Frequently Asked Questions

States that pay for vaccine administration using the vaccine product codes were required to include a crosswalk to their administration codes as part of their ACA 1202 state plan amendment (SPA). They will therefore be required to submit a new SPA to reflect any changes in those codes. If a state does not use vaccine product codes to pay for vaccine administration and therefore there is no crosswalk in their 1202 SPA, then no updates are necessary to reflect the code changes.

FAQ ID:91091

Yes. The original SPAs contained a list of codes that had been added since 2009 that the state was planning on reimbursing at the higher ACA 1202 rate. Therefore, if a state adds codes, it should submit a revised SPA page, updating that list of codes eligible for higher payment.

FAQ ID:91096

Milestone reviews have proven to reduce risk by having earlier discussions where CMS can identify opportunities for efficiencies, facilitate collaboration with other states, and share other ideas that can save time, money, and effort. Identifying issues and opportunities earlier in the process will allow for a much greater impact than was experienced under the old process.

FAQ ID:93976

CMS encourages the use of COTS solutions where possible, and the milestone review process supports certification of COTS products. The review criteria are intended to be tailorable to support different solutions, including COTS. In this case, the technical criteria in the checklists that do not apply to COTS may be marked ""Not Applicable"" with an explanation as to why they do not apply.

FAQ ID:93986

It depends. We consider various factors. If a state is developing a complete MMIS solution with one release date, then there will be three reviews: Project Initiation Review, Operational Milestone Review, and MMIS Certification Final Review. If a state has multiple release dates with a modular or agile approach, the state would have one set of three certification reviews with CMS for each module the state would like CMS to certify. Each state will start its certification effort by having an initial consultation with CMS to determine how CMS can schedule milestone reviews that fit with the state's plan.

FAQ ID:94011

CMS has developed a milestone review process that is flexible enough to be placed over several development methodologies. CMS wants to ensure that the milestone reviews benefit and do not burden the state. CMS works with each state individually to ensure that the timing of the milestones fit within the state's internal development timeline.

FAQ ID:94001

If these practices and health systems maintain the types of documentation described in the previous answer, FAQ45736, with respect to managed care organizations, attestation by the group or system would be acceptable. As previously noted, a physician actually must be practicing as an internist, pediatrician or family physician in order to be eligible for higher payment. Board certification does not always equate to practice characteristics. Therefore, attestation on the basis of information on board certification alone would not suffice.

Supplemental Links:

• This FAQ was released as part of a larger set. View the full set. (PDF, 25.85 KB)

FAQ ID:93866

No. The attestation and eligibility are physician-specific. If a physician provides services both in a fee-for-service and managed care environment, they need only complete the process of attestation once in order to receive higher payment for all eligible services they provide. CMS expects all information on self-attestation to be fully available to the state, regardless of which party collected this information.

Supplemental Links:

• This FAQ was released as part of a larger set. View the full set. (PDF, 25.85 KB)

FAQ ID:93871

States have the flexibility to count eligible services provided by a physician in neighboring states in meeting the 60 percent threshold, but are not required to do so.

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• This FAQ was released as part of a larger set. View the full set. (PDF, 25.85 KB)

FAQ ID:93876

These services would not be subject to the minimum payment standard set in the rule because there are no RVUs and there is no conversion factor associated with them. Therefore, a Medicare-like rate cannot be developed. The state may continue to reimburse them at the current Medicaid rate but enhanced federal financial participation (FFP) will not be available for those services.

Supplemental Links:

• This FAQ was released as part of a larger set. View the full set. (PDF, 25.85 KB)

FAQ ID:93881