Effective May 1, 2020, Liberty Healthcare of North Carolina will resume completion of annual assessments. SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #30: Personal Care Services Assessments also indicated that annual assessments due would have Prior Approvals extended for a minimum of 90 days.
NC Medicaid has adjusted home health requirements currently in Home Health Clinical Coverage Policy No: 3A to align with a CMS regulatory change focused mostly on changes to the Medicare policy addressing COVID-19.
NC Medicaid temporarily suspended the requirement of Level I and Level II Preadmission Screening and Resident Reviews (PASRRs) for new nursing home admissions as well as the requirement of a PASRR number on the prior approval (PA). The temporary suspension was due to COVID-19 and was in effect from March 25 – April 24, 2020, as noted in SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #15: Medicaid and NC Health Choice Temporary Flexibilities - 1135 Waiver Provisions.
Effective April 27, 2020, prescriptions for NC Medicaid and NC Health Choice beneficiaries are eligible for the addition of a mailing or delivery fee via the guidelines below. NC Medicaid encourages beneficiaries to request, and pharmacy providers to mail or deliver prescriptions to beneficiaries, during the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve better social distancing within their community.
Effective with date of service Feb. 15, 2020, the Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs cover trastuzumab-qyyp for injection, for intravenous use (Trazimera™) for use in the Physician Administered Drug Program (PADP) when billed with HCPCS code Q5116 - Injection, trastuzumab-qyyp, biosimilar, (trazimera), 10 mg.
Strength/Package Size: For Injection: 420 mg lyophilized powder in a multiple-dose vial for reconstitution
Effective with date of service Feb. 19, 2020, the Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs cover cetirizine hydrochloride injection, for intravenous use (Quzyttir™) for use in the Physician Administered Drug Program (PADP) when billed with HCPCS code J3490 - Unclassified drugs.
Effective with date of service Feb. 24, 2020, the Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs cover cefiderocol for injection, for intravenous use (Fetroja®) for use in the Physician Administered Drug Program (PADP) when billed with HCPCS code J3490 - Unclassified drugs.
This Bulletin clarifies which specific Prior Authorizations were lifted on the March 1, 2020, effective date stated in SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #15: Medicaid and NC Health Choice Temporary Flexibilities - 1135 Waiver Provisions (posted March 24, 2020), including references all relevant Prior Authorization information included in other Bulletins; replaces the effective dates originally stated in the following Bulletins: SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #2: General Guidance and Policy Modifications (posted March 13, 2020); SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #10: Durable Medical Equipment:
NOTE: This bulletin has been replace in its entirety by SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #82.
NC Medicaid is directing increased financial assistance to North Carolina Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) and Adult Care Homes (ACH) to support addressing the increased costs of caring for COVID positive (COVID+) residents in a congregate care setting. This targeted assistance, which is retroactive to April 1, 2020, addresses:
NC Medicaid has eliminated the restriction that teletherapy services cannot be conducted via “video cell phone interactions.” These services can now be delivered via any HIPAA-compliant, secure technology with audio and video capabilities, including (but not limited to) smart phones, tablets and computers.