Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the assessment for the LTSS Comprehensive Assessment and Update measure is required to take place in the member’s home as a face-to-face discussion unless certain exceptions are met. These exceptions include circumstances in which:

• The member was offered an in-home assessment and refused the in-home assessment (either refused to allow the care manager into the home or requested a telephone assessment instead of an in-home assessment).
• The member is residing in an acute or post-acute care facility (hospital, skilled nursing facility, other post-acute care facility) during the assessment time period.
• The state policy, regulation, or other state guidance excludes the member from a requirement for in-home assessment.

FAQ ID:89086

There must be documentation of the refusal, which would result in exclusion from the measure. The rate of exclusion due to a member refusing to participate should also be reported along with the measure performance rate.

FAQ ID:89101

There must be documentation that at least three attempts were made to reach the member, and that the member could not be reached, which would result in exclusion from the measure. The rate of exclusion due to inability to reach a member should also be reported along with the measure performance rate.

FAQ ID:89106

No. However, when identifying the measure’s denominator from the eligible population, there are a few cases in which you should not include member months. For example, do not include months when the plan member was residing in an institutional facility for the entire month (that is, there were no days in the month spent residing in the community). If a member died, do not include the month during which the member died and any subsequent months of enrollment in the measure’s denominator.

FAQ ID:91116

When calculating the measure’s numerator (number of admissions to an institution), do not include admissions that are direct transfers from another institution, admissions from the hospital that originated from an institution, or admissions for individuals who do not meet the continuous enrollment criteria. If the member’s admission resulted in death in the institution or death within one day of discharge from the institution, do not include the admission in the numerator.

FAQ ID:91121

Yes, people admitted to an institution who were residing in the community prior to their admission may include those residing in assisted living, adult foster care, or another setting that is not defined as an institution.

FAQ ID:91131

Yes, this measure is risk-adjusted, using risk stratification by age. Results are reported separately for four age groups (18-64, 65-74, 75-84, 85 and older) for each of the length of stay classifications (short-term stay, medium-term stay, and long-term stay).

FAQ ID:91136

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expects states receiving Federal Financial Participation to share with other states project artifacts, documents and other related materials, and systems components and code for leverage and reuse.

Read the state Medicaid director letter (SMD #18-005) on reuse (PDF, 70.77 KB). Reuse can be accomplished through sharing or acquiring:

• An entire set of business services or systems, including shared hosting of a system or shared acquisition and management of a turnkey service
• A complete business service or a stand-alone system module
• Subcomponents such as code segments, rule bases, configurations, customizations, and other parts of a system or module that are designed for reuse

FAQ ID:93631

To get started with reuse, a state can:

• Review the state Medicaid director letter (SMD #18-005) on reuse (PDF, 70.77 KB)
• View the introductory video  to get familiar with the concept and framework of reuse
• Contact the Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) at MES@cms.hhs.gov to request access to the MES Reuse Repository

FAQ ID:93636

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established the Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) Reuse Repository to support states’ ability to share and reuse project life cycle artifacts. The repository is available on the CMS zONE (Opportunity to Network and Engage). States must have a CMS Enterprise Identity Management login to access the Reuse Repository.

View complete instructions for accessing the Reuse Repository.

Contact MES at MES@cms.hhs.gov for additional assistance in accessing the repository.

FAQ ID:93641