CHC Financial Management Services Transition Now Steady

At the October 7th Financial Management Services (FMS) Stakeholder Meeting, it was announced that the Community HealthChoices FMS transition is in steady state. As a result, stakeholder meetings will no longer occur monthly. Any future meetings will be announced through the Office of Long-Term Living, Community HealthChoices (CHC) listserv.

At the October Stakeholder meeting, it was reported that Tempus has received more than 2 million electronic visit verification shifts since taking over on July 1, 2022 - 63 percent recorded through the Evvie app, 27 percent through the Evvie portal, and 10 percent through the telephone visit verification system (IVR or Ivrie). Almost 90 percent of direct care workers are paid through direct deposit.

Here are some updates and reminders that people who use Tempus and the Participant-Directed Model for some or all their CHC Services, as well as their direct care workers and others who support them, should know moving forward:

• For direct care workers to get paid, shifts must be: 1) recorded and approved by the direct care worker and 2) “approval locked” by the common law employer (the CHC participant or someone acting on their behalf). Both must be done by the Monday after the pay period ends to avoid payment delays.
  
  People who have not been able to access the systems to record and approve time (Evvie app, Evvie portal, and IVR/telephone visit verification) should contact their Service Coordinator for permission to use paper timesheets. Paper timesheets are no longer being accepted unless approved by the CHC plan. This approval is granted on a case-by-case basis.
   
• Paystubs are mailed to all direct care workers. Tempus’ payroll system has a payroll portal that is currently available to direct care workers. Common law employers should be able to access it soon. The payroll portal link above includes instructions and a training video about how to access the portal and a schedule for help sessions.
   
• Tempus is starting to implement a “Utilization Support Plan”. When services provided go over the weekly expected usage based on the monthly service authorization, Tempus will notify the common law employer and the Service Coordinator. Common law employers will get a letter from Tempus as well as phone calls and will be offered resources to help manage their approved services. Direct care workers will not get paid for hours that go over the total monthly hours of authorized personal assistance services by the CHC plan. As a reminder, people can contact their Service Coordinator to request a new assessment if their needs or circumstances change. And, people should have an in-person assessment unless the participant prefers a phone assessment.   
   
• New direct care worker and common law employer enrollments – Tempus reported that it takes one to four weeks, on average, to enroll a new direct care worker. Common law employer enrollments can take less than a week up to several weeks. Various factors affect how long these enrollments take. Please check Tempus’ website for forms and other documents related to both enrollments. Tempus plans to add additional information about the enrollment process and additional documents to help streamline these enrollments. Trainings about the direct care worker enrollment process are held Monday – Friday. Click here to see the training schedule.  
   
• People interested in joining Tempus’ Participant Advisory Group should complete an application.

 

Job aids, training videos, and additional information can be found on Tempus’ website. People who are having problems recording and/or approving time or who have questions about their financial management services should contact Tempus at 1-844-983-6787 or talk to their CHC Service Coordinator. CHC participants who are having problems with financial management services that are not being resolved by Tempus or their CHC plan are encouraged to contact PHLP’s Helpline at 1-800-274-3258 or staff@phlp.org.