U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Showing 1 to 10 of 82 results

Should I include discharges resulting in readmission to the institution in the Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Minimizing Institutional Length of Stay and LTSS Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure numerator?

No, discharges that result in readmission to the institution within 60 days of discharge from the institution do not meet the LTSS Minimizing Institutional Length of Stay and LTSS Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure numerator criteria.

FAQ ID:91146

SHARE URL

When counting the duration of a member's stay for the long term services and supports (LTSS) Minimizing Institutional Length of Stay and LTSS Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure numerator calculation, should I include the day of discharge?

Do not count the day of discharge unless the member’s admission and discharge occurred on the same day. If the admission and discharge occurred on the same day, the number of days in the stay is equal to one.

FAQ ID:91156

SHARE URL

If there is no discharge, how should I calculate the length of stay for the long term services and supports (LTSS) Minimizing Institutional Length of Stay and LTSS Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure numerator?

If there is no discharge, calculate the length of stay as the date of the last day of the measurement year minus the institutional facility admission date.

FAQ ID:91166

SHARE URL

Are the long term services and supports (LTSS) Minimizing Institutional Length of Stay and LTSS Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measures risk-adjusted?

Yes, the LTSS Minimizing Institutional Length of Stay and LTSS Successful Transition after Long- Term Institutional Stay measures are risk-adjusted based on the members’ dual eligibility status, age and gender, diagnoses from the institutional facility admission, and number of hospital stays and months of enrollment in the classification period. See the risk adjustment weights needed for these measures are in the risk adjustment tables (XLSX, 59.69 KB).

FAQ ID:91171

SHARE URL

Should a member's admission be included in the Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure denominator if it was a direct transfer from another institution?

No, do not include these admissions in the LTSS Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure denominator.

FAQ ID:91176

SHARE URL

Would an admission to an institutional facility following a discharge from another facility two days prior be considered a direct transfer?

No, these would be two distinct institutional stays; do not remove this admission from the Long Term Services and Supports Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay measure denominator.

FAQ ID:91186

SHARE URL

How should I account for a member's death when calculating the Long Term Services and Supports Successful Transition after Long-Term Institutional Stay member's numerator and denominator?

If the member died in the institution or within one day of discharge from the institution, do not include their admission in the denominator. Members who died one day after discharge are excluded because of the high number of deaths the day after discharge observed while testing this measure; such members are unlikely to have been discharged alive. If the member died between day 2 and day 60 during the 60 days following discharge from the long-term institutional stay, do not include their discharge in the numerator.

FAQ ID:91191

SHARE URL

How will the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) disseminate the list of Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes subject to the federal financial participation (FFP) limit each year?

Annually, CMS will request a list of covered durable medical equipment HCPCS codes from the Medicare Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding Contractor. Once the list is received, CMS will distribute the list through the CMS Regional Office Associate Regional Administrator.

FAQ ID:93671

SHARE URL

States have raised concerns around the federal financial participation (FFP) limit demonstration due date because they may not have received all durable medical equipment (DME) claims from providers at the point demonstrations are due. How may a state ensure compliance with the FFP limit without allowing for a claims run-out period.

To address claims run-out and ensure compliance with the FFP limit, we recommend states with these concerns conduct interim FFP limit demonstrations for DME no later than three months after the end of the calendar year for the previous calendar year (that is, January 1-December 31). The interim DME FFP limit demonstration will be due by March 31 of each calendar year and will contain data for the period of January 1 to December 31 of the preceding year. The final demonstration would be due one year later on March 31 and include all claims received during the run-out period dates of service within the interim demonstration period. The interim demonstration process should provide states with an understanding of potential violations of the FFP to make any necessary budgeting and rate changes. This method is being used to allow provide for a reasonable claims run out period as allowed under 42 CFR 424.44, which states that claims must be filed no later than one calendar year after the date of service.

FAQ ID:93676

SHARE URL

When is the federal financial participation (FFP) limit demonstration due? And for what period of time? Why is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services using calendar year for this demonstration?

Federal financial participation (FFP) limit demonstrations for durable medical equipment (DME) will be due 3 months after the end of the calendar year for the previous calendar year (i.e., January 1-December 31). The first DME FFP limit demonstration will be due by March 31, 2019 and will contain data for the period of January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. This reporting period was selected to coincide with the effective date of the statute (January 1, 2018).

FAQ ID:93486

SHARE URL
Results per page