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Novitas Solutions has announced that there are changes to the Amount in Controversy (AIC) for appeals filed on or after January 1, 2025. The AIC requires the claims value in dispute to meet the threshold for obtaining an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing and a judicial review in federal district court. The AIC is recalculated and published on an annual basis and is identified in a provider’s appeal notice of decision.

The AIC for appeals filed on or after January 1, 2025:

  • ALJ hearing will increase to $190.
  • Federal district court will increase to $1900.

The amount in controversy is calculated in the following manner:

  • Amount Charged minus Medicare Payments Already Made or Awarded = Subtotal Balance
  • Subtotal Balance minus Any Applicable Deductible/Coinsurance = AIC

Novitas Solutions is the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction JL, which includes DC, DE, MD, NJ, and PA.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 24-106 and its attachment, which provides updates and identifies future plans for SC First Year Training, including a new Landing Page on MyODP as well as topics and training that were previously required in the 2017 SC Orientation. Please view the announcement and its attachment for information and details.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Due to delays in Individual Support Plan revisions and other factors impacting provider billing, ODP has extended the time period for providers to submit claims for services.

As indicated in ODP Announcement 24-084: Publication of Final Rates Effective Starting Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and Operational Guidance, page 8 noted, “In November, ODP will process a gross adjustment for any fee schedule services billed during the 1st quarter of the fiscal year. This gross adjustment will compensate providers for the rate differential effective July 1, 2024.”

This is a reminder to all providers to bill for any services rendered from July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. ODP will be compensating providers, via gross adjustments, for the difference between the rate billed and the updated fee schedule rate for dates of service rendered during the period July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. ODP anticipates processing gross adjustments on Remittance Advices dated Monday, December 23, 2024, to ensure all billing for dates of service July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024, has been completed. Paid claims data in Remittance Advices between July 1, 2024, and November 18, 2024, will be used as the basis for the gross adjustment.

For questions on how to resolve billing errors for services, contact ODP Claims Resolution.

A webinar was held on October 25 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am for Med Admin Trainers to review how to create new student classes (including Practicum Observer classes), view grader reports of their students, and enter observation and remediation scores. The recording of the session is now available here. A Frequently Accessed Questions document related to the session will be developed and made available within the next two weeks.

You may also access the handouts from the presentation below:

As indicated in ODP Announcement 24-084: Publication of Final Rates Effective Starting Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and Operational Guidance, page 8 noted, “In November, ODP will process a gross adjustment for any fee schedule services billed during the 1st quarter of the fiscal year. This gross adjustment will compensate providers for the rate differential effective July 1, 2024.”

This is a reminder to all providers to bill for any services rendered from July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. ODP will be compensating providers, via gross adjustments, for the difference between the rate billed and the updated fee schedule rate for dates of service rendered during the period July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024. ODP anticipates processing gross adjustments at the end of November 2024 to ensure all billing for dates of service July 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024, has been completed. Paid claims data in Remittance Advices between July 1, 2024, and November 4, 2024, will be used as the basis for the gross adjustment.

For questions on how to resolve billing errors for services, contact ODP Claims Resolution.

Part of the CHC waiver discussions that began with the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) this spring related to mandatory background checks for employees. Since this discussion, OLTL has decided not to move forward with this change in the renewal and amendment submitted to CMS. This change in position was a result of the subsequent public comments and feedback on the collateral impacts.

Also contributing to this reversal were coordinated advocacy efforts by RCPA’s Coalition for Choice partners, resulting in the elimination of the requirement for federal background checks, including FBI fingerprinting, for over 125,000 caregivers and direct care workers for services in the Community HealthChoices and OBRA waivers. The costs for these mandatory background checks would have been in excess of $50 per employee.

The resulting decision will be included in the review and presentation of changes during the LTSS meeting next Wednesday, November 6. At this time, the background check requirements remain under consideration by OLTL for future amendments and renewals.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to Fady Sahhar.