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DOH Issues Stakeholder Convening Report on Electronic Visit Verification

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued its Stakeholder Convening Report this week regarding State implementation of Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), as mandated by the federal 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act). The law requires Medicaid providers of personal care services (PCS) to implement EVV by Jan. 1, 2020 and providers of Medicaid home health care services (HHCS) to implement the requirement by Jan. 1, 2023. Each state is charged with creating and implementing its own program.

The report provides a summary of public feedback from DOH’s listening sessions held over the summer. Stakeholders included administrators and workers of licensed home care services agencies (LHCSAs) and certified home health agencies (CHHAs); consumers and personal assistants participating in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP); fiscal intermediaries (FIs); consumers in the Community Habilitation/Skills Acquisition, Maintenance and Enhancement (SAME) program; EVV vendors; Medicaid beneficiaries; caregivers; family members; advocacy groups; and managed long term care (MLTC) plans. The report summarizes the feedback received at those sessions and provides the results of the DOH survey of personal care and home care providers.

The Cures Act, which mandates EVV compliance in all states, includes a provision that allows for the delay of EVV implementation for up to one year if a state has encountered unavoidable delays, as demonstrated in a good faith effort (GFE). The Department intends to request a one-year GFE extension from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by Nov. 30, 2019.

In the instance that CMS does not grant New York State a one-year extension, the Cures Act requires the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rate for PCS in calendar year 2020 to be decreased by 0.25 percentage points. Non-implementation in outyears calls for FMAP to be reduced by 0.5 percentage points for calendar quarters in 2021 and by 0.75 percentage points for calendar quarters in 2022. For calendar quarters in 2023 and each year thereafter, FMAP is reduced by 1 percentage point. For HHCS, the same increments apply, but the FMAP reductions do not start until 2023.

The report summary emphasizes many of the concerns that LeadingAge NY raised in its EVV comment letter:

  • interest and support for a provider choice model;
  • concern and opposition to personal tracking of consumers and providers of care, particularly with regard to GPS, biometrics, and geo-fencing;
  • concern that GPS tracking will lead to a further decrease in workers providing such care;
  • interest in financial assistance with implementation;
  • support for flexibility and accessibility of EVV systems;
  • the need for guidance regarding cybersecurity protocols and reporting of EVV data; and
  • support for maintaining multifunctional EVV systems that allow for scheduling, Plan of Care, quality measures, and other features to be utilized.

Please see the Department’s EVV website, which will be updated to reflect the status of the State’s GFE submission and CMS’s determination. Also, you can learn more about the requirement on CMS’s EVV page.

Stakeholder engagement will continue as this requirement is rolled out. Please contact our office if you have concerns or questions.

Contact: Meg Carr Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871