Frequently Asked Questions are used to provide additional information and/or statutory guidance not found in State Medicaid Director Letters, State Health Official Letters, or CMCS Informational Bulletins. The different sets of FAQs as originally released can be accessed below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Providers are permitted to charge a copay for a member's office visit. This visit may include a variety of services including preventive and non-preventive services. The State Medical Director (SMD) letter indicates the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) is available if cost-sharing is eliminated for preventive services. We believe this to mean that the doctor cannot collect a copay for any visit in which preventive services are provided, regardless of whether the majority of services provided during the visit are non-preventive services. We would like CMS verification.
If the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) grade A or B service is an integral part of the office visit that includes other services, and will not be billed separately, the state may permit providers to charge a copay for the office visit, as the office visit is not eligible for the one percentage point FMAP increase. If the USPSTF grade A or B service is billed separately, or is the only service furnished during the office visit, the state may not permit the provider to charge a copay. The state should work with providers to establish the appropriate billing codes and claims processing guidelines for these situations.
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FAQ ID:92121
SHARE URLDoes CMS require states to submit their 2019 Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations using the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved templates for Inpatient Hospital services (IPH), Outpatient Hospital services (OPH), and Nursing Facility services (NF) UPLs?
Yes, CMS requires states to use all of the OMB approved templates for their 2019 (07/01/2018 to 06/30/2019) UPL demonstrations submitted to meet the annual UPL reporting requirement and with State Plan Amendment (SPA) submissions. When submitting UPL demonstrations, use the following naming convention: UPL_<UPL Demo Date Range>_<Service Type Abbreviation>_R<Region Number>_<State Abbreviation>_<Workbook Number>.xls. Here is an example of the naming convention: UPL_20170701-20180630_IP_R01_CT_01.xls.
FAQ ID:92196
SHARE URLCan a contractor that acts on behalf of the Medicaid agency submit the Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations to CMS?
No, the information must be submitted by the State Medicaid Director (or designated state official).
FAQ ID:92246
SHARE URLAre states required to submit their Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations directly to the mailbox or should they continue to submit them to the CMS Regional Office?
States are requested to submit their UPL demonstrations to the UPL mailbox at MedicaidUPL@cms.hhs.gov, but should also send a copy of each demonstration to their CMS Regional Office, including the National Institutional Reimbursement Team (NIRT) and Non-Institutional Payment Team (NIPT) staff as appropriate, and addressed to the Associate Regional Administrator. UPL demonstrations should be submitted to meet the annual reporting requirement described in SMDL 13-003, as well as when proposing changes in payment through SPAs.
FAQ ID:92251
SHARE URLNow that Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations are submitted to a central e-mailbox, will the CMS Regional Office still have a role in reviewing UPL demonstrations or will the review be performed by the Central Office?
The Regional Office will continue to review state UPL demonstrations and states will continue to work with the CMS Regional Offices as a first point of contact concerning their UPL demonstrations.
FAQ ID:92256
SHARE URLUnder section 4106 of the Affordable Care Act, is there a modifier to assist providers, payers and states in identifying preventive services?
The American Medical Association created modifier 33 in response to the Affordable Care Act requirements pertaining to preventive services. When the primary purpose of the service is the delivery of an evidence-based service in accordance with a United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) A or B rating in effect and other preventive services identified in preventive services mandates (legislative or regulatory), the service may be identified by appending modifier 33, preventive service, to the service. For separately reported services specifically identified as preventive, the modifier should not be used.
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FAQ ID:91991
SHARE URLUnder section 4106 of the Affordable Care Act, if the preventive service is bundled with other services, and the bundled service includes more than one preventive service, may the state allocate the bundled payment among the included services and claim the enhanced match for each of the preventive services? For example, in an annual exam, the physician provides both obesity counseling and alcohol misuse counseling. Can the state submit a claim for both the obesity counseling and the alcohol counseling?
It is up to the state to set up its payment methodologies and procedures. To the extent that the state processes a claim for a United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) grade A or B preventive service consistent with those procedures, it can claim the enhanced match for that claim. If the state elects a payment methodology using bundled services, generally it cannot claim the enhanced match. But there may be some instances in which it might be appropriate to allocate costs for bundled claims among the included components. To the extent that a state is interested in doing so, it must develop a cost allocation plan, and submit that for CMS approval.
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FAQ ID:91996
SHARE URLUnder section 4106 of the Affordable Care Act, are states required to follow only the summary of recommendations, or other information in the recommendation statement such as frequency? If the latter, reviewing potentially a ten-year claims history (e.g. for a colonoscopy) will be extremely burdensome.
Provided that the services are medically necessary, states are required to follow only the summary of recommendations for the services that have a rating of A or B from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). It is up to the state to have a financial monitoring procedure to ensure proper claiming for federal match.
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FAQ ID:92006
SHARE URLUnder section 4106 of the Affordable Care Act, for breast screenings, may the state claim the interpretation of the x-ray for the one percentage point federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) increase, or can only the x-ray itself be claimed?
The state may claim the 1% FMAP increase on both the professional component (interpretation of the x-ray) and the technical component (the actual taking of the x-ray).
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FAQ ID:92011
SHARE URLUnder section 4106 of the Affordable Care Act, what information is being required for the CMS-64 reporting requirement to claim the increased federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for managed care expenditures?
States seeking the one percentage point FMAP increase should amend their state plans to reflect that they cover and reimburse all United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) grade A and B preventive services and approved vaccines recommended by Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and their administration, without cost-sharing. An approved state plan amendment is required for the lines to be enterable on the CMS-64 form. As with all other services claimed on the CMS-64, the amounts reported on and its attachments must be actual expenditures for which all supporting documentation, in readily reviewable form, has been compiled and is available immediately at the time the claim is filed. The CMS-64 report form has been modified to allow for reporting of a state's managed care expenditures separate from the state's reporting of fee-for-service (FFS) expenditures. The total expenditures associated with services referenced in section 4106 would be reported on the requisite lines for managed care (line 18A4, 18B1d or 18B2d) and for FFS (line 34A).
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FAQ ID:92021
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