May 26, 2016 Edition of ASAP

ASAP

A Weekly Publication Of HCA Home Care Association of New York State

Legislative Issues  Public Policy



News

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016

Use HCA’s Online Legislative Action Center to Voice Opposition on CMS Prior-Authorization Proposal As you read in last week’s ASAP, HCA wrote to New York’s Congressional Delegation expressing firm objections to a recently announced “prior-authorization” demo for Medicare home health services.

We are asking Congress to weigh in with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rescind this disastrous rule, but we need your help to echo our concerns with your Congressional representatives.

See VOICE p. 3

HCA Submits FOIA Request Regarding FLSA Funds Last Friday, as indicated in the May 20 ASAP, HCA submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request for Records to obtain a listing of the exact amounts of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) monies that managed care plans have given to home care providers in their networks.

The FOIA follows an HCA inquiry to the state Department of Health (DOH) for this information.

DOH instructed HCA that a FOIA form would be necessary for our information request. As soon as HCA receives this information, we will report on it.

See FOIA p. 2

Inside ASAP Act Now on CMS Prior-Authorization Proposal................................1 HCA Submits FOIA Request Regarding FLSA Funds........................1

Due to an editorial scheduling conflict, HCA is publishing ASAP on Thursday, instead of Friday, this week. Our offices are closed on Monday, May 30, for Memorial Day and will reopen on Tuesday. We will resume Friday publication of ASAP next week: on June 3.

Flu No Longer Prevalent: Mask Requirement Suspended................4 A Warning about Heat Emergencies.................................................4 HCA Invites You to Bring The Vote Home-NY....................................5 June 17 VBP Conference Exclusive to HCA Members........................8 Rule Finalized for “Immediate” Personal Care Needs.......................8 Reminder: June 2 Webinar on Medicare Documentation, F2F........10 2015 LTHHCP Cost Report Software Posted...................................10 State Posts 2016 Hospice Residence Base Rates, RTR Add-ons.....11 June 15 HCA Bootcamp Eyes HIPAA, PHI Data Risks......................11 New HCA Webinar on Home Health Quality Initiatives..................12 Important UAS Update: Ensure Your Continued Access................12 MEVS and DVS Manual Updated.....................................................12 Publications............................................................................................12

Helping New Yorkers Feel Right At Home

ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

FOIA from p. 1 HCA is committed to our push for transparency and consistency in the FLSA-related fund distributions, as there has been little of either (consistency or transparency) thus far. Members report confusion and opacity as to why they are being awarded specific amounts or no monies, even after they’ve reviewed the plan methodology chart requested by HCA and later posted by DOH. That chart is at http://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/2016/docs/ dist_meth.pdf.

With the coming implementation of a minimum wage hike – and promised funding on the horizon for these new wage costs, albeit at thus-far insufficient levels – it is even more important that we are persistent in resolving the issues with the state’s distribution methods for these dollars. Providers must receive appropriate amounts of money for related expenses.

Meanwhile, in another development, the federal government is changing the overtime rule for “whitecollar” workers, extending the salary range – from $35,100 to $47,476 – for employees who are entitled to overtime pay, as long as they meet a “duties” test in addition to the salary threshold. As HCA explained to Crain’s Health Pulse in a report on Wednesday, this latest overtime rule comes “at a time when several recent labor changes have converged to complicate the payroll-management and fiscal sustainability of many home care agencies,” including such labor costs as the FLSA changes, the minimum wage hike, wage parity, as well as procedural issues related to cost-coverage distributions. HCA welcomes any impact data you have on the newest overtime mandate for “whitecollar” employees as we continue to assess this latest requirement on home care.

For more information, contact Andrew Koski at (518) 810-0662 or akoski@hcanys.org.

