The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, June 18, passed by voice vote a bill that extends the deadline for state Medicaid programs to implement Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) for personal care services for one year. While NAHC supports the use of EVV for these services, but we also recognize that many states have not advanced the development and implementation of EVV sufficiently to ensure its intended purpose is achieved.
An issue of concern is the cost of EVV. It appears that EVV actions to date do not include adequate financial support for providers who must use EVV. The delay will hopefully gives individual states the necessary time to address that concern. While NAHC supports EVV in Medicaid personal care, it does come with a cost to providers that states should cover.
EVV can be a valuable program integrity tool in Medicaid. However, it must be developed and implemented with careful consideration of the options and complex administrative issues. In particular, stakeholder involvement needs to be an available and effective process that brings out all concerns fully. Your bill protects that stakeholder involvement. An effective process does take time to be successful.
Having passed the legislation through the House, the bill’s sponsors now hope the Senate will soon pass its version with a unanimous consent vote.