CMS Makes Official HCA-Sought Delay in CoP Changes (Now January 13) COMING UP

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1 DEADLINES LTHHCP COST REPORTS WHITE COLLAR OT RULE MLTC TRANSITIONS As part of our ongoing feature, HCA lists upcoming effective dates, deadlines and implementation schedules for a series of forms, initatives, reports. LTHHCPs billing the Episodic Payment System or having patients on census in 2016 should file the 2016 CHHA Cost Report, DOH says. The federal white-collar OT rules are the subject of litigation and potential changes by the Trump Administration. Meanwhile, the state has its own requirements that providers must navigate. The state has delayed the transition of managed care implementation for community first choice and assisted living programs. PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 PAGES 10, 11 COMING UP Your Source for HOME CARE News, Policy and Advocacy Vol. 2, Issue 27 July 10, 2017 Ask HCA Member Meetings Thursday, July 13 Rochester Noon to 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 14 Buffalo 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. FEDERAL STORY Monday, July 17 Manhattan 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday, July 17 Brooklyn 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 18 Suffolk County 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 18 Nassau County Noon to 2:00 p.m. Summer Schedule HCA is publishing The Situation Report on a biweekly schedule for the summer. There will be no newsletter next Monday. Our next edition will be on July 24. We will notify you by of all important breaking updates. CMS Makes Official HCA-Sought Delay in CoP Changes (Now January 13) Less than a week before scheduled implementation, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized its April 3, 2017 proposed rule to delay the new home health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) until January 13, See the official notice at HCA was among the first associations to formally call for a delay in the new CoPs, which were originally slated for a July 13 start date (this coming Thursday). Notably, we gained strong support from New York Congressional Rep. John Faso who wrote to CMS calling for See CoPs p. 2 INSIDE CMS Makes Official HCA-Sought Delay in CoP Changes (Now January 13) QIVAPP Funding Approved for NYC Providers...3 Important Upcoming Deadlines...5 LTHHCPs Serving Patients or Billing EPS Must File 2016 CHHA Cost Reports...6 DOH Delays Wage Parity Start for CDPAS...6 Update on White Collar Exemption Rule...7 HHCAHPS Data Submission Deadline Reminder...9 CMS Revises Format for Plan of Correction...9 CFCO Transition Delayed...10 OMIG Webinar: Retroactive Disenrollment Notification Process...10 U.S. DOL to Resume Issuing Opinion Letters...10 ALP Transition to Managed Care Delayed...11 Delay Proposed in Electronic Submission of Certain Employment Data...11 OPWDD Respite Services Change...12 New Maximum Workers Compensation Benefit...12 OMIG Posts Reminders about Compliance and Certification Forms...13 Meeting to be Held on Future of Integrated Care...13 NGS Updates...14 Resources...14

2 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 CoPs from p. 1 a six-month delay. Within days of Rep. Faso s letter, CMS issued the April 3 proposed rule to implement the delay, triggering a public comment period to gain stakeholder responses before CMS officially delayed the CoPs in a now-final rule, as posted last week. (Please see Rep. Faso s press release at news/documentsingle.aspx?documentid=246, which quotes HCA President Joanne Cunningham.) HCA submitted comments in support of CMS s April 3 proposed rule (see The new CoPs are the most sweeping changes to federal home health regulations in 20 years, and HCA has recently held education programs to prepare providers for the rules, which touch on virtually all aspects of an agency s operations. Simultaneously, we engaged with New York s Congressional Delegation to seek a delay, as reflected in our briefing paper at In seeking a delay, HCA and others stressed the incredibly short timeframe for providers to prepare (under the original implementation date) and the fact that CMS, still, has yet to circulate Interpretive Guidelines that would further outline the enforcement process for these new regulations. In response to stakeholder comments, CMS says its updates to the Interpretive Guidelines are currently under development and are expected for informal input in the fall of 2017 with an expected final version ready by December. While HCA recognizes that this timetable remains compressed, CMS emphasized that even absent a final version of the Interpretive Guidelines... surveyors will still be able to survey HHAs to assess compliance with the regulations. A delay in the release of Interpretive Guidelines would not require a further delay of the effective date for the new HHA CoPs. Providers should take note that the federal emergency preparedness regulations, which were the subject of a daylong HCA workshop for members on June 28, still go into effect on November 16, 2017, which is earlier than other components of the CoP delay. CMS received some comments seeking a delay of the emergency preparedness components to align these provisions with other changes in the CoPs. However, CMS stressed that, though the emergency preparedness provisions are CoP- The Situation Report is a weekly publication of the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA). Unless otherwise noted, all articles appearing in The Situation Report are the property of the Home Care Association of New York State. Reuse of any content within this newsletter requires permission from HCA. Joanne Cunningham HCA President jcunningham@hcanys.org Roger L. Noyes Director of Communications, Editor of The Situation Report rnoyes@hcanys.org Al Cardillo Executive Vice President acardillo@hcanys.org Patrick Conole Vice President, Finance & Management pconole@hcanys.org Andrew Koski Vice President, Program, Policy & Services akoski@hcanys.org Alexandra Fitz 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 & Special Projects jkerbein@hcanys.org Billi Wilson Manager, Meetings & Events bwilson@hcanys.org 2 Home Care Association of New York State (HCA) 388 Broadway, 4th Floor, Albany, NY Tele: ; Fax: ; Website Teresa Brown Administrative Assistant tbrown@hcanys.org

