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Cures Act EVV: Preparing for January 1, 2021, Implementation

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HHSC will require Electronic Visit Verification for all Medicaid personal care services beginning on January 1, 2021. This requirement is mandated by the federal 21st Century Cures Act. If HHSC does not comply, Texas will lose federal funding for Medicaid services.

Beginning January 1, 2021:

  • Document all delivery visits for an EVV-required service in the EVV system. EVV-required services on the Programs, Services, and Service Delivery Options Required to Use EVV (PDF) document.
  • An EVV-required service claim will be paid only if:
    1. The EVV visit transaction that supports the claim is accepted into the EVV Portal before claim submission.
    2. The claim receives an “EVV01 – EVV Match” result code in the EVV Portal after the claims matching process is performed.

Program providers and financial management services agencies must complete the following before January 1, 2021, to avoid impacts to EVV claims payment:

  • EVV system onboarding. This includes system setup and training.
    • If an EVV vendor system is selected from the state vendor pool, the EVV vendor provides the training. Refer to the TMHP EVV Vendors webpage for more information about EVV vendors and their contact information.
    • If an EVV proprietary system is selected, the program provider or FMSA handles system training.
  • EVV training requirements outlined in the Cures Act EVV: Training Requirements Checklists (PDF).
  • Document all visits for EVV-required services in the EVV system.

CDS employers must complete the following before January 1, 2021, to avoid delays in payment to their CDS employees:

HHSC is providing the following support to program providers, FMSAs, and CDS employers. This is to reduce impacts to claims payment and payment to CDS employees as they adjust to the new EVV requirements.

  • If a visit is not captured through an electronic verification method, enter the visit manually into the EVV system and confirm acceptance into the EVV Portal to avoid claim denials. Instructions for manually entering a visit are posted in the following locations:
    • DataLogic/Vesta EVV system.
    • First Data/AuthentiCare EVV system in the “Custom Links” section.
  • HHSC has published Best Practices to Avoid EVV Claim Mismatches (PDF) to help program providers and FMSAs ensure a claim is not denied for reasons related to EVV.
  • HHSC has issued the 90 Day Visit Maintenance Temporary Policy (PDF). extending the time to complete visit maintenance for dates of service between January 1, 2021, and March 31, 2021.
  • An EVV compliance grace period will be applied for one year to all Cures Act EVV Expansion services with dates of service between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, for the compliance measures listed in EVV Compliance Oversight Reviews Policy (PDF).

The EVV Contact Information Guides provide points of contact for EVV-related questions and issues:

Visit the HHS EVV website for more information.