ASAP is a weekly publication of the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA). Unless otherwise noted, all articles appearing in ASAP are the property of the Home Care Association of New York State. Reuse of any content within this newsletter requires permission from HCA. President: Editor:

Joanne Cunningham, jcunningham@hcanys.org Roger L. Noyes, Director of Communications, rnoyes@hcanys.org Al Cardillo, Executive Vice President, Policy & Programs, acardillo@hcanys.org Patrick Conole, Vice President, Finance & Management, pconole@hcanys.org Andrew Koski, Vice President, Program Policy and Services, akoski@hcanys.org Alexandra Blais, Director of Public Policy, ablais@hcanys.org Laura Constable, Senior Director, Membership & Operations, lconstable@hcanys.org Celisia Street, Director of Education, cstreet@hcanys.org Mercedes Teague, Finance Manager, mteague@hcanys.org Jenny Kerbein, Director of Governance and Special Projects, jkerbein@hcanys.org Billi Hoen, Manager, Meeting and Events, bhoen@hcanys.org Teresa Brown, Administrative Assistant, tbrown@hcanys.org 388 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY 12207 Tele: 518-426-8764; Fax: 518-426-8788; Website www.hcanys.org

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Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016

ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State VOICE from p. 1 This week, HCA alerted you to a message posted on our Legislative Action Center allowing you, your staff, your board, and others to write Congress against CMS’s proposal. This message stresses: access-tocare impacts of the prior-authorization rule; the unprecedented overreach of requiring presumptive, prepayment audits at the outset of care; the proposal’s steering of authority from provider-level caretransitions teams to third-party bureaucrats contracted for priorauthorization; and the fact that existing audit problems (like denials for obscure documentation rules) would be extended to the prepayment phases of initiating care.

Please send this advocacy message today.

It takes about a minute of time and we need hundreds of providers to write Congress to ensure that home care’s voices are heard. All you need to do is visit the campaign link at http://p2a.co/ jwEDFGY, enter your contact information and click “Send Email.” Please urge your staff to do the same.

We’ve published the advocacy message as a sidebar (this page) in case you would like to use the text in phone calls or other direct outreach to Congress.

HCA has also been working with the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and other organizations on a separate Congressional letter to CMS targeting this rule. The letter is being led by Reps. Tom Price (R-GA) and Jim McGovern (D-MA). With the urging of HCA and provider members, the letter bears signatures from New York Members of Congress, including Reps. Peter King and Yvette Clarke. HCA will keep you posted about all developments on this issue.

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HCA Message to Congress: Legislative Action Center Dear Member of Congress: As a home care representative and constituent in New York State, I am writing to urge your action against a federal “prior-authorization program,” newly proposed for Medicare home health services, which is overreaching and unprecedented in its threat to cost-effective services.

By now you have received a letter from the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA) asking you to contact the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in protest to this disastrous priorauthorization rule. I echo HCA’s call for CMS to rescind this ill-sighted prior-authorization program, joining home care organizations nationally and your colleagues in Congress who have already gone on record as staunchly opposed.

CMS’s program would conduct “prior-authorization” audits before processing claims for home health services in Florida, Texas, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts.

New York is not currently included in the demonstration, though it is very likely that the pilot will be extended to all states.

There are multiple problems with this proposal. For one, it steers decision-making about home health care decisions over to a private Medicare contractor, forcing patients to await determinations from these third-party bureaucrats during the critical hours when they need health care and other supports at home.

As a result, this rule increases costs and denies access to services that beneficiaries need and are entitled to. It will cause many patients to remain in more expensive settings (like hospitals) as they await discharge to home care, revoking the authority of knowledgeable and experienced care-transition teams to determine that home care is the most appropriate option.

Home care providers are already at risk for post-payment audits (after care is rendered) if they don’t make the right Continued on next page 3

ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State Continued from previous page call or don’t follow strict documentation rules and other regulations when initiating or delivering home care. Providers know the rules and are otherwise subject to audit penalties for not following them.

These existing, retrospective audit programs disallow payment substantially on the basis of obscure documentation rules that have nothing to do with eligibility, need, or appropriateness of home care delivered. While these postpayment audits are problematic, prior-authorization is far worse because it would deny – or in the very least delay – home care services upfront, before a home care nurse, aide, or therapist even has a chance to set foot in the patient’s home to render care.

These presumptive decisions would occur for all agencies in the demo, whether or not they have a record of high quality and compliance.

This rule is a solution in search of a problem that does not exist, given the audit mechanisms already in place; but at least these current audit threats, as problematic as they are, don’t put patients in limbo awaiting care determinations.

In the strongest possible terms, I ask you to contact CMS officials, explain your profound objections to this proposal, and urge CMS to rescind this overreaching proposal. Thank you for your consideration of this important and urgent request.

