Medicaid Service Update: July 2, 2021

To:  ADvantage Case Managers

Subject: Initial “ADvantage Program State Plan Personal Care Application Packet”

Date:  July 2, 2021

As part of the assessment and eligibility process for in-home services, applicants (and/or their legal guardians or representatives) are informed, both verbally and in writing, of the care alternatives of (1) institutional and (2) home and community-based services. The applicant indicates his/her choice of long-term care setting for service delivery. Signature requirements for applicants' agreement of choice of institutional care versus home and community-based services and choice of case management and home care service providers may be obtained via a secure electronic method, postal mail, or wet signature obtained during a home visit.

At the beginning of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) the Medicaid Services Unit (MSU) implemented a new process to obtain verbal consent from the applicant/representative at the time of the medical eligibility assessment. The document is mailed for signature and a process is in place to follow up on receipt of signed documents.

Unfortunately, we have documents that have not been signed and returned by the applicant despite multiple attempts to obtain.

MSU requests assistance from the Case Manager (CM) to meet the CMS requirement by obtaining the specific Member’s signature at the next scheduled home visit.

If there is a need for a signature to be obtained, the CM will receive a Communication Note in Harmony from MSU.

• The “ADvantage Program State Plan Personal Care Application Packet” needing signature will be attached to the Communication Note.
  * The Member may have already transferred to a provider other than the one listed in the packet; however, we still need the signature on the attached version of the document to capture their initial choice.
• The CM should print this document and obtain the Member’s/representative’s signature at the next scheduled home visit.
  *The CM is not required to sign this document. The document should have the OHS nurse electronic signature that obtained the verbal consent.
• Once the signature is obtained, the CM should attach the signed document back to the original Communication Note and add the MSU staff that initiated the note as a Note Recipient.
  *This will allow us to track that the process has been completed.

Medicaid Services Unit appreciates your assistance in meeting this waiver requirement. Thank you for the exceptional care you provide to ADvantage waiver Members on a daily basis.

If you have any questions regarding the information provided above, please feel free to contact us via Harmony Provider Question.     

COMMUNITY LIVING, AGING AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES | MEDICAID SERVICES UNIT
ADvantage Administration | State Plan Care Unit | Medical Eligibility Services
Office: 918-933-4900 | CareLine: 800-435-4711