SPECIAL BULLETINS OF IMPORTANCE TO SNFS

NC Medicaid, throughout the COVID crisis, has released numerous special bulletins concerning waivers, clarifications, rate modifications and others. NCHCFA would like to make certain that nursing facilities are aware of two specific bulletins.

• SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #71: Extension of Temporary Suspension of Level I and Level II Assessments for New Nursing Home Admissions: NC Medicaid temporarily suspended the requirement of Level I and Level II Preadmission Screening and Resident Reviews (PASRRs) for new nursing home admissions as well as the requirement of a PASRR number on the prior approval (PA). The temporary suspension was in effect from March 25 – April 24, 2020, as noted in SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #15. Effective April 25, 2020, the temporary suspension of Level I and Level II PASRRs has been extended for new admissions. If the individual is expected to remain in the nursing facility for more than 30 days, a notice of the need for a PASRR review should be submitted through NCMUST. In addition, individuals transferred from one nursing facility to another nursing facility as a result of COVID-19 will continue to not be considered a new admission and will not need a PASRR. The transferring nursing facility must ensure that all copies of the resident’s PASRR paperwork (including any Level II information) is transferred with the individual.
• SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #79: Telehealth and Virtual Patient Communications Clinical Policy Modifications – Skilled Nursing Facilities: NC Medicaid has temporarily modified its Telemedicine and Telepsychiatry Clinical Coverage Policy to better enable the delivery of remote care to Medicaid and Health Choice beneficiaries. These temporary changes are retroactive to March 10, 2020 and will end the earlier of the cancellation of the North Carolina state of emergency declaration or when the policy modification is rescinded. This Bulletin clarifies that skilled nursing facilities (SNF) are eligible originating sites for telemedicine visits and enables such facilities to bill for a facility fee when a beneficiary located in a SNF receives care via telemedicine from an eligible remote provider.