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

Influenza No Longer Prevalent: Mask Requirement Suspended Late last Friday, after ASAP went to press, the state Health Commissioner declared that influenza is no longer prevalent in New York State as of May 20.

The notice is at http://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/ 05/Influenza-_DOH_052016.pdf.

This means that home care and other health care providers are no longer subject to the mask requirement this season, which applies to their workers who are not vaccinated against influenza. Under this requirement, providers must ensure that these unvaccinated workers wear surgical or procedure masks while in areas where patients are typically present.

This requirement had been in effect since February 11, 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions regarding the requirement and other resources are available at http://health.ny.gov/FluMaskReg. For more information, questions can be sent to FluMaskReg@health.ny.gov.

A Warning about Heat Emergencies as Summer Season Sets In On Wednesday, New York City’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) issued a reminder to members about heat emergencies during the summer season.

OEM specifically notes that “during periods of very hot weather, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs are at a greater risk for heat-related illness.” Older adults, people with chronic medical, psychiatric conditions, and those taking certain medications should take caution and consult with a physician during these periods, as they are at particular risk for related complications.

OEM has made available a document for providers to share with clients who could be at risk during extreme heat events (see https:/ /advancewarningsystemnyc.org/sites/default/files/ Heat%20Tips%20for%20Service%20Providers.pdf ). OEM also has a checklist that providers can use for guidance during periods of hot weather (see http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/ pdf/ehs/provider-heat-checklists.pdf ).

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ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

HCA Invites Y ou to Br ing The V ote Home-NY You Bring Vote As announced in an e-mail alert earlier this week, HCA is excited to formally introduce you to Bring The Vote Home New York (BTVH-NY)!

HCA President Joanne Cunningham previewed this new campaign at HCA’s Annual Conference earlier this month. And now, this week, we are formally launching New York’s version of this national initiative, which is helping home care patients get registered and able to vote, so their voices are heard in the political process. Click the video image (at right) to learn more.

Bring the Vote Home is taking place in states across the country, including New York. In essence, the campaign offers an easy process for your staff to distribute forms during home visits so their patients can register and receive an absentee ballot. HCA is sponsoring the New York part of the campaign. To learn more, please check out our website at www.bringthevotehomeny.org.

Here is a sample of the material we will be providing your staff to distribute to patients: http://www.bringthevotehomeny.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/BTVH-BrochureUpdated.pdf. Please feel free to review this material but you don’t need to begin using it yet; we will provide you with more information soon on how to use this document and others.

Why BTVH? We estimate that over 400,000 people receive home care here in New York. That’s thousands of potentially new voters whom your staff can arm with voter registration forms and an absentee ballot so patients can easily vote from home, and so patients are no longer prevented from voting because of a life-limiting illness or disability that keeps them from traveling to the polls.

Continued on next page 5

ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

Continued Continued from previous page This initiative helps your patients. It also makes elected officials more responsive and alert to a growing home care electorate – and that means better policies for home care services and beneficiaries.

How to Participate If you are interested in learning more about Bring the Vote Home New York, or already know you’d like your agency to participate, please complete the online form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JBFW7SB. Once we hear that you are interested in participating, HCA will follow up soon with more information, including fact sheets and a schedule of conference calls to discuss next steps with participating agencies! We’ll also be happy to come to your organization to provide orientation about this initiative.

Please note that we are using the online registration form simply to identify interested organizations whose leaders want to know more and are likely to participate. Your completion of the online form is not a formal commitment to participate; it’s just a way for us to connect with you on the campaign in the hopes that you will choose to implement Bring The Vote Home at your agency in the very near future.

BTVH-NY Champions To help with education and implementation, we ask that you assign a point person from your agency (called a BTVH-NY Champion) who we can communicate with. This person will, in turn, provide instructions to the rest of your staff so they can distribute forms to patients interested in voting. Your agency’s Champion will also help monitor the progress of this initiative, answer questions, etc.

BTVH-NY is designed to be quick and easy, and any participating staff will be given explicit instructions about what to do, as well as what not to do. HCA is available to answer any questions and provide support along the way to you, your BTVH-NY Champions and participating staff. Our goal is for Bring The Vote Home New York to distribute thousands of voter registration forms and/or absentee ballot applications in 2016. Thank you for doing your part to help us reach that goal.