3 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 enforceable (as with the other now-delayed changes), changing the effective date for the emergency preparedness requirements is outside the scope of this rule, as they were established in separate rulemaking. As with the April 3 proposed rule, CMS has delayed implementation of the CoPs Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) project requirement from January 13, 2018 to July 13, However, CMS notes that all other QAPI requirements are effective on January 13, Lastly, as in the April 3 proposed rule, CMS will not apply new home health agency administrator requirements in cases where administrators are employed by home health agencies prior to January 13, 2018 (instead of July 13, 2017). HCA will continue to keep you informed of all important developments, guidelines and education opportunities as the implementation deadlines approach over the coming months QIVAPP Funding Approved for NYC Providers The state Department of Health (DOH) has approved funding for the Quality Incentive Vital Access Provider Pool (QIVAPP) program for the period from April 1, 2016 through March 31, Funds apply to home care services provided in New York City only. Specific award amounts will be determined after DOH receives attestations from MLTC plans regarding the number of actual hours provided by their home care contractors. Those attestations are due by July 14, DOH has confirmed that home care providers who received QIVAPP in will automatically qualify for funding in Those who did not qualify for QIVAPP in or will not be given an opportunity to demonstrate their eligibility for QIVAPP has been available since the state fiscal year for New York City home care providers who contract with MLTCs and meet certain criteria. The eligibility criteria are as follows: Home care agencies receive at least $18.50 per hour from MLTC plans. The home care agency maintains or participates in a specialty training program for home health aides (HHAs) and personal care aides (PCAs) that exceeds DOH s training requirements (the standard 75 hours of training for HHAs or 40 hours for PCAs and/or the annually required in-service training of 12 hours for HHAs and 6 hours for PCAs). The agency has a written, implemented and currently active quality assurance program. The agency participates in a health benefit fund for its home health care and/or personal care aides and/or provides comprehensive health insurance coverage to employees that meets certain requirements outlined by DOH. At least 30 percent of the agency s total New York City workforce is enrolled in the health benefits coverage. More information on QIVAPP for past years is at mrt_61.htm. 3

4 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 Federal Story Continued 4

5 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 ImportantUpcomingDeadlines Requirement Effective/DueDate MoreInformation RevisedAdvanced BeneficiaryNoticeof NoncoverageforMedicare feeforservice QIVAPPFunding forqualifiednychome careproviders ExecutiveOrder(EO)38 DisclosureformforCHHAs CHHA2016Medicaid CostReport EODisclosureformfor PersonalCareProviders PersonalCare2016 MedicaidCostReport Mustbeused byjune21,2017 MLTCplan attestationsdueto statedohbyjuly14, 2017 August15,2017 August15,2017 August16,2017 August16, egeneralinformation/bni/abn.html medicaid/redesign/mrt_61.htm lic/hcs_logout.html lic/hcs_logout.html LTHHCP2016Medicaid CostReport(LTHHCPsthat onlybillunderchhaeps mustfileachhamedicaid CostReport) September30, lic/hcs_logout.html StateHomeCareWorker WageParitylawappliesto CDPAS FederalEmergency PreparednessRule October13,2017 November16, medicaid/redesign/mrt_61.htm Enrollmentand Certification/SurveyCertEmergPrep/Emer gencypreprule.html /pdf/ pdf 5

