OCTOBER 27, 2020 | COMMUNICATION BULLETIN ISSUE 29 IN THIS ISSUE: Q&A Webinar for Vaya Health Network Providers | Last Call: September 2020 COVID-19 Hardship Payment Request Deadline | Home and Community Based Services Updates | 9-8-8 Signed into Law
Q&A Webinar for Vaya Health Network Providers Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Q&A Webinars for Vaya Network Providers take place every two weeks and are an important source of the most up-to-date information for providers. Registration is not required. All Vaya network providers are encouraged to join. This week’s topics include: NC Providers Council update, Medicaid service enhancements, COVID-19 flexibilities, Hope4NC and NCCARE360.
Q&A WEBINAR FOR VAYA NETWORK PROVIDERS
Last Call: September 2020 COVID-19 Hardship Payment Request Deadline COVID-19 Provider Hardship Form submissions for September payments are due Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, Vaya will begin accepting hardship requests from providers that meet established criteria and are exhibiting a financial hardship for October dates of service as evidenced by their October billed claims. Vaya will allow hardship requests until the end of North Carolina’s Phase 3. Learn more: COVID-19 Provider Hardship Form
Home and Community Based Services Updates On July 14, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an additional year (through March 17, 2023) for states to demonstrate compliance with Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) settings requirements. Due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, N.C. DHHS is extending the validation period until July 30, 2021. These dates are subject to change due to the pandemic. Additional updates include: CMS’ Final Ruling for HCBS includes a validity check for provider self-assessments, which
includes consideration of a member/guardian assessment or other method for collecting data on member experience (via the “My Individual Experience” survey) and validation with care managers, licensing staff or others trained in the settings requirements. Vaya has been validating sites via routine monitoring and completing desk reviews for sites that care managers do not visit (Supported Employment corporate sites). The state’s LME/MCOs submitted fourth-quarter Validation Quarterly Reports to DHHS at the end of September. The DHHS HCBS Internal Team will reconcile these reports to gain a better understanding of statewide progress with validation. The DHHS internal look-behind process was completed for the first and second quarters, with LME/MCO follow-up pending. The DHHS Internal Team is currently completing reviews on third-quarter look-behind sites and will request fourth-quarter documentation once fourth-quarter Validation Quarterly Reports are reconciled and returned to the LME/MCOs. The roll-out of NC Medicaid’s HCBS database uplift was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The uplift testing began in April and occurred in three phases: Phase 1 (HCBS Provider SelfAssessments) was completed on July 2, 2020; Phase 2 (MIE Surveys) was completed on Aug. 14, 2020; and Phase 3 (Heightened Scrutiny Assessments) was completed on Oct. 2, 2020. Following feedback from HCBS stakeholders and LME/MCOs, the uplift will remove the followup information/plan of action section within the HCBS Provider Self-Assessment. Previously, if an LME/MCO pended a self-assessment for further information, follow-up questions appeared at the bottom of the form; with the uplift, the follow-up questions will appear directly under the question in the initial form. If you have questions about these changes, please email HCBS@vayahealth.com.
9-8-8 Signed into Law The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act was signed into law Oct. 17, 2020. This legislation creates a new 9-8-8 dialing code for suicide prevention and to help callers seeking services for mental health emergencies. Implementation of 9-8-8 now moves to the Federal Communications Commission, which recently set a deadline of July 2022 for full, national implementation of the hotline. Read more from the National Council for Behavioral Health.
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