Bonus Prize BONUS: The first 15 people to complete the registration process expressing interest will be entered to win a $250 VISA gift card!

We hope you’ll join us! We can’t wait to get started!

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ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

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ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

June 17 VBP Conference Exclusive to HCA Members Get in on a hot policy topic and big game-changer program just for you and other members of HCA! As previously announced, on June 17 we are offering a special conference in Nanuet called Cut Through the Volume: Learn What Value-based Payment (VBP) Really Means for Your Organization.

We’ve designed this program as an affordable option for your organization to register a few members of your team for group strategic planning. We also view this extremely topical program as a member benefit, and we’re leaving the doors open to HCA members only – whether you are a provider/plan member needing help navigating payment changes or an associate member needing information to help clients.

When it comes to the home care implications of value-based payments (a top state and federal focus of policy change), you won’t be able to find this level of speaker expertise and access anywhere else. But registrations are rapidly filing in, so please be sure to reserve your spot now using the form at the link below.

As announced in last week’s ASAP newsletter, we have a newly announced introductory speaker at the conference: KPMG expert Jason Ganns. KPMG is one of the “big-four” global auditing firms, with teams specializing in health care professional services, including New York State contracts for design of its valuebased payment program. Mr. Ganns will bring to the June 17 HCA conference a unique inside look at the design process, goals and expectations of New York’s VBP Roadmap.

Providers must gain as much information as possible in order to succeed in an environment stressing a shift from “volume” to “value” under Medicaid and Medicare. The June 17 conference will not only show how to operate in the many VBP arrangements driven by the state and federal governments, but you can also expect insights on using your data to: create meaningful benchmarks, focus on clinical outcomes, and prepare your staff for VBP. Cut Through the Volume: Learn What Value-based Payment Really Means for Your Organization June 17, 2016 Nanuet, NY Download the registration form at http://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/HCAVBPProgramBrochureJune172016.pdf

Rule Finalized for Those with “Immediate” Personal Care Needs The state Department of Health (DOH) has finalized a rule implementing 2015 state law changes regarding Medicaid applicants and recipients who have an “immediate need” for personal care services (PCS) and/or Consumer Directed Personal Assistance (CDPA).

The rule establishes expedited procedures for local departments of social services (LDSS) to determine Medicaid eligibility and PCS/CDPA eligibility for Medicaid applicants with an immediate need for personal care services. The term “Medicaid applicant with an immediate need for personal care services” includes two groups: 1. Those who are not authorized for any type of Medicaid coverage; Continued on next page 8

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016

ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

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Continued from previous page 2. Those who are authorized for Medicaid community-based coverage that does not include long-term care services such as PCS. Eligible individuals must provide the social services district with a physician’s order for personal care services and a signed attestation, on a DOH form. The attestation will state that they:  Have an immediate need for personal care services;  Have no informal caregivers;  Are not receiving personal care services from a home care services agency;  Have no adaptive or specialized equipment or supplies to meet their needs; and  Have no third party insurance or Medicare benefits available to pay for needed assistance.

LDSSs must then determine whether a Medicaid applicant with an immediate need for PCS is eligible for Medicaid, and to notify the applicant within seven calendar days after receipt of a complete Medicaid application.

As soon as possible after receipt of such an application, but no later than twelve calendar days, the social services district would obtain or complete a social assessment, nursing assessment and an assessment of other services. These assessments will determine whether the Medicaid applicant, if deemed eligible for Medicaid, would be eligible for PCS/CDPA and, if so, the amount and duration of services that would be authorized.

Immediate need personal care services may be a way to provide assistance to individuals who are not receiving home care services and cannot wait the time it takes to undergo an assessment and enrollment into a managed care plan.

For those individuals who are not exempt or excluded from managed care enrollment, the district would authorize services to be provided only until the person is enrolled into managed care. However, in the “Assessment of Public Comment” section of the State Register, DOH clarifies that managed care plans are required to provide the district-authorized amount of PCS or CDPA for the applicable transition-of-care period (90 days for managed long term care plans).

Furthermore, after the end of the transition period, any plan changes to district-authorized PCS and CDPA services are subject to timely and adequate notice requirements.