6 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 LTHHCPs Serving Patients or Billing EPS Must File 2016 CHHA Cost Reports 6 HCA recently alerted LTHHCP providers about a new Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) from the state Department of Health (DOH) stating that LTHHCPs which have billed or intend to bill the Medicaid Episodic Payment System (EPS) should file a 2016 CHHA Cost Report. The DAL is at uploads/2017/06/2016-lthhcp-cost-report-dal.pdf. Also, LTHHCPs that had any cases on census in 2016 should likewise file the report. The report is due on September 30, though a different due date applies for traditional CHHAs (non-lthhcps), as mentioned later in this article. Over the past several years, HCA has worked to clarify opportunities for LTHHCP providers to serve patients and bill Medicaid in the changing health care system. Though the federal LTHHCP waiver has expired, the state has since clarified that LTHHCPs are permitted to admit and serve patients in a manner otherwise available to CHHAs, including through the EPS, managed care contracting and other opportunities. Last year, DOH sent a notice reinforcing this status, stating that LTHHCP providers with valid operating certificates may directly admit and serve patients under their LTHHCP/CHHA-authorization. DOH s communication also specifically permitted LTHHCPs to use CHHA EPS rate codes, effective October 1, As a follow-up, in the latest DAL, DOH also stated that LTHHCP providers which take advantage of this [EPS] opportunity will be required to file the appropriate Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) Cost Report each year, including the 2016 CHHA Cost Report posted to the HCS at commerce.health.state.ny.us/hpn/cgi-bin/applinks/chhar/chhar.cgi. LTHHCPs must file the 2016 CHHA Cost report no later than September 30, The operator s and accountant s certification must also be received on or before September 30, However, the due for traditional CHHAs to submit the 2016 CHHA Report remains August 15, For questions regarding the HCS or the electronic mail network, contact the DOH helpline at Specific questions regarding the CHHA cost report should be directed to DOH s Russ Smith at (518) For further information, contact Patrick Conole at (518) or pconole@hcanys.org. DOH Delays Wage Parity Start for CDPAS As previously reported in an HCA alert, the state Department of Health (DOH) on June 29 announced that October 13, 2017 is the effective date when the state Home Care Worker Wage Parity Law ( wage parity requirement) is extended to personal assistants providing Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services (CDPAS) in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. The original announced date of July 1, 2017 was changed due to provisions of the wage parity law [Public Health Law section 3614-c(7)] that require at least a 120-day notice of the minimum rates of home care aide compensation. Continued on next page

7 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 Continued from previous page DOH had earlier released a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL), dated June 14, 2017, that describes this new requirement and the amount of the minimum rate for home care aide total compensation, along with a certification form that CDPAS fiscal intermediaries must provide their contracted Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) on a quarterly basis. In the DAL, DOH asks MCOs to submit a list of all the FIs they have signed agreements with and a notation as to whether the FIs have completed the certification. HCA continues to advocate strongly that DOH release the $9 million in legislatively appropriated funds to assist managed care plans and their contracted FIs to meet these new costs, and that, overall, adequate funds must be provided to plans and FIs for the wage parity requirement. Questions about wage parity and CDPAS can be sent to DOH at HCWorkerParity@health.ny.gov. For more information, contact Andrew Koski at (518) or akoski@hcanys.org. Update on White Collar Exemption Rule As you may recall, the Obama-era U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule raising the annual salary thresholds for the federal overtime white collar exemptions from $23,660 to $47,476, which was set to become effective December 1, But in November 2016, a federal district court judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the rule. DOL appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asking for an expedited hearing of the case, but that appeal changed course under the current President Trump s DOL, which delayed the appeal and asked for more time to consider the issue. On June 30, 2017, DOL filed its first brief in the appeal asking the Fifth Circuit to reaffirm the DOL s authority to set a salary level while also saying it does not support the $47,476 level set by the previous Administration and will work on a new rule. It did not state what the new level would be; but some believe it will be in the low- or mid- $30,000 range. DOL s brief states it is not going to issue a proposed rule, however, until the litigation is resolved. So it could be some time before a new rule is issued. If the Fifth Circuit reverses the district court decision, the nationwide preliminary injunction may be lifted and the original salary level will go into effect (maybe even retroactively to the December 1, 2016 original effective date). Or, the District Court could also continue the preliminary injunction based on different grounds i.e., that the salary level set by the final rule was arbitrary, an issue the DOL has specifically asked the Fifth Circuit not to address. Regardless of what happens with the white collar exemptions under federal law, employers should take note that New York State has its own version of these exemptions with their own corresponding salary levels. These levels were updated in December 2016 and range from $ to $ per week ($37,830 to $42,900 annually) depending on the location where the employee in an executive or administrative capacity works. These figures are included in a chart at part142.pdf. 7 The state does not set a salary level for employees who work in a professional capacity; thus, professional employees are exempt from state minimum wage and overtime laws regardless of their

