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EVV

Electronic Visit Verification

THINGS TO KNOW:

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UPDATE (3/29/23): EVV Rollout enters Phase II, Wave II

All PCA agencies and FMS providers are now required to begin introducing EVV to their affiliated workers and clients. This will continue to happen in batches throughout 2023, which will allow for agencies to provide more focused support to smaller groups of people, rather than onboarding everyone at once. If your agency/FMS hasn’t introduced you to their EVV platform yet, expect to hear about it at some point in 2023.

DHS continues to assure workers and clients that no punitive actions will be taken based solely on EVV data for the foreseeable future. The goal at this point is to achieve compliance with federal requirements without disrupting services or care hours for workers or clients.

We’ve heard some reports of HIPAA violations during the EVV rollout so far. If you find that you have access to information that should be protected, please report that issue here.

Participants in the Safe At Home (SAH) program should not currently be required to comply with EVV. DHS continues to work with the federal CMS to establish guidelines for these workers. Until official guidance is reached, these workers are not required by the state to use EVV. If you are an SAH participant and your agency is requiring the use of EVV, contact DHS by using this webform.

UPDATE (9/1/22): EVV Rollout Phases

Phase I of the EVV rollout is aimed at FMS providers and their affiliated workers. This includes all workers caring for a client who uses CDCS or CSG. DHS is giving FMS providers a fair amount of flexibility as they onboard workers and clients in batches, rather than all at once. This will allow for a much more attentive response to EVV concerns from your FMS, and could mean that you start using EVV on a different timeline than others.

Phase II of the EVV rollout is supposed to begin by the end of 2022. DHS plans to use a sample group of workers and clients for what they’re calling “Wave I.” This will allow the state and their chosen vendor, HHAX, to work out kinks in the mobile app and other EVV methods before moving to “Wave II,” which will scale the EVV rollout up to all of Home Care services.

So far we are pleased with the approach DHS is taking to ensure that the EVV rollout process is as smooth as possible. We do know, however, that issues will come up as more people are onboarded. If you encounter issues with EVV, please contact us at HomeCareInfo@seiuhcmnia.org and we will assist you how we can.

UPDATE (7/1/22): Legislative session ends without MOU ratification…

The MN state legislature ended the 2022 legislative session without passing or funding our Memorandum of Understanding regarding EVV. This means that the $200 stipends the state agreed to are not yet available for workers. We will insert this MOU language into our proposals during bargaining for our next contract this year, and we aim to have these stipends available summer of 2023.

The good news is that DHS is honoring the language agreed to, and we are working together in meet-and-confer sessions to make the EVV rollout as smooth as possible.

UPDATE (4/11/22): DHS announces new EVV timeline…

DHS has announced that they plan to implement EVV for CSG & CDCS by the end of June 2022, and for all other PCAs by the end of 2022. Members of our Union will hold meet & confer sessions with the state throughout this process to make sure that workers and clients are involved in this process, and to bring your worries and concerns directly to DHS. Please stay tuned on our Facebook page here: http://seiu.mn/hcfb

View DHS announcement here.

Memorandum of Understanding

Members of our Union reached an agreement with the state of Minnesota in January 2022, which established a list of guarantees and commitments as the state develops and implements EVV.

The agreement is attached to our current contract and is working it's way through the legislature. We expect it to be implemented July 1, 2023.

What is Electronic Visit Verification (EVV)?

Several years ago, the federal government passed a law requiring states to create and implement an Electronic Visit Verification system. That development has been slow going, but DHS says that EVV is in its final stages of development. EVV was originally set to go live in Minnesota on December 1st, 2021, but implementation was delayed due to unanswered questions and concerns from the Home care community.

What we know:

What have we fought for?

After negotiations, we have four remaining areas of concern that we have taken to the MN Legislature in the 2022 session. Those concerns are:

GPS Tracking

GPS Tracking is not explicitly mandated by the federal government, but has been applied in other states as part of EVV implementation. There is concern about how invasive this might be - in addition to general privacy issues, it could be used to further impact self-direction, limit a client's freedom to choose where and how to receive care, and allow agency staff to comment on or interfere with a client's life choices.

Task/Care Tracking

There is concern among members that EVV could require concurrent documentation of tasks while they are being performed, as opposed to the current practice of documenting tasks performed at the end of a shift. This could impact working conditions by interrupting cares as they're being performed, and could potentially shift a fair amount of paid PCA hours away from care tasks and into "charting”.

Live-In Exemption

Per federal guidance, EVV requirements do not apply by default when the caregiver providing the service and the beneficiary live together. However, states are encouraged to implement EVV for live-in care providers at their discretion. Understanding that live-in care providers will need to log their hours somehow, we could still advocate for an exemption to live capture login and care tracking.

EVV Method Choice

Not all PCAs have consistent and reliable access to internet or cell service. For this and many other reasons, it is important that multiple methods are offered to meet the requirements of EVV. The decision of which method works best in a given caregiving dynamic must be left to the worker in consultation with their client.