DOH Announces Webinar on EVV for Home Health Care Services, Posts HHCS Billing Codes Subject to EVV

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) is hosting a webinar on Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) for the upcoming home health care services (HHCS) EVV implementation. During the webinar, the Department will provide a high-level overview of EVV and information on the inclusion of HHCS, which will be subject to New York State EVV requirements beginning Jan. 1, 2023. The federal 21^st Century Cures Act, enacted in 2016, established this requirement. EVV for personal care services (PCS) in the home went into effect in January 2021.

The webinar is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2021 at 11 a.m. Registration is required to attend and can be accessed here.

In addition to the webinar, the Department has posted a draft list of applicable HHCS billing codes subject to EVV on the EVV website. Providers are encouraged to review the draft list and provide any relevant feedback to DOH at EVVHelp@health.ny.gov by Dec. 15, 2021. After all feedback has been reviewed, DOH will publish a finalized list of EVV-applicable billing codes that adds the HHCS codes to the finalized PCS codes.

EVV is used to:

• Verify visits on a real-time basis, including date, location, type of service, individual(s) providing and receiving services, and duration of service(s)
• Validate hours of work for home health employees
• Eliminate billing data entry mistakes
• Reduce costs related to paper billing and payroll
• Help combat fraud, waste, and abuse

The following list provides the programs affected by the implementation of EVV for PCS and HHCS:

• 1905(a)(24) State Plan Personal Care Benefit
  • Consumer Directed Personal Assistance (CDPA)
  • Personal Care Assistance (PCAI and II)
• 1905(a)(7) State Plan Home Health Services
  • Home health services authorized under a waiver of the plan
• 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services waivers
  • Children's Waiver
  • Nursing Home Transition and Diversion (NHTD)
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
  • Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) comprehensive
• 1115 Demonstration
  • CDPA
  • PCAI and II

To learn more about the EVV requirement, click here. To access the State’s site on implementation of the federal requirement, click here.

Questions may be directed to EVVHelp@health.ny.gov.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-929-9342