DMS News

Important Information for Kentucky Medicaid Providers

Friday May 9;

May 14 is Legacy Free Day - an opportunity to check your National Provider Identifier (NPI) readiness.

The Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) is requesting providers and their billing vendors to participate in a one-day NPI preparation exercise on Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

Participating Kentucky Medicaid providers will send Medicaid claims with NPI-only in provider fields which originally contain NPI/legacy pairs from the provider. In other words, you or your billing vendor will strip the legacy identifiers when they are submitted as part of an NPI/legacy pair.

Over the past month, Kentucky Medicaid has asked providers to begin testing NPI-only by sending a group of claims with NPI alone in primary provider fields. This exercise will help Kentucky Medicaid providers evaluate their NPI readiness prior to the May 23, 2008 deadline.

The outcomes of this exercise are described below:

• Claims are processed and paid by Kentucky Medicaid. Under this scenario, the provider can feel confident that his or her cash flow will not be affected by the May 23 implementation date; or
• Claims are rejected or suspended. Under this scenario, the provider will know in advance that there are problems that must be resolved prior to May 23. Resolution might include changes to the NPESS data or to the Kentucky Medicaid provider enrollment record.

On May 15, participating providers and their billing vendors can revert back to billing claims with their NPI/legacy pairs.  However, if you have the NPI and taxonomy on file with Kentucky Medicaid, continue to bill claims with the NPI.

Announcement: Ask the Medicaid Commissioner Forum

Thursday, Mar. 13

There will be an "Ask the Medicaid Commissioner" forum on Friday, April 25 at 3 p.m. at the Blue Grass Community Action partnership office, 111 Professional Court, Frankfort, in the conference room on the lower level of the building.  Directions are provided below.  All KyHealth Choices members and their guardians, providers, advocacy organizations and staff are invited to attend to learn what's new with KyHealth Choices and to ask any questions they may have.

Requests for accommodations should be made to lynne.flynn@ky.gov or (502) 564-4321 no later than two weeks in advance of the meeting date.

Directions:  From I-64, take Exit 58.  Turn onto Versailles Road, away from downtown Frankfort and toward Versailles.   Turn right onto Millville Road (first traffic light past the interstate interchange).  Take the third right to Corporate Drive.   Take the second left to Laneview Drive.   Take the first right to Professional Court.   The meeting will be held on the lower level of the Blue Grass CAP building.  Please use the parking lot to the right of the building.

Announcement - EDS, in conjunction with KyHealth Choices, will hold Billing Seminars starting in March and lasting through April.

Thursday, March 6

EDS, in conjunction with KyHealth Choices, will hold Billing Seminars starting in March and lasting through April. These Seminars are designed to offer providers instruction and assistance with claims submission guidelines. Each session will include: NPI and Taxonomy use, review of remittance advice changes, a comprehensive reference listing and a question and answer session.

For more information and registration information, click on the Provider Workshop Notice.

Announcement - Kentucky Medicaid Receives Federal Approval for New Waiver

Tuesday, Feb. 26

Program Will Allow State to Serve Individuals with Brain Injuries in Community Settings

Kentucky's Medicaid program has received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to start a new waiver program to better serve individuals with acquired brain injuries in community settings.

The waiver will serve Kentucky residents age 18 and older with acquired brain injuries (ABI). It provides an alternative to institutional care for individuals who have reached a plateau in their rehabilitation level, and require maintenance services to avoid institutionalization and live safely in the community.

This new long term care waiver will complete the continuum of care by complementing Kentucky's existing ABI waiver program, which focuses on intensive rehabilitation services. The waiver also provides the option for self direction of services.

Plans call for Medicaid to roll out the new waiver services later this year.

Announcement- New NDC "Brown Bagging" List Form is now available

Monday, Feb. 11:

The NDC Brown Bag List Form is now available on the DMS Web site.  To view a copy of this form, refer to the Physician Services page.

Announcement - NDC to HCPCS Crosswalk Codes are now available

Monday, Jan. 28:

The NDC to HCPCS crosswalk codes are now available on the DMS Web site.  To view a copy of the codes, refer to the Physician Services page.

