What is the 21st Century Cures Act?

The 21st Century Cures Act is a United States law that was signed by Congress on December 13, 2016. The law was designed to assist in the acceleration of medical product development and to efficiently and effectively bring new innovations and advances to patients. It authorized $6.3 billion in funding*.

In addition to many other requirements, the Cures Act mandates that all States and territories must require the use of electronic visit verification (EVV) for personal care services (PCS) and home health care services (HHCS) that involve an in-home visit from a provider by January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2023 respectively. This applies to PCS provided under sections 1905(a)(24), 1915(c), 1915(i), 1915(j), 1915(k), and Section 1115; and HHCS provided under 1905(a)(7) of the Social Security Act or a waiver. Most States received Good Faith Effort Exemption approval, which moved the deadline to January 1, 2021.

According to Section 12006(a) of the 21st Century Cures Act, electronic visit verification (EVV) criteria must include:

• the type of service performed;

• the individual receiving the service;

• the date of the service;

• the location of service delivery;

• the individual providing the service; and

• the time the service begins and ends.

Failure to comply with the 21st Century Cures Act could result in monetary penalties and/or cause all parties to have payments withheld. To learn more about the 21st Century Cures Act and to read the full act in its entirety, click here.

*https://www.app.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/12/17/st-century-cures-act-obama/95567222/