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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Are states only required to conduct Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations for services with approved state plan supplemental payment methodologies?

No, an upper payment limit demonstration considers all Medicaid payments (base and supplemental). States must conduct UPL demonstrations for the applicable services described in State Medicaid Director Letter (SMDL) 13-003 regardless of whether a state makes supplemental payments under the Medicaid state plan for the services.

FAQ ID:92191

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How and when should the Medicaid hospital tax/provider assessment be included in the inpatient hospital template?

The cost of the tax should be reported in Variable 401 - MCD Provider Tax Cost. A state may separately report the Medicaid portion of the cost of a provider assessment/tax only when it is using a cost based methodology to calculate the UPL. A state may not include this cost when calculating a DRG or Payment based UPL demonstration.

FAQ ID:92366

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How can residential and adult day settings comply with the HCBS settings requirements while serving Medicaid beneficiaries who may wander or exit-seek unsafely?

Many Medicaid beneficiaries living with dementia and other conditions can have a heightened risk of wandering, or attempting to leave a setting (exit-seeking) unsafely. These behaviors are not necessarily constant or permanent.

Wandering occurs in ways that may appear aimless but often have purpose. People may wander simply because they want to move. Sometimes wandering responds to an unmet basic need like human contact, hunger, or thirst; a noisy or confusing environment; or because people are experiencing some type of distress, like pain or the need to use the toilet. Wandering can be helpful or dangerous, depending on the situation. Although people who wander may gain social contact, exercise, and stimulation, they can also become lost or exhausted.

Person-centered planning, staff training and care delivery are core components of provider operations to meet HCBS requirements while responding to unsafe wandering and exit-seeking behavior in an individualized manner.3 Person-centered services involve knowing individuals, and their conditions, needs, and history and using this knowledge to create strategies to assure that individuals are free to interact with others and the community in the most integrated way possible and still prevent injury for those who wander or exit-seek unsafely. Home and community-based settings must demonstrate that person-centered planning drives their operations and services for each person. The beneficiaries the settings serve must drive the person-centered planning process with assistance from a trained, competent, assessor, care manager or similar facilitator. The beneficiary should be able to get input from people who are important to him or her, while still reflecting the individual's input as much as possible. Person-centered plans and related decisions should be consistent with the person's needs and preferences, and informed by family members, caregivers, and other individuals that the beneficiary has identified as playing an important role in his or her life. The role of person-centered planning and the process for realizing this role is described in the final HCBS regulation and in guidance found on the Medicaid.gov website.

Person-centered service plans should be developed with the individual, and include their representatives as appropriate. The person-centered planning process should include a process that:

  • is informed by discussions with family members or other individuals who are important to them about key aspects of daily routines and rituals;
  • focuses on an individual's strengths and interests;
  • outlines the individual's reaction to various communication styles;
  • identifies the individual's favorite things to do and experience during the day, as well as experiences that contribute to a bad day;
  • proposes experiences that the person may enjoy as community engagement, and describes those factors or characteristics that the individuals would find most isolating or stigmatizing

To promote effective communication, which is at the core of person-centered planning and service delivery, provider staff serving beneficiaries who wander or exit-seek should receive education and training about how to communicate with individuals living with conditions that may lead to unsafe wandering or exit-seeking. Training programs may include important information on issues such as:

  • The most common types of conditions, diseases and disorders that lead to wandering behavior; the various stages of key conditions that result in increased risk of wandering and what to expect over time; and the potential impact of these conditions on the individual's ability to function.
  • Differentiating between most common types of conditions, diseases and disorders that lead to wandering behavior from serious mental illness or adverse environmental conditions such as overmedication or neglect.
  • Assessing individuals for co-occurring conditions (including barriers to sufficient adaptive skills and the ability to communicate with others) that increase risk for unsafe wandering or exit-seeking.
  • Understanding situations that led to past instances of unsafe wandering or exit-seeking or the desire to engage in them;
  • Principles of person-centered care planning and service delivery;
  • Strategies for identifying and handling behavioral expressions of need or distress.

In addition to previous guidance provided by CMS on the implementation of person-centered planning requirements outlined in the federal HCBS regulations defining home and community-based settings, integration of the following promising practices around person-centered planning specifically for people who wander or exit-seek unsafely is recommended:

  • Assessing the patterns, frequency, and triggers for unsafe wandering or exit-seeking through direct observation and by talking with the person exhibiting such behaviors, and, when appropriate, their families.
  • Using this baseline information to develop a person-centered plan to address unsafe wandering or exit-seeking, implementing the plan, and measuring its impact.
  • Using periodic assessments to update information about an individual's unsafe wandering or exit-seeking, and adjust the person-centered plan as necessary.

Supplemental Links:

FAQ ID:94926

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