| Electronic Visit Verification for Medicaid Home Health Care Services Requirement Reminder Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is reminding states of their responsibility to implement electronic visit verification (EVV) for Medicaid home health care services (HHCS) as required by section 12006(a) of the 21st Century Cures Act (the Cures Act) by January 1, 2023. States not in compliance with these requirements will be subject to incremental Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) reductions. States that encounter barriers, which cause unavoidable delays in achieving compliance by January 1, 2023, may submit a good faith effort application for CMS consideration and, if approved, the state will not be required to implement EVV for HHCS until January 1, 2024. With the HHCS compliance date approaching, CMS is requesting that states either submit a survey response to self-report their EVV implementation status for HHCS or apply for a good faith effort exemption beginning in July of 2022, but no later than December 1, 2022. EVV Compliance Survey for HHCS In advance of the January 1, 2020 EVV compliance date for personal care services (PCS), CMS developed and launched a web-based survey tool for State Medicaid Directors to use to affirm compliance with EVV requirements. The survey tool includes two separate options for states to report their EVV implementation status for PCS and HHCS. States that anticipate full compliance for HHCS by January 1, 2023 are advised to submit or update their survey response for HHCS by December 1, 2022. The EVV compliance survey materials are available to view on Reginfo.gov. CMS will be following up with State Medicaid Directors in July 2022 with specific instructions for completing the survey online. Good Faith Effort Application for HHCS The Cures Act includes a provision that allows states to delay implementation of EVV for HHCS for up to one year if they can demonstrate they have made a good faith effort to comply and have encountered unavoidable delays. CMS will accept requests for good faith effort exemptions for HHCS beginning July 1, 2022. CMS strongly encourages states to submit good faith effort exemption requests by November 1, 2022. To a request a good faith effort exemption, states are required to use the form titled "Good Faith Effort Request Form – Home Health Care Services." The form can be downloaded from Reginfo.gov. Please be advised that only the Medicaid Director or his/her designee can submit this form. Please send completed forms to the EVV mailbox at EVV@cms.hhs.gov with the subject line "[State Name] EVV Good Faith Effort Exemption Request." The EVV mailbox will acknowledge receipt of the form. Only one form per state should be submitted. States that receive approval for a good faith effort exemption do not need to complete an EVV compliance survey response for HHCS until December 1, 2023. Please be advised that CMS does not have authority to extend the timeframe allotted for implementation or the associated FMAP reduction specified in statute. Please email EVV@cms.hhs.gov with any questions about the compliance survey or good faith effort processes. __________________________________________________________________ Guidance for Completing the EVV "Good Faith Effort" Extension and Compliance Survey for Home Health Care Services Date: July 13, 2022 Time: 1:30 – 3:00pm EST This training will discuss upcoming requirements included in the 21st Century Cures Act surrounding the implementation of electronic visit verification for home health care services (HHCS). CMS will outline whether and how to apply for a one-year "Good Faith Effort" extension and provide detailed instructions for how and when State Medicaid Directors should complete the web-based attestation of compliance for HHCS. Please register for this webinar HERE. __________________________________________________________________ Next Data Submission Period for the CAHPS® Home and Community-Based Services Survey: August 8–26, 2022 Users of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS CAHPS) Survey can submit their data to the HCBS CAHPS Database from August 8–26, 2022. Note that the submission timeline for 2022 is earlier than it was last year. All survey data collected from July 1, 2018–December 31, 2021, can be submitted to the Database. Participation will facilitate comparisons of HCBS CAHPS Survey findings by individual states and HCBS program types. Participation is free, voluntary, and open to all HCBS CAHPS Survey users. CMS is providing advanced notice to ensure states, managed care plans, and supporting entities have adequate time to prepare data use agreements and database submissions. In preparation for uploading information to the Database, HCBS CAHPS Survey users are encouraged to download and complete the HCBS CAHPS Database Data Use Agreement as soon as possible. Users may submit it before August 8, 2022, to HCBSCAHPSDatabase@Westat.com. The HCBS CAHPS Database is a joint project of CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Learn more about the submission requirements. The HCBS CAHPS survey versions eligible for submission are: - Adult Survey 1.0 and
- Adult Survey 1.0 with the supplemental Employment Module.
For more information about the HCBS CAHPS Database, contact 855-580-4657 or HCBSCAHPSDatabase@Westat.com. For technical assistance with HCBS CAHPS implementation, contact HCBSmeasures@Lewin.com. | 
