DOH Clarifies MLTC Assessment Policies

The Department of Health (DOH) has released a policy statement (MLTC 16.01 UAS Assessment Requirements) that reiterates and clarifies UAS assessment requirements for managed long-term care (MLTC) plans. The new guidance also includes policies governing the MLTC UAS review and consult process and procedures for finalizing and signing the MLTC’s UAS assessment and UAS assessment outcomes. A copy of MLTC 16.01 is available here.

The policy statement reminds plans that assessments must be conducted in person. Telephonic and video assessments (e.g., Skypem and FaceTime) are prohibited.  Nurse assessors should sign and finalize the assessment at the time the assessment is conducted and generate the assessment outcomes with input from the member. If information is needed from a collateral party to complete the assessment, and the party is not available at the time of the assessment, the additional information should be collected and the assessment finalized and signed within two days of the in-person assessment. If plans require a supervisor to “review and consult” with respect to an assessment, the assessment must be finalized and signed prior to the supervisor’s review and consultation.

If there is a need to “unfinalize and unsign” an assessment, these actions may be taken by a nurse supervisor with the appropriate functionality provisioned to his/her role in the UAS tool. The assessment should be “refinalized and re-signed” in a timely manner, along with the assessment outcomes, and a note should be inserted in the comments section of the "sign/finalize node" indicating the circumstances that required the repeated signatures. The policy statement also includes detailed instructions concerning unsigned assessments in various scenarios.

Questions for DOH about MLTC assessment policies should be directed here. For more information about the UAS assessment generally, contact the UAS-NY Project Team at 518-408-1021 or via email here.

Contact: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383 ext. 124.