Announcement - MFP Draft Operational Protocol available for review on the DMS Web site

Friday, Jan. 11:

In response to CMS grant requirements related to the MFP grant, an initial draft of the MFP Operational Protocol was submitted to CMS on Nov. 1, 2007. A revised submission was filed with CMS on Dec. 26, 2007 which includes benchmarks and other programmatic information. The Dec. 26, 2007 draft of the Operational Protocol is now available for review on the DMS Web site. The draft document and available for public viewing and revision. Please direct comments and questions to Mary Walker, project director at (502)564-7540.

To view a copy of this document, click on the Money Follows the Person (Kentucky Transitions) link listed on the left.

Medicaid Member Handbook is now available in English and Spanish!

Friday, Nov. 30:

The Medicaid (KyHealth Choices) Member Handbook is now available on-line in English and Spanish.  The handbook contains practical information about KyHealth Choices benefit plans, important telephone numbers and Web sites, prior authorization, how to get transportation services, choosing or changing your primary care provider (PCP), emergency room use, 24-hour nurse information line and other important topics useful for members, providers and case managers alike.

To view a copy of the handbook, click on one of the links listed below.
KyHealth Choices Member Handbook - English

KYHealth Choices Manual para Miembros - en espanol

To request a hard copy of the manual, contact the KyHealth Choices call center at (800) 635-2570 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (EST) Monday - Friday.

Important Update Regarding Tamper-resistant Prescription Pads

Tuesday, Oct. 2:

The implementation of the requirement to use tamper-resistant blanks for all written Medicaid prescriptions has been delayed until April 1, 2008.

The House and Senate passed a bill late last week (HR 3668), and President Bush signed it on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007. The passage of this bill provides a reasonable timeframe for implementation, which will allow us to facilitate a smooth transition to meet the new requirements.

We will continue to work with CMS, the pharmacy community and the prescriber community to identify and answer any pertinent questions related to this implementation. We will send out further information to assist you in the new few months.

Federal Grant Will Allow Kentucky to Launch Half-Million Nursing Home Diversion Program

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007

Kentucky Among Just 12 States Chosen by HHS

A grant from the federal Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) means nearly a half-million dollars will be available to provide more affordable choices to help keep people at home and out of nursing homes.

HHS has awarded Kentucky a more than $330,000 grant, which the state will match with $136,000 to launch the nursing home diversion program.

This funding comes on the heels of announcements earlier this year of two related projects that build on the KyHealth Choices Medicaid reform initiative, the $49 million Money Follows the Person grant and the recently-approved federal waiver to provide more community alternatives.

A total of $5.7 million was awarded to the 12 states to support state efforts to assist individuals in avoiding unnecessary nursing home placement, impoverishment and spend-down to Medicaid.

The Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grants Program will help enable states to use funds in a more flexible manner so that a greater range of support options can be made available to individuals who are at high risk of nursing home placement. These grants will also enable states to give consumers a greater role in determining the types of services and the manner in which they receive them.

New Program Provides Further Flexibility to Serve Kentuckians under KyHealth Choices

Wednesday, Sept. 05, 2007

Federal Agency Approves Medicaid Waiver for Enhanced Community Services
 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved a new Medicaid waiver that will increase Kentucky's ability to provide community services to individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities through KyHealth Choices.

The 1915C waiver, approved Aug. 29, will provide non-residential supports and services needed by individuals with mental retardation or developmental disabilities to enable them to live safely in the community, rather than in institutions. Individuals served by Optimum Choices—the KyHealth Choices plan designed to serve individuals with these diagnoses—will experience a broader range of options for supportive care in the community as a result of this new program.

The program will first serve the approximately 3,000 individuals on the Supports for Community Living waiting list. Those individuals may choose to stay on the waiting list for residential services while receiving these community supports. However, in the first year of the program, Medicaid may provide services for up to 10,000 people. In each of the following two years, the capacity to serve 2,000 more people will be added.

The new waiver program will provide home and community based services (personal care, homemaker services, respite, adult day health, attendant care and minor home adaptations), case management services, behavioral supports, community living supports, supported employment and adult day training. Individuals must meet the level of care criteria for placement in an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF-MR) and may receive up to 50 hours of services each week. 

Fluoride Varnish Manual is now available

July 2007

Effective July 1, DMS began reimbursing physicians to administer topical fluoride varnish to the teeth of Medicaid eligible clients through age 4. Refer to the physician's services page to view a copy of the manual.

New Member ID Cards

June 2007

As of June, all Medicaid members began receiving new cards. For more information, click here.