8 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 salary, but employers are required to pay those employees the applicable federal salary levels to comply with federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Obviously, the original salary level enacted by DOL under President Obama would have been higher than New York s salary levels and rendered them immaterial; but now with the uncertainty surrounding the federal law salary level, employers in New York State should ensure that they are in compliance with the New York State salary level for their geographic area of the state. More information on the state definitions for executive, administrative and professional is at ; and This article was written by Damian J. Privitera, Attorney at Law, Jackson Lewis P.C., the firm for HCA s General Counsel. Senior Financial Managers Retreat September 7-8, 2017 Mohonk Mountain House- New Paltz, NY HCA s Senior Financial Managers Retreat offers financial leaders innovative perspectives and expert analysis by HCA s Policy Team as well as targeted insights from subject-matter experts who will provide a comprehensive update of the home care and hospice financial landscape. Corporate Compliance Symposium October 19, 2017 Hilton- Albany, NY HCA s Corporate Compliance program is a must-attend, highly anticipated annual event that brings together top legal experts, state regulators and organizational compliance specialists to keep your team up to date on: new requirements, changes in laws and regulations, tools, resources and best-practices for fulfilling your compliance responsibilities. Quality and Technology Conference November 16-17, 2017 Crowne Plaza- Suffern, NY HCA s Quality & Technology Symposium will present some of the unique technological and programmatic approaches driving positive clinical outcomes, and focusing your clinical intervention strategies on core priority areas. 8

9 HHCAHPS Data Submission Deadline Reminder Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 The data submission deadline for the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) survey data for Quarter 1 of calendar year 2017 is Thursday, July 20, The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) encourages home health agencies to begin submitting their client files as soon as possible. Some important points to remember include: Data files must pass both the initial validation checks and the overnight validation checks. To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 20, 2017), you must submit all Quarter 1 files on or before Wednesday, July 19, Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all of your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and resubmit all files before the data submission deadline. More information is at CY17-Qtr-1-Data-Submission-Deadline-Reminder. CMS Revises Format for Plan of Correction The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently issued new guidance regarding the format of plans of correction (POC) for survey deficiencies. The guidance can be downloaded at: CMS states it will no longer require providers and suppliers, which include home health and hospice, to write their POC on the right side of the statement of deficiencies and plan of correction, CMS Form The POC may be submitted as a separate document attachment, or agencies may continue to document the POC on the right side of the CMS Form 2567 if they choose to do so. In order for a POC to be accepted by the Medicare state survey agency, providers/suppliers have been required to document on the right side of CMS form 2567 all the required corrective actions listed below for each deficiency: The plan for correcting the specific deficiency and the processes that lead to the deficiency cited; The procedure for implementing the acceptable plan of correction for the specific deficiency cited; The monitoring procedure to ensure that the plan of correction is effective and that the specific deficiency cited remains corrected and/or in compliance with the regulatory requirements; The title of the person responsible for implementing the acceptable plan of correction. 9 Continued on next page

