The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania Medicaid (Community HealthChoices waiver PA.0386 and OBRA waiver PA.0235), as the exemplar of every State's Appendix K
- Level
- Federal
- Authority
- Social Security Act 1915(c); 42 C.F.R. 441.301; Appendix K emergency amendment authority
- Issued
- 2020-03-06 Mar. 6, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-03-06 ('Start Date: March 6, 2020') (read as 2020-03-06)
- End
- 2023-05-11 ('Anticipated End Date: May 11, 2023') (read as 2023-05-11)
- In force
- Mar. 6, 2020 to May 11, 2023
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Health care ordersWorkplace rulesOther
- Addressees
- Pennsylvania OLTL
- CHC managed-care organizations
- waiver providers including home care agencies
- Functions reached
- HC telephonic delivery of verbal-cueing personal care
- SN remote assessments and reassessments
- IN remote intake and service planning
- CB payer rules and family caregivers paid in place of agency aides
- WF
- OF
- HR modified provider qualifications and training
- VS visitor suspension in provider-owned settings
- Collection
- Home Care, Nursing and Senior Living SEC-04
Operative words
F. Proposed Effective Date: Start Date: March 6, 2020 Anticipated End Date: May 11, 2023... This amendment will apply waiver-wide for each waiver included in this Appendix, to all individuals impacted by the virus or the response to the virus (e.g. closure of day programs, etc.)... Face-to-face initial level of care assessments may be conducted remotely using phone or video conferencing... Allow remote/telephone individual monitoring by Service Coordinators where face-to-face contacts are currently required... Temporarily include retainer payments... Add an electronic method of service delivery (e.g. telephonic) allowing services to continue to be provided remotely in the home setting for... Personal care services that only require verbal cueing... Spouses, legal guardians, and persons with power of attorney may [serve] as paid direct care workers... Suspend requirements for allowing visitors in provider owned and operated settings.
Enforcement
Federal waiver terms; conditions of Medicaid payment; MCO provider agreements
Notes
Every State and the District of Columbia obtained Appendix K approvals in 2020 (KFF Aug. 26, 2020: 50 States adopted virtual evaluations, 38 retainer payments, 38 family caregiver payment). The CMS index page could not be retrieved (medicaid.gov refused automated fetches);
Retrieval noteKnown correction (g) applies: paid spouse or guardian caregivers and telephonic assessments became case-by-case after OLTL's June 25, 2020 Transition Plan; describe from the CMS text and the Jan. 25, 2021 amendment only.