qualified facilities through a contract arrangement between the facility and a physician group, is it the responsibility of the acute care facility or the physician group to submit the attestation for the eligible physicians?
Unless the physician is directly employed by the qualifying facility, the contracting physician group would apply for the funds and submit the attestation.
8. For application data to be submitted to DHCS, do we need to include the Social Security Number (SSN) of each eligible worker/eligible physician? (new as of 11/18/2022)
CEs or CSEs will be asked to include the last 4-digits of their SSN, or the worker's individual Taxpayer Identification Number issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
9. If a hospital contracts directly with a physician, does the Individual Physician apply for a retention payment? (new as of 11/18/2022)
If the Independent Physician is contracted through a Physician Group Entity (PGE), the PGE would be responsible for submitting an attestation on behalf of the eligible physician. If the hospital contracts directly with an Independent Physician, the physician will register and apply independently.
10. Should each CE submit their own application? For example, the University of California owns and operates multiple hospitals/campuses at different locations throughout the state. In other words, should UCLA, UCD, UCSF, UCI, UCSD, and UCR each have their own application, even though they are all owned by the University of California? Or, is this an issue each organization must decide? (new as of 11/18/2022)
Each CE must submit their own application on behalf of its own workers. However, if the University of California is the employer of workers at UCLA, UCD, UCSF, UCI, UCSD, and UCR, then the University of California will be the CE and may submit an application covering all of the qualified facilities.
11. In a hybrid work arrangement (part-time in person and part-time remote work), do we need to calculate only the onsite hours? (new as of 11/18/2022)
Only hours worked onsite for a single CE or CSE will be considered when determining whether a worker is full-time or part-time.
12. Can the work address be used as the mailing address? (new as of 11/18/2022)
For registration purposes, CEs and CSEs are required to provide the facility address. For application purposes, CEs and CSEs are required to provide mailing addresses for their qualifying workers.
13. Is there a template for submitting staff information? (new as of 11/18/2022)
Yes, a template will be provided to CEs, CSEs, and PGEs to submit information on behalf of eligible workers.
14. Will worker information included in the application be shared with anyone? (new as of 11/18/2022)
Worker names and information are collected solely for determining eligibility for retention payments. State laws protect the privacy of worker information, which will not be shared with anyone for purposes other than validation, nor posted on the DHCS WRP webpage.
15. If a hospital is owned by a corporate entity, and the corporate entity employs individuals who would be eligible for the retention payment, can the corporate entity's eligible workers be added to the hospital's application? Or would the corporate entity need to separately apply? (new as of 11/18/2022)
The corporate entity that owns the hospital is the CE and would apply on behalf of its eligible workers. However, workers must meet the eligibility requirements, which require at least 100 in-person (for part-time), or 400 in-person hours worked on the site of a qualifying facility. Accordingly, the corporate entity's workers who work in the corporate office and not onsite at a qualifying facility would not be eligible for a retention payment.
16. If a hospital/corporate entity/special district owns/controls a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and a hospital, can the workers of both the SNF and the hospital be combined when applying for retention payments? Or, do both the SNF and the hospital need to apply separately? (new as of 11/18/2022)
The hospital/corporate entity/special district may submit a single application for all facilities, as long as they are owned and operated by the same organization and share the same taxpayer identification number.
17. With the use of Outside Registry/Contract Personnel, who is responsible to report hours for worker eligibility for the retention payment? (new as of 11/18/2022)
Payments for Outside Registry/Contract Personnel should be claimed by the contracted CSEs. It is the CSE's responsibility to report hours and attest to the worker's eligibility for a retention payment.