10 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 Continued from previous page This change in policy should provide agencies with some relief associated with the burden of having to document the POC in a prescribed format. For further information, contact Patrick Conole at (518) or pconole@hcanys.org. CFCO Transition Delayed The state Department of Health (DOH) has announced that the transition of the Community First Choice Option (CFCO) into managed care has been delayed until April 1, HCA and member plans have been participating in numerous workgroups, including PACE, Benefits Management, and Clinical Management, and a Steering Committee. A major focus of those groups includes the definition of CFCO services, particularly social transportation, and adequate parameters to determine the authorization, range, content, scope, contracting and provision of benefits. For more information, contact HCA Policy staff. OMIG Webinar: Retroactive Disenrollment Notification Process The state Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) has posted on its website a webinar entitled Retroactive Disenrollment Notification Process. The webinar is available at: This webinar provides a detailed review of OMIG s retroactive disenrollment notification process, including the electronic retroactive disenrollment notification form and submission instructions that must be used by Local Departments of Social Services (LDSS), New York State of Health (NYSoH), and New York City s Human Resources Administration (HRA) to notify Medicaid managed care plans and OMIG of an enrollee s retroactive disenrollment. Questions regarding the retroactive disenrollment notification process may be submitted to: retrodata@omig.ny.gov. U.S. DOL to Resume Issuing Opinion Letters On June 27, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced it will reinstate the issuance of opinion letters. According to DOL, this action allows the department s Wage and Hour Division to use opinion letters as one of its methods for providing guidance to covered employers and employees. An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Wage and Hour Division of how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by an employer, employee or other entity requesting the 10

11 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 opinion. The letters were a division practice for more than 70 years until being stopped and replaced by general guidance in DOL has established a webpage ( where employers and employees can see if existing agency guidance already addresses their questions or submit a request for an opinion letter. The webpage explains what to include in the request, where to submit the request, and where to review existing guidance. The division will exercise discretion in determining which requests for opinion letters will be responded to, and the appropriate form of guidance to be issued. ALP Transition to Managed Care Delayed The state Department of Health (DOH) has delayed the transition of Assisted Living Program (ALP) residents and benefits into managed care. The intended transition to managed long term care and mainstream Medicaid managed care plans on July 1, 2017 has been changed to October 1, 2018 in New York City and January 1, 2019 in the rest of the state. DOH says the delay is needed so DOH can develop an implementation work plan amid other managed care initiatives. In response to DOH s request for comments on this new timetable, HCA offered support as long as this gives DOH adequate time to address programmatic and reimbursement issues related to the transition, such as billing and adequate payment, and other simultaneous changes, including the Community First Choice Option (see related p. 10 story), Value Based Purchasing, wage parity for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, 24-hour/live-in cases, etc. Delay Proposed in Electronic Submission of Certain Employment Data On June 28, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule to delay the date by which certain employers are required to electronically submit the information from their completed 2016 Form 300A to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). DOL proposes to delay the deadline from July 1, 2017 to December 1, 2017 to allow affected entities sufficient time to familiarize themselves with the electronic reporting system, which will not be available until August 1, 2017, and to give the new Administration an opportunity to review the new system prior to implementation. Information on the electronic submission requirement for Form 300A ( Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses ) is at This requirement was part of a final rule issued on May 12, In the June 28, 2017 notice, DOL states that it intends to issue a separate proposal to reconsider, revise, or remove other provisions of the prior final rule. 11

12 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, 2017 OPWDD Respite Services Change Effective July 1, 2017, respite services provided under the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver are changing. Prior to July 1, 2017, each agency authorized to deliver respite services utilized a single, agency-specific reimbursement rate. As of July 1, 2017, the reimbursement methodology will be configured based on a regional fee structure with various service types which include the following: 1) In Home Respite; 2) Site Based Respite; 3) Recreational Respite; 4) Camp Respite; and 5) Intensive Respite. For In Home Respite, there will be agency supported rate codes to accommodate service provision to individuals self-directing with employer authority. Respite services will continue to be billed in quarter-hour units unless an individual receives more than 42 overnight respite services between the July 1 to December 31 period or the January 1 to June 30 period. When the 42-day threshold of overnight respite has been exceeded, any additional claims exceeding the Supervised Individualized Residential Alternative (IRA) regional average will be billed as a per diem. In these instances, the reimbursement will be paid at the specified Supervised IRA regional average fee levels. The limit of 42 overnight respite services is applicable to the In Home and Site Based service models. Further guidance concerning respite service policy will be made available in both regulation and in an Administrative Memorandum. Respite services are provided to individuals unable to care for themselves and are provided on a short-term basis because of the absence or need for relief of the individual s unpaid primary caregiver. The charts at (pages 8 and 9) identify nine new rate codes established to accommodate the new categories of respite service for voluntary agencies. OPWDD is finalizing an Administrative Directive Memoranda (ADM) that will outline the service documentation requirements associated with the new respite categories. The ADM will be available at Questions regarding service documentation requirements can be directed to OPWDD s Waiver Management Bureau at peoplefirstwaiver@opwdd.ny.gov. Questions regarding the billing changes can be directed to OPWDD s Central Operations Bureau at (518) New Maximum Workers Compensation Benefit The maximum weekly benefit rate for workers compensation claimants is $ for July 1, 2017 through June 30, This is based on two-thirds of the New York State average weekly wage for the previous calendar year, as determined by the state Department of Labor ($1,305.92). The announcement is at 12

