Situation Report | July 27, 2020
During a July 16 meeting of the Home Care Cost Report Workgroup, officials at the state Department of Health (DOH) solicited feedback on ways to increase participation of home care providers in starting to complete the newly created 2019 Cost Report.
DOH indicated that a low number of providers have logged into the Department’s web-based cost report tool. An even smaller number have completed the first two schedules of the cost report that drive the dynamic functionality.
During the meeting, HCA and other workgroup members noted some reasons: many Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) are awaiting resolution of the FI Request for Offers (RFO) to determine the effect on their continued operation; many Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs) are waiting for information about an upcoming authorization process; agencies are still consumed by COVID-19-related activities; agencies have to obtain information that they never tracked before, precluding completion of the report now; some non-hospital-based Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs) are preoccupied with submission of the Medicare Cost Report; and more.
DOH acknowledged these obstacles but maintained that the October 31 cost report deadline will not be extended and sought ways to increase provider engagement. DOH also emphasized state regulations requiring completion of the report for all of the above entities that were operating and received Medicaid monies in 2019, including agencies that are currently non-operational or that were operational for only part of 2019.
We suggested that DOH prioritize the most important report schedules for required completion, and that DOH inform agencies in writing that those who submit incomplete or inaccurate data won’t be penalized for this year’s report.
Others suggested that DOH send out regular reminders about the Cost Report as it did for the LHCSA Statistical Report.
Next Provider Outreach Session: July 29
DOH will be holding additional outreach sessions for providers; the next one is July 29 from 2 to 3 p.m. The dial-in number is 888-780-9651. The passcode is 8974716. A WebEx link is here.
Note that the WebEx link will not work until 20 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Contact information
For policy or cost-report-specific matters, contact the DOH Home Care Cost Report at Homecare.reports@health.ny.gov.
KPMG’s Home Care Cost Report audit mailbox at us-advrisknyshc@kpmg.com is for questions related to the web-based tool, audit matters or to request additional login credentials.
Cost Report login details and any other communications directly from the tool will utilize the following address: no-reply@avii.com.