House Passes EVV Delay
On June 25, the House passed a bill by voice vote that calls for a one-year delay in implementation of electronic visit verification (EVV) systems for Medicaid-funded personal care services. If passed by the Senate, this bill would give states until January 2020 to comply with federal EVV requirements and require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to engage with stakeholders on the implementation process.
The bill would revise the deadline for EVV implementation for personal care services from January 1st, 2019 to January 1st, 2020. It also expresses a “sense of Congress”—having the effect of a nonbinding congressional resolution—that CMS should “convene at least one public meeting in 2018 for the purpose of soliciting ongoing feedback from Medicaid stakeholders on guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on May 16, 2018, regarding electronic visit verification.” The legislation originally included language requiring CMS to promulgate EVV regulations, and codifying into law some of the EVV exemptions found in the May 16 guidance, but that language was removed before the bill was officially submitted.
There is currently no Senate bill.
FMI: To read the House bill, go to https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6042/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hr+6042%22%5D%7D&r=1.