13 Volume 2, No. 27 July 10, OMIG Posts Reminders about Compliance and Certification Forms The state Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) has posted reminders about two certification forms that home care and other health care providers must complete in December. State law requires that health care providers certify annually that they have adopted, implemented, and maintain an effective compliance program that meets eight elements. These elements are reviewed at /omig.ny.gov/images/stories/compliance/compliance_program_review_guidance.pdf and omig.ny.gov/images/stories/compliance/compliance_program_self_assessment_form_ doc, along with FAQs at OMIG recommends that providers test the operation of their compliance program and make any adjustments necessary so that, in December, the Medicaid provider is prepared to certify compliance with the state requirements. Also, as part of the Medicaid revalidation process, providers will be asked to submit evidence that they met the December certification obligation. In addition, entities that receive at least $5 million in Medicaid payments during a federal fiscal year must submit a certification form showing compliance with the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of (The amounts an individual or organization may receive through its contract with a Medicaid managed care organization should not be counted when calculating the $5 million in payments.) By law, such entities must have written policies and procedures informing their employees, contractors and agents about federal and state false claim acts and whistleblower protections. More information on the DRA certification is at dra_faqs.pdf. OMIG will post a webinar in November on both the state and federal certification forms. Additional information is in the June Medicaid Update at program/update/2017/jun17_mu.pdf (pages 16-18). Meeting to be Held on Future of Integrated Care The state Department of Health s (DOH) Division of Long Term Care and the U.S. Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services will be convening a stakeholder meeting on the future of integrated care in New York State. This will be the first of a series of sessions designed to facilitate the conversation on what DOH envisions for the state s integrated care programs after The meeting will take place Thursday, July 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stakeholders are invited to either attend in-person at rooms 1-2 on the 30th floor of 290 Broadway (at Duane Street) in New York City, or via webinar/conference call. Continued on next page

14 Volume 2, No. 27 June 10, 2017 Continued from previous page Space is limited for this first meeting and only two people from each organization will be permitted to attend in-person. Once in-person attendance has reached maximum capacity, attendees will be asked to participate via webinar/conference call. To attend in-person, RSVP by July 17 with the first and last names of attendees to Only those people listed on the building s security sheet will be permitted to enter the building; substitute attendees will not be permitted. If you would like to participate via webinar/call, go to g.php?mtid=e94b956494bdff1b166315f3b e. NGS Updates National Government Services (NGS), New York s Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), has recently posted the following information to its website: Important Notice Regarding Handwriting on Claims Submitted to Medicare Beginning July 10, NGS will return to the provider any paper claim submitted with handwriting on the face of the claim that is not a signature field (i.e., Items 12, 13, or 31). A notice will be attached to the front of the returned claim and you will need to submit a new claim. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Internet-Only Manual (IOM) Publication , Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 26, Section 30, Printing Standards and Print File Specifications Form CMS-1500 (700 KB) contains the printing specifications for the CMS-1500 claim form. These printing specifications do not provide instructions to submit handwritten claims. Please use this CMS IOM reference to ensure you are completing paper claims correctly. How to Use NGS s CERT Denial Finder Tool NGS s Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) Denial Finder allows providers to quickly access additional information when CERT finds an error with a claim and/or documentation. The tool will also indicate the status location and status date of the claim selected by CERT for review. If CERT did not assess an error, this tool will indicate No in the Claim Error Field. Go to the Provider Resources tab on the NGSMedicare.com website, then click on the Calculator & Tools link for the CERT Denial Finder. Access this tool and enter the CID for details on your denial. For further information, contact Patrick Conole at (518) or pconole@hcanys.org. Resources Growth Of ACOs And Alternative Payment Models In 2017, Health Affairs Blog (June 28, 2017) HHCAHPS Coordination Team Quarterly Review Newsletter ( July 2017) 14 For more information, contact Andrew Koski at (518) or akoski@hcanys.org.