Federal officials this week issued long-awaited guidelines to help states comply with an upcoming Medicaid requirement that service providers electronically check in when providing in-home care to people with disabilities.
But advocates say there still isn’t enough time for states to implement the program by January 2019, while grappling with concerns about privacy and costs. They are calling on Congress to extend the deadline, noting that states will lose federal funds if they don’t comply.
The 21st Century CURES Act was enacted by Congress in December 2016 and included a provision for “electronic visit verification,” or EVV, in order to prevent fraud. The scope of who the program would apply to was unclear until Wednesday when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the requirement excludes people living in group homes or other 24-hour facilities but does cover personal care and home health services provided in any other type of home.