August 6, 2020
Dear NYS Council Members Serving Children,
We were pleased to take notice of the NYS Department of Health’s announcement today that The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the NYSDOH’s request for an Appendix K for Children’s Waiver services due to the Covid-19 state of emergency. Appendix K allows the continuation of flexibilities initiated earlier this year that have been so important to the provision of care to those we serve during the pandemic.
Appendix K delineates flexibilities in several areas, including:
- telehealth/telephonic services
- service coordination and care planning
- respite services
- billing
- consent
- incident reporting
The Appendix K approval is for the period of March 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021. Additional guidance will be issued as needed, or as the end date gets closer.
In addition to the NYSDOH Announcement and FAQ documents sent earlier today, we are providing the full Appendix K document for your review, as well as the link to continuously updated Covid-19 Telehealth Guidance. As always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about this information, or any other concerns.