In a November 4, 2021, letter to Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) Secretary Simone Marstiller, HCAF Executive Director Bobby Lolley, RN, expressed the home care community's collective concern about the Medicare certification requirement for home health agencies providing services to Medicaid recipients.

The letter was also sent to Governor DeSantis' health care policy staff and comes after HCAF meetings with Medicaid Director Tom Wallace and other AHCA officials.

This past summer, AHCA announced the lifting of the Medicaid home health agency moratorium effective September 1, 2021. AHCA’s Medicaid provider enrollment policy requires a home health agency to obtain a Medicare Certification Letter to enroll in Medicaid, which can only be obtained by becoming Medicare-certified and accredited through a federally-approved accrediting body. HCAF's latest correspondence to AHCA outlines various concerns and challenges that face providers due to certain Medicaid health plans requiring Medicare certification to continue participating in the managed care program.

Lolley writes:

"While we appreciate AHCA’s efforts to ensure quality care is being provided to all Medicaid recipients, requiring Medicare certification cannot be the only option. Compliance with the state’s own statutes and rules is sufficient to meet these goals, and AHCA’s and the accrediting bodies’ surveys confirm this. Allowing providers to continue to provide services with limited enrollment in Medicaid is critical for recipients of these services. We ask that you consider meeting with us so that we may further discuss these issues and work together toward a reasonable solution."

Click here to read the letter. To view a fact sheet with talking points about the policy, click here.