Why Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is Important Now More Than Ever

There’s no question that COVID-19 has challenged the United States’ healthcare system. As hospital emergency rooms and clinics respond to COVID-19 cases, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), States and Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) have expanded telehealth services to avoid exposure to the country’s most vulnerable population: Medicaid members. While telehealth is one tool that enables care within the home, it’s important to consider the tasks and needs that telehealth cannot solve for.

Many Medicaid members are recipients of Personal Care Services (PCS), which include bathing, meal preparation, grocery shopping and more. These services help members remain independent and healthy in their own homes, ultimately reducing health care costs. Unfortunately, these services have been disrupted with waste and fraud, promoting the need for Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) to ensure the proper care is received by members.

The 21st Century Cures Act requires States to implement EVV for all PCS by January 1, 2020; however, this date has come and gone, and via the Good Faith Effort Exemption, States now have until January 1, 2021 to successfully deploy EVV. While States are not penalized for this delay, it’s important to note how States could benefit if they implement EVV effectively now as they tackle this pandemic.

Electronic Visit Verification implemented using a single-purpose, institutional EVV device has the ability to transform the way States, MCOs and Medicaid members interact with one another – starting with the COVID-19 response.

Imagine if one could trigger a message via an EVV device to every Medicaid recipient and ask a few simple questions:

• “Do you have any COVID-19 symptoms?”

• “Have you had contact with anyone with COVID-19 symptoms in the last 14 days?”

• “When’s the last time you interacted with a caregiver?”

• “Do you have mental health concerns?

Two-way communication is critical to keep Medicaid members out of the hospital.

Health plans and EVV vendors have launched and/or expanded mobile applications with COVID-19 screening tools; however, the industry has been missing the mobile technology solution to broaden the accessibility and usage of these applications. We welcome the opportunity to work with EVV vendors as they expand their activities beyond simply verifying visits.

Beyond collecting the data required in The 21st Century Cures Act, an EVV device keeps members in their homes, but also keeps them connected with their care and service providers and health plans. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) method or deploying end-of-life cellular phones simply cannot provide the level of device management or security that an institutional EVV device can provide.

We invite you to join us in deploying the only dedicated EVV device, LINK, to Medicaid recipients to meet the mandated deadline and facilitate two-way communication as COVID-19 cases surge. When implemented effectively, EVV will save the health care system millions of dollars, while ensuring that providers are being paid for their work and improve the lives of those homebound.

Questions? Email us at contact@link4evv.com.