DOH Sets Expectations for 2020 Home Care Cost Report
The Department of Health (DOH) met with LeadingAge NY and home care provider associations last week regarding the upcoming Home Care Cost Report requirement for Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs), Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs), and Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs). More information on the reporting requirement is available here. DOH has not yet scheduled the due dates for the next cost report or the LHCSA Statistical Report, which last year were Oct. 31st and Nov. 16th, respectively.
Some minor changes will be made to the cost report. DOH will gray out some prior red cells in Schedule 4 to clarify that no data is required. Some fields in Schedules 3 and 4 regarding Program Administration are intended to provide checks on data accuracy. The report will not allow agency completion/submission of the report unless these fields within the report match up. Providers will be able to download and print out the full cost report in Excel for their own files. It will be a mirror of the cost report submission.
Some of the questions for the 2020 report will capture COVID-19 expenses and federal funding received by agencies. DOH stated that those federal dollars were not being compiled to factor into the reimbursement rate. They did state that provider personal protective equipment (PPE) costs would flow into the rate.
The Department has set new expectations for the upcoming Home Care Cost Report process. For the 2019 Cost Report carried out in 2020, the report was new to many providers, and the State recognized that many would not have the data in place to accurately report. The 2020 Home Care Cost Report process will be carried out with the expectation that providers are now collecting this data, and information should be accurate. They emphasized that moving forward, the report is no longer in the learning period phase, but that reporting and post-audit phases will require accurate and complete information and supporting documentation.
Post-report audits will be random and will focus on Schedules 3, 4, and 5. FIs should note that if they close their operations in 2021 and were operating in 2020, they must still complete the cost report or be subject to penalties. Agencies reporting will be given new passwords to submit supporting documentation, but their passwords to the online tool will remain in place.
LeadingAge NY will alert members to upcoming webinars on the report and the reporting schedule for both the Home Care Cost Report and the LHCSA Statistical Report.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-929-9342