The rule is published in the May 25 State Register at http://docs.dos.ny.gov/info/register/2016/may25/ pdf/rulemaking.pdf (page 14). DOH is expected to issue an Administrative Directive with detailed instructions; once posted, HCA will notify members.

For more information, contact Andrew Koski at (518) 810-0662 or akoski@hcanys.org.

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ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

Reminder: June 2 HCA-Cosponsored Webinar for Medicare Documentation, F2F HCA reminds members that we are co-sponsoring a free webinar on June 2 (10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) facilitated

by National Government Services (NGS) whose staff will outline Medicare home health eligibility and documentation requirements.

This effort is a partnership between HCA and provider association colleagues (the Healthcare Association of New York State and the Medical Society of the State of New York).

The webinar will feature two NGS speakers with information and guidance to hospitals, home health agencies, and all providers about the shared responsibilities for referring Medicare beneficiaries to home health services. The purpose of this unique, joint initiative is to ensure that all involved – hospital-discharging physicians, community physicians and home care providers – are aware of the collective responsibility to facilitate the documentation standards. Additionally, this session is an opportunity to engage and educate nonhome-care providers about the needs for timely processing of required paperwork for home care billing.

Online registration for this June 2 webinar is provided by NGS at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9076336920263410177.

Registrants are invited to e-mail their pre-webinar questions to HCA at pconole@hcanys.org before May 31.

Please address these questions for the speakers so that we can compile them and forward them for answering

by NGS.

2015 LTHHCP Cost Report Software Posted The state Department of Health (DOH) has posted the 2015 LTHHCP Medicaid cost report software, along with a related Dear Administrator Letter (DAL), to the Health Commerce System (HCS) at https:// commerce.health.state.ny.us.

To access the software, providers must enter their HCS user ID and password, select “LTHHCP Cost Report” under “my applications,” and then scroll down to access the 2015 cost report software for download.

The application was revised to reflect a change in the Department’s internal process for accepting and storing cost report data, and now requires a separate link for users to review historical cost report information for reports submitted prior to April 29, 2015. There are no changes to the process for uploading 2015 cost report information, and users should certify the finalized 2015 cost reports on the link identified as “after APR-292015.”

The LTHHCP cost report and certifications must be submitted by August 15, 2016.

DOH also told HCA that all LTHHCPs are expected to file a cost report if they provided services and received Medicaid or other payor revenue in 2015, even if the LTHHCP in question has closed or is no longer operating.

Specific questions on the cost report should be directed to DOH’s Russ Smith at (518) 473-4421. To resolve any problems or questions regarding the electronic mail network or HCS, contact the help line at 1-866-529-1890.

For further information, contact Patrick Conole at (518) 810-0661 or pconole@hcanys.org.

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ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

State Posts 2016 Hospice Residence Base Rates, RTR Add-ons The state Department of Health (DOH) has announced the approval and publication of Medicaid hospice residence base rates as well as corresponding Recruitment, Training and Retention (RTR) add-ons for the current calendar year ( January 1 to December 31, 2016).

Providers should have received a Dear Administrator Letter with the rates attached. HCA has posted a spreadsheet with the rates at http://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-HOSPICE-RESIDENCE-RegionalRATE-SPREADSHEET.pdf. These rates will soon be posted to the Department’s website as well.

As reflected in the spreadsheet, the base rates represent 94 percent of the weighted average calendar year Medicaid rates of nursing facilities in each wage equalization factor (WEF) region. The rates also include a payment add-on of $9.92 per day for agencies that have filed certifications for RTR. These funds are solely for the purposes of improving recruitment, training and retention of non-supervisory personnel with direct patient care responsibility.

The rates were forwarded to the Division of Program Operations and Systems for payment. Questions about the rates can be directed to DOH’s Russ Smith at (518) 473-4421.

6/15 HCA Bootcamp with Attorney Frank Fanshawe Eyes HIPAA, PHI Risks HCA’s Counsel Frank Fanshawe is an expert on HIPAA compliance, particularly in the cyber security realm, which is the subject of an HCA “Bootcamp” program he is leading on June 15 in New York City: HIPAA eRisks and Responses for Home Care Agencies. Please register today at http://hca-nys.org/wp-content/ uploads/2016/03/June-15-Survival-Bootcamp-HIPAA-eRisks-Registration-Form.pdf.

