The rollout of electronic visit verification (EVV) for home care has created a “firestorm” of complaints in Ohio, according to a recent article in the Columbus Dispatch. However, that news story painted an incomplete picture, some home care providers and EVV vendors have told Home Health Care News.
Under the federal 21st Century Cures Act, all states must implement an EVV platform for Medicaid-certified home care providers by Jan. 1, 2019, or they face reductions in federal funding. The idea is that by verifying when and where home care services are provided, EVV will cut down on fraud and abuse.
Ohio awarded a seven-year, $66.5 million contract to a New York-based vendor, Sandata Technologies, to administer the state’s EVV system—and that system, as well as the state’s rollout of it, have drawn the ire of home care consumers, according to the Feb. 19 Dispatch article.
The platform relies on “repurposed, military-grade cellphones with GPS monitoring,” the article states. The state began distributing the devices to home care recipients last month, causing backlash and disgruntlement, according to the Dispatch. Reporter Rita Price spoke with 39-year-old Melissa Day, who immediately stashed her device in her garage and feels it is a violation of her privacy to be tracked. She has opted for an alternative, call-in EVV method, but said this is also a burden.
“Basically, every time you log in or log out, it records the location,” another home care client, Rajai Saleh, told Price, speaking of the Sandata device. “Now, if you’re in your home or within 1,000 feet (of your home), you don’t have to do anything extra. But if it’s an unknown location that’s not associated with the consumer, it’ll show up as an exception.”
Another individual who uses home care, Adam Hebling, said that he worries the system will deter people from becoming home care aides.
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is working to address consumer concerns, assistant director Jim Tassie told the Dispatch, and he emphasized that the devices do not passively transmit GPS data to the state at all times. They only do so when activated during a home care visit, he said.