Earlier today, HRSA announced that the CY2017 FTCA Deeming Application deadline has been extended to 11:59 pm on Friday, May 27th.

The exention was granted after users reported application issues, including issues with the following:

1. Character Count:  All the comment boxes in the application have a set Character Limit which does not include spaces (e.g. 4000 characters); however, the system validation is limiting applicants to enter fewer characters than the Character Limit should allow.  Applicants then received a validation message that prevented them from saving their text. Per HRSA, this system issue will be resolved on May 20th.
2. Filename:  Uploaded documents on the FTCA application cannot contain special characters in the filename. Applicants that attempted to upload a document with special characters in the filename received an error and the document was uploaded to the application. The following special characters are not allowed in filenames: { } , & , ; ^ . = +.  Per HRSA, a note will be added to the application on May 20th to provide instructions on file naming conventions.

HRSA encourages all applicants to continue to complete elements of the deeming application that are not impacted by the character count issue.  The FTCA/BPHC Help Line is available for issues with your FTCA application: 1-877-974-BPHC (877-974-2742), 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM (ET).

In addition, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP has a variety of resources to help your organization with the application process. Click here for more on our training options including live trainings. If you have questions or need a consultation about the application, please contact the Health Care group at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, www.ftlf.com or 202-466-8960.