Deadline Approaching: 2023 Home Care Cost Report Due Aug. 30, 2024

(Aug. 20, 2024) Members are reminded that the 2023 Home Care Cost Report is due for submission on Fri., Aug. 30, 2024. Providers required to submit this report are Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs), Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs), and Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs).

Resources for reporters are available within the “Useful Links” section of the 2023 Tool Instructions tab year-round.

Please note the important information below regarding the 2023 cost report submission:

• Similar to previous cost reports, the 2023 cost report will be accessible on the Home Care Tool Dashboard here.
• For users who completed the 2019-2022 Home Care Cost Reports, the login credentials for the Web-based Tool will be the same. If you forgot your password, please click the “Forgot Password?” link on the Web-based Tool login page. You will then be sent an email containing the steps to reset your password.
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​If your agency needs to add additional users to the Tool, either an individual from your agency or a hired consultant, please send an inquiry to us-advrisknyshc@kpmg.com. In your inquiry, please include the first name, last name, and email address of the individual who needs access.
• Last year, the Department of Health (DOH) launched an optional pilot program to help ease the level of effort in preparing supporting documentation files for the Home Care Cost Report and audit procedures. All providers who opted into the pilot and were selected for audit were not subject to field audit procedures, as the pilot was expected to reduce the risk of reporting errors. Improvements have been made to the supporting documentation template for the 2023 cost reporting year based on the 2022 pilot program and provider feedback. If a home care agency uses the 2023 supporting documentation template, it may be selected for a desk audit, but will be exempt from the additional field audit procedures. Additional details will be forthcoming.

As members know, the Home Care Cost Report is required to be completed by CHHAs, LHCSAs, and FIs. Please note that the below agencies are not required to complete the Home Care Cost Report:

• Assisted Living Program (ALP)-only agencies
• Private pay-only agencies
• Hospital-based CHHAs or LHCSAs
• Private duty nursing-only agencies
• Agencies receiving no Medicaid reimbursement (through Fee-for-Service (FFS) or Managed Long Term Care (MLTC))
• LHCSAs that contract with CHHAs and provide no other home care services
• CHHAs that provide ONLY hospice services
• Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)-only facilities
• Nursing Home Transition and Diversion (NHTD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) program-only facilities

The Cost Report is accessible on the Home Care Tool Dashboard. Note that the Reporting Hierarchy form must be completed and submitted before users can access the Cost Report schedules.

In September, an audit webinar will be held. After the conclusion of the KPMG audit process, a lessons learned webinar will be held to discuss successes and opportunities for improvement for the cost report submission and audit process.

In addition to these webinars, prior to the 2022 cost report year, KPMG and DOH prepared pre-recorded webinar content for new home care providers or those who would like a refresher on the Home Care Cost Report background, key information, and Tool functionality. The pre-recorded webinars are available within the “Useful Links” section of the 2023 Tool Instructions tab year-round.

The link for the Web-based Tool used for the Home Care Cost Report submission and audit process is here. Please select the “2023” option when you enter the link to access the 2023 cost report. To access the Web-based Tool, please use the login credentials that were sent to your agency. Please review the Instructions tab within the Tool for reporting guidance, the playback of the 2023 initial outreach session, and supporting documentation template (also attached below). Providers are encouraged to review this information when completing the cost report schedules. For reference, please see the most up-to-date instructions document, also attached below.

For additional guidance on specific reporting topics, providers should watch the pre-recorded webinar series available in the “Useful Links” section of the “Instructions” tab of the Tool. There are pre-recorded modules for the following topics:

10. Home Care Cost Report Overview and Background
11. Home Care Cost Report Terminology
12. Home Care Cost Report Web-based Tool Walkthrough
13. Reporting Guidance for Contracting Relationships on Schedules 3 and 4
14. Allocating Costs on Schedules 3 and 4
15. Supporting Documentation and the SFTP site
16. Workers’ Recruitment and Retention Reporting Guidance

As part of the Home Care Cost Report process, agencies are required to upload their supporting documentation for each cost report schedule to the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) site. Agencies should have recently received their usernames and login credentials to do this.

Accessing the SFTP Site

1. You are able to access the SFTP site directly using this link.
2. Upon entering the SFTP site, you will have access to all of the agency folders for which you also have access to the Web-based Tool.
3. Note: Similar to the Web-based Tool, the same login credentials are used to access the SFTP site for all agencies for which you have access.
   1. After navigating to the correct agency folder name, please upload ALL documentation that was used to complete the schedules of the Home Care Cost Report.
4. Note: The name of the documents uploaded to the SFTP site should match the name of the documents that you entered within the questions for each schedule of the cost report.
   1. Supporting documentation is required to be submitted to the SFTP site within seven days of the Home Care Cost Report due date.
   2. The KPMG audit teams will access the documentation you upload to the SFTP site for audit purposes​​​​​​​.​​​​​​​

If you have any questions regarding the above information, please send them to us-advrisknyshc@kpmg.com.

Members can learn more about the Home Care Cost Report here.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871