Stop EVV is a proud member of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) EVV Task Force! Our staff serve on the Task Force as both members and Co-Chair of the committee.
Read comments submitted to CMS by Stop EVV – National (Oct 2018)
Read comments submitted to CMS by Stop EVV- California Coalition (Oct 2018)
SUBMIT COMMENTS ON EVV TO CMS!
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Long-Term Services and Supports (DLTSS) is launching Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) Learning Collaboratives for states, CMS, and other stakeholders to openly discuss system design and implementation of EVV.
Provide input on EVV design process by completing this survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/XMWDKG9
The goal of these meetings is to foster collaboration across CMS, state agencies and other stakeholders by providing a forum to share information and discuss promising practices and policy guidance related to the Cures Act and EVV.
CMS would like to invite you to provide input in the planning of the upcoming Learning Collaboratives and asks that you complete this brief survey by Friday, November 9th. Results from this survey will help CMS identify Learning Collaborative topic areas that are meaningful and useful to states and stakeholders.
Stop EVV – Our Position
Stop EVV understands that ending electronic visit verification in its entirety is not an option at this time. We seek to end intrusive components. We further make a call to action to demand a waiver for consumer direction programs. To that end, we propose the following:
(1) Pass a congressional bill amending the 21st Century Cures Act to exempt consumer-directed programs, and family-provided care, from the EVV requirements, maintaining the intent and integrity of these programs and waivers;
(2) Prohibit the use of invasive EVV components, including GPS tracking, camera use and audio recording within a consumer’s private home; and
(3) Recommend the use of web-based timesheets with dual authentication by both the consumer and the provider at the close of the pay period, like most government agencies use for their employees. A website timesheet can be designed to include entry for location, type of service provided, and start and end times. The consumer will be able to authenticate the hours and services provided using their own login and password. Each provider will also have their own, separate and unique login and password to authenticate timesheets. Once both parties have authenticated the same information, these web-based timesheets can be directly, electronically submitted to a third-party payroll for processing.
What is EVV?
Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is a new federal regulation put upon states. EVV was intended to be an electronic timesheet for personal care attendants of disabled individuals. It goes into effect nationwide January 2020. Some states have already introduced systems into individual homes.
Where it has been implemented already, states are gravely misusing and abusing their position of power. EVV devices aren’t simply electronic clocking in and out on a time sheet. They have GPS tracking, biometric data collection (fingerprinting), 360 degree camera and audio recording that is completely out of control of the consumer! This is an infringement on personal privacy in the spaces of our homes.
The 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 is a federal law passed by Congress and signed by President Obama that was intended to provide assistance to mental health services across the nation. Section 12006 was quietly added in without much notice, mandating EVV implementation at the state level. States not in compliance with EVV requirements risk losing a portion of their federal Medicaid dollars.
For more information, check out our Frequently Asked Questions.