HCBS Settings Rule Heightened Scrutiny Guidance Now Available! Read for ANCOR Analysis

On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced long-awaited heightened scrutiny guidance on a key component of the Home and Community Based Settings (HCBS) Rule. The HCBS Settings Rule regulates Medicaid-funded supports provided in the community that help people with disabilities live life like everyone else. The guidance comes in the form of FAQs and focuses on a component of the regulation that will allow states to submit a package of settings that do not appear to comply with the rule to the Secretary of HHS and ask the Secretary apply “heightened scrutiny” to overcome a presumption of isolation which would prevent the settings from receiving HCBS funding. As compliance of the HCBS Settings rule nears in March 2022, stakeholders, providers, and states have been awaiting the guidance to understand what implementation will look like and what settings will be presumed isolating. ANCOR remains in regular communications with CMS and has weighed in on the guidance and followed up on its publication timeline with members.

The notice also shares more information on an upcoming training webinar about the guidance on Thursday, March 28th at 1:30 PM Eastern Time. The webinar will be led by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the branch of HHS that administers the HCBS Settings Rule. Register here.

ANCOR will hold its own webinar on the guidance for providers on April 3 – more to come soon including registration

ANCOR staff are currently analyzing the guidance – click here for our summary and initial thoughts.