Mr. Fanshawe has written extensively about the legal issues of HIPAA eRisks and protected health information for HCA and other audiences, especially in light of several high-profile cases involving data breaches that are cautionary tales for home care providers.

Indeed, the complexities of the HIPAA and HITECH regulatory framework, including cyber security, are some of the most critical compliance issues facing home care and other health care providers. In an environment where data breaches occur with increasing frequency, federal regulators have amplified their auditing and investigations of provider compliance with the HIPAA/HITECH. Recent violations have resulted in substantial financial penalties levied against providers.

HCA’s June 15 workshop will review what constitutes Protected Health Information (PHI) and the regulations related to the sharing of PHI. Most importantly, you will learn about: the critical aspects of cybersecurity compliance; common areas for HIPAA violations; compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules; and what’s required (from a compliance perspective) when the inevitable data breach occurs, such as a stolen laptop or lost thumb drive that contains protected health information.

HIPAA eRisks and Responses for Home Care Agencies June 15, 2016 130 East 59th Street (near Lexington Ave.), 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022 9 a.m. to noon Download the registration form at http://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/June-15-SurvivalBootcamp-HIPAA-eRisks-Registration-Form.pdf.

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ASAP – a publication of the Home Care Association of New York State

Volume 21, No. 21 May 26, 2016 

New HCA Webinar on Home Health Quality Initiatives On June 23, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., HCA is holding a webinar on Home Health Quality Initiatives. This great topic in a convenient webinar format is an excellent opportunity to get a handle on the cascade of new quality requirements, regulations and initiatives affecting home care providers now and on the horizon.

Federal quality initiatives for home health have escalated significantly over the last year. Quality of Patient Care and Patient Survey Star Ratings are available on the Medicare Home Health Compare website; agencies must now meet an OASIS quality reporting threshold; and a pay-for-performance demonstration project has begun in nine states. Meanwhile, new on the horizon are proposed changes to the federal Conditions of Participation that require a Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement program. The OASIS data collection also continues to evolve, and OASIS-C2 is scheduled to be implemented in 2017 with a new crosssetting item.

The presenter for this webinar program is Heather Jones, MPH, CHES, COS-C, Associate Vice President for Quality Initiatives and State Relations for AHHC/SCHCA. She’ll will provide an update on the CMS initiatives and specify resources that are available to support agencies’ quality improvement efforts.

Download the brochure here: http://hca-nys.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ QualityInitiativesFlyer.pdf.

Important UAS Update: Ensure Your Continued Access The state Department of Health (DOH) has sent an informational message reminding Uniform Assessment System (UAS-NY) users that Course 1025 will become a required course on May 30, 2016.

If you have not completed this course by May 30, you will not be able to access the UAS-NY. Questions about the UAS can be directed to (518) 408-1021 or usany@health.ny.gov.

MEVS and DVS Manual Updated Recently, eMedNY posted a revised provider manual entitled “Medicaid Eligibility Verification System (MEVS) and Dispensing Validation System (DVS).” It can be viewed at: https://www.emedny.org/ ProviderManuals/5010/MEVS/MEVS_DVS_Provider_Manual_(5010).pdf.

Information about eMedNY training for providers in June is posted at: https://www.emedny.org/training/ index.aspx.

Publications 1. “What Ails Medicaid in New York And Does the Medicaid Redesign Team Have a Cure?” by the Citizens Budget Commission of NYC http://www.cbcny.org/sites/default/files/REPORT_MEDICAID_05232016_0.pdf Continued on next page 12

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Continued from previous page 2. “Medicaid: Vulnerabilities Related to Provider Enrollment and Ownership Disclosure,” by the Office of Inspector General http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-04-11-00590.pdf 3. “Medicare: Vulnerabilities Related to Provider Enrollment and Ownership Disclosure,” by the Office of Inspector General http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-04-11-00591.pdf 4. “Medicaid Enhanced Provider Enrollment Screenings Have Not Been Fully Implemented,” by the Office of Inspector General http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-05-13-00520.pdf For more information, contact Andrew Koski at (518) 810-0662 or akoski@hcanys.org.

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