INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynne Keilman-Cruz
Health Program Manager IV/Chief of Quality
1835 Bragaw Street, Suite 350
Anchorage, AK 99508
Phone: 907-269-5606
Toll Free: 800-478-9996
Fax: 907-269-3690
EVV mailbox: DHSSEVV@alaska.gov

Electronic Visit Verification

The 21st Century Cures Act (“Cures”), signed into law on December 13, 2016 requires the State to implement electronic visit verification (EVV) systems to more closely monitor in-home service delivery. EVV systems electronically verify the delivery of in-home personal care and home health service visits and document the precise time the service begins and ends. The electronic verification ensures that individuals receive the services authorized for their support. The Cures Act requires that the EVV system must electronically verify the following:

• Type of service performed,
• Individual receiving the service,
• Date of the service,
• Location of service delivery,
• Individual providing the service, and
• Time the service begins and ends.

This can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as using mobile applications with Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities, telephony, fixed devices, and biometric recognition.

Note: Documents older than 25 months can be found on the State of Alaska Library Archives website.​

Timelines

EVV Update: Deadline to Implement EVV for Personal Care Services Delayed until 2020 (CMCS August 14, 2018) 

On July 30, 2018, legislation was passed to amend Section 1903(l) of the Social Security Act to delay the timeline for states to implement electronic visit verification (EVV) for personal care services by one year. The legislation does not affect timelines for home health care services. 

Under the new timeline, states are required to implement EVV for personal care services by January 1, 2020, or otherwise be subject to FMAP reductions as follows:

 25 percentage points for calendar quarters in 2020, 

 5 percentage points for calendar quarters in 2021 

 75 percentage points for calendar quarters in 2022, 

 1 percentage point for calendar quarters in 2023 and each year thereafter 

States that have not implemented EVV by January 1, 2020 will be subject to FMAP reductions unless they have both made a “good faith effort” to comply and have encountered “unavoidable system delays.” States with good faith effort exemptions will not be subject to FMAP reductions in 2020, however will be subject to incremental FMAP reductions beginning with 0.5 percentage points for calendar quarters in 2021 if they have not implemented an EVV system by January 1, 2021. 

Please be advised that the provision on good faith effort exemptions does not provide CMS with authority to delay the FMAP reductions for more than one year. CMS had previously indicated that it would accept requests for good faith efforts starting in July, 2018. However given the passage of this legislation, requests should be submitted to CMS in July, 2019. Please be advised that EVV resources published on Medicaid.gov prior to July 30, 2018 may reference dates that are impacted by this change.

21st Century Cures Act's timelines for State implementation of the EVV requirements:

• Personal Care: January 1, 2020
• Good Faith Effort (GFE) Approved by CMS; New deadline January 1, 2021
  
• Home Health Care: January 1, 2023

What is Alaska Doing?

• Beginning January 1, 2021, Alaska Personal Care Services providers are required to collect electronic visit verification data to meet Section 12006(a) of the 21st Century Cures Act. This applies to the following service codes: S5125, S5125 SE, S5108, T1019, and T1019 U3.
  
  The State's EVV vendor is Therap Services. Additional information about Therap's EVV solution, including the data Aggregator, 3rd party systems, project timelines, and project updates can be found online
• Vendor requirements for PCS providers that intend to use a third-party EVV solution: Therap and DHSS are gathering feedback on the draft vendor requirements for third-party EVV solutions. Please review these requirements with your third party vendor and provide any feedback, comments, and suggestions concerning content to AKsupport@therapservices.net and/or DHSSEVV@alaska.gov by 02/26/2021. The finalized form will be issued shortly after all feedback is considered.
  
• Please join SDS for a webinar that will provide an update on Alaska’s Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) project, presented by the Department’s EVV contractor, Therap Services, on Friday November 13, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm Alaska time. Topics include: Overview of EVV in Alaska; Cures Act Review; Introduction to Therap - EVV Solution; Questions & Answers.
  
  Please register online for Therap’s EVV Introduction for Alaska.
  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. A second webinar covering the same topics will take place Thursday November 19, from 12:00 pm-1:30 pm Alaska time.
  
  Questions? Contact hss.dsds.evv@alaska.gov
• The public comment period for proposed changes to regulations requiring electronic visit verification for the delivery of personal care services is open until November 23, 2020. Questions about the proposed regulations that are received by November 13 will be included in a Frequently Asked Questions document that will be made available through the Online Public Notice system before the public comment period closes.
  
• On June 08, 2020, the Department of Health, Division of Senior and Disabilities Services (SDS), posted via the Alaska Online Public Notice system a Request for Proposal (RFP) for solicitation of proposals from qualified offerors to implement, manage, and operate an Open/Hybrid model Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) system. The RFP can be found at http://notice.alaska.gov/198479.
  Important dates:
  
  • A Preproposal Conference is scheduled for 11:00 am AKST on Monday, June 15, 2020
  • The Deadline for Receipt of Questions is 2:00 pm AKST on Wednesday, June 17, 2020
  • The Proposal Deadline is 2:00 pm AKST on Monday, June 29, 2020. Late proposals and amendments will be disqualified and not opened or accepted for evaluation.
  • Per amendment to the RFP as issued via Online Public Notice, the deadline for Receipt of Proposals has been extended through 1400 AKST Friday, July 10, 2020.
  *The complete RFP schedule can be found in the RFP document
• CMS approved Alaska’s request for a Good Faith Effort on 09/18/2019. The Good Faith Effort allows the state additional time for implementation of EVV without the FMAP reduction for calendar year 2020. This does not delay FMAP reductions for more than one year, therefore the state must be compliant by January 1, 2021 or FMAP reductions will be applied.
• Good Faith Effort submitted to CMS 08/22/2019. The Department submitted a request for a Good Faith Effort to allow for additional planning and implementation time to meet The Cures Act requirements. The Department is continuing to work on the planning and implementation requirements.
  
• Department staff have attended multiple presentations and meetings with national resources to learn best practices and will continue to do so as the Department develops the EVV implementation plan. Go to Resources HERE.
• In June, 2018 the Department completed a request for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Technical Assistance regarding the implementation of EVV. Go to Resources HERE.
• In May, 2018 SDS surveyed personal care service providers to gain a baseline understanding of provider knowledge and readiness for electronic visit verification. The survey also captured information regarding EVV systems that are currently being used within the State. Go to Community Engagement HERE.
• With Support from the Mental Health Trust Authority, Senior and Disabilities collaborated with a contractor, Vital Lee Consulting & Coordination, to assist in statewide stakeholder engagement and education on Electronic Visit Verification options. Community forums are being provided around the state to engage stakeholders, provide education about the mandate, and seek input. Go to Community Engagement HERE.
• The Department of Health is engaged in discussions on the national level regarding the 21st Century Cure’s Act EVV implementation timeline. At the urging of the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD), Senator Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Brown (D-OH) sponsored a bill to delay the Medicaid requirement to implement for one year until January 1, 2020. The bill was co-sponsored by Senator Sullivan (R-AK) and Congressmen Don Young, among others. (Press release 5-22-18)

*The Division of Senior and Disabilities Services in collaboration with the Division of Health Care Services will continue to update this site as progress occurs.