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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions are used to provide additional information and/or statutory guidance not found in State Medicaid Director Letters, State Health Official Letters, or CMCS Informational Bulletins. The different sets of FAQs as originally released can be accessed below.

Showing 51 to 60 of 137 results

CALT is no longer available. Where should state artifacts and evidence be posted?

Granting CMS direct access to the state's evidence repository is the preferred method for making evidence available to CMS. If that is not possible, the state may make other secure arrangements with CMS, such as using encrypted File Transfer Protocol (FTP). It is critical to follow all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations when submitting evidence that contains personal health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII).

FAQ ID:95081

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Should IV&V progress reports include all the checklist sets every time they submit a progress report?

No. Only the checklists pertaining to the modules undergoing review need to be included, and that only for the report created in preparation for a milestone review. However, the IV&V progress report should include risks and recommendations for the entire project--not just those about to undergo a milestone review.

FAQ ID:95086

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Why are there Standards and Conditions (S&C) and Access and Delivery (A&D) criteria in the Information Architecture checklist?

When streamlining the core checklists (IA, TA and S&C checklists), we found that some criteria fit better in other checklists, so they were moved. To keep traceability simple for the states, we chose to keep the original identifiers for any criteria that were moved. The same holds true for criteria moved to the programmatic tab of the IV&V progress report template.

FAQ ID:95091

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Are Eligibility and Enrollment (E&E) systems now going to be certified the way MMIS systems are certified?

No, E&E systems are not subject to certification. Though the Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Toolkit (MEET) was based on the MMIS toolkit, the MEET was created as a way to align how CMS reviews Medicaid enterprise systems and is a means for CMS to provide technical assistance to the states.

FAQ ID:95096

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Based on CMS guidance, states may take up to 18 months to bring an IV&V contractor on board to perform certification tasks or align current IV&V contract to comply with CMS guidance pertaining to scope of services and financial independence. What must the state do if the IV&V contractor's start up is delayed?

IV&V contractor activities must still be performed such as checklist evaluation, artifact review and preparation of IV&V Progress Reports. The state should provide a plan and timeline for how these activities will be supported and performed until the proper IV&V contract can be either procured or aligned with updated CMS guidance on IV&V.

FAQ ID:94866

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What is the applicability of Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for Exchanges (MARS-E) 2.0 to states' Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS)?

MARS-E 2.0 compliance is not required by CMS for states' MMIS, but CMS recommends that states follow applicable national privacy and security standards and practices for their MMIS. MARS-E 2.0 compliance is required for states' Medicaid/CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment (E&E) systems in order to maintain their Authority to Connect with CMS. Link for more information about MARS-E 2.0: https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/cib-09-23-2015.pdf (PDF, 105.5 KB).

FAQ ID:94871

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Can state Medicaid agencies access federal financial participation (FFP) to support system changes necessary to meet HIPAA, NIST cybersecurity, or MARS-E 2.0 standards?

For E&E and MMIS, enhanced FFP funding is available at 90 percent via the usual Advanced Planning Document process.

FAQ ID:94876

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This table indicates what reports are available to CMS Users. These can be found under the "Reports" tab.

Report Name

Description

Available For

Clock Status Report

View the regulatory clock statuses

CPOC, CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin CMS Report Admin,

State Agency Profile Report

Overview of a State's Medicaid Plan including the prior 12 months' submission package history

CPOC, CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin, CMS Report Admin, CSA, SRT

Submission Detail Report

View details on packages by date

CPOC, CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin, CMS Report Admin, SME, PA, PD,SRRVW, SRT

Submission Statistics Detail Report

View all Submission Packages currently in review

CPOC, CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin, CMS Report Admin, SME, PA, PD, SRRVW, SRT

Submission Statistics Summary Report

View summary of Submission Packages in a specific review status within a specified date range.

CPOC, CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin, CMS Report Admin, SME, PA, PD,SRRVW, SRT

Submission Summary Report

Overview of submitted packages by date

CPOC, CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin, CMS Report Admin, SME, PA, PD,SRRVW, SRT

Staff Workload Report

View the number of Submission Packages assigned to each CPOC and SRT member, as of the report run date.

CMS Disapproval Coordinator, SRT Admin, CMS Report Admin, CSA

FAQ ID:92871

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What is the Review Tool Report?

The Review Tool Report is a feature CPOCs, SRTs, Senior Reviewers, Package Approvers, Package Disapprovers, and CMS Report Admins can utilize to see Package Reviewable Units, Reviewers, Reviewable Unit Assessment Values, and Notes.

Log in as CMS Point of Contact or Submission Review Team member. Under the "Records" tab, select "Submission Packages". Then select the link to the submission package. In the left panel, select "Review Tool Report". You may sort the reviews of all Review Team members by Package Reviewable Unit, Reviewer, Reviewable Unit Assessment Value, or Note/Assessments by utilizing the drop-down boxes. You also have the ability to export this report to Excel by selecting "Export to Excel."

FAQ ID:92876

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What is the purpose of each Analyst Note Type?

Analyst Notes are a form of brief internal communication for the CMS Review Team. These notes are a part of the official record; however, State users are not able to see these notes. Analyst Notes are part of the Review Tool for each Reviewable Unit and the SRT or CPOC may view the notes from other Review Team members (depending on the type of note) within the Review Tool, and add his/her own notes.


The CMS Point of Contact or Submission Review Team members may add Analysts Notes through the Review Tool. The types of notes available are referenced in a table below. You will start by logging in as the CMS Point of Contact or Submission Review Team member, then going to the "Records" tab. Under the "Records" tab select "Submission Packages" and then select the link to the package. In the left panel select "Analyst Notes". You will then have the ability to search notes entered by Review Team Members.

Analyst Note Type Description Visible By
Note to self Private note for self only Self
For POC (Formal Review) Indicates information that should be included in disposition CPOC
For Review Team For other Review Team members CPOC and SRT
For RAI Indicates something that requires RAI CPOC and SRT
For Correspondence Log Indicates information that should be communicated to the SPOC CPOC and SRT
Non SRT-User Note on behalf of a CMS participant outside of the Review Team CPOC and SRT
General Note A note that doesn't fall into another category All
Justification Provides bases for a recommended disposition POC Admin, CPOC and SRT
Post-Recommendation Included by other CMS users during the package disposition review POC Admin, CPOC and SRT

FAQ ID:92881

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