Dear Administrator: 2004 Personal Care Software

June 01, 2005

RE: 2004 Personal Care Software

Dear Administrator:

In accordance with Section 505.14 of Title 18 NYCRR, all personal care services agencies that have contracts with a local social services department for the provision of personal care services to Medicaid recipients shall complete and file annual financial and statistical reports as the Department of Health may require on forms supplied by the Department. It is anticipated that the 2004 Personal Care Software will be available on the Internet no later than June 1, 2004.

This report will be used to report your actual 2004 costs and statistics and may be used for the promulgation of Personal Care Services Medicaid Rates for the year 2006. If you are a new provider who opened during 2004 and therefore do not have actual costs and statistics for the full year 2004, you will need to report your budgeted costs and estimated statistics for 2006.

The 2004 Personal Care Provider Cost Report (PCPCR01) must be filed with the Department no later than August 31, 2005. The reports will be filed electronically using the Health Provider Network (HPN).

Health Provider Network (HPN) Address

You may download the software from the department's Internet-Based Health Provider Network. This may be accessed at https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/hpn . Once you have reached this page, you will need to access the section entitled "Programs" and then click on the Program Area for the Division of Health Care Financing. Once you have reached our division's Home Page, you may access the Personal Care Agencies Cost Report 2004 (PCPCR04) for download.

Enclosed with this letter are instructions on using the HPN and on installing the software onto your computer.

Regulatory Amendments

Extensions to the Due Date

Section 505.14(h)(7)(i)(a)(3) allows the Department to grant a provider an additional 30 calendar days to submit the report. Prior to the due date, the provider must establish, to the Department's satisfaction, that it cannot submit the cost report on time due to reasons beyond the provider's control. No extensions will be granted to provider's who have failed to enroll in the Health Provider Network (HPN).

If you cannot submit your cost report by the due date, you must send a letter to the Department prior to that date, which states the reason the report cannot be submitted on time and the local social services district for which you are requesting the extension.

The letter should be addressed to:

Mr. Timothy E. Casey
New York State Department of Health
Bureau of Long Term Care Reimbursement
943 Corning Tower Building
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237-0709.

Current Agency Charge Information

Provider's must report their agency's <current charges

Changes for the 2004 Cost Report

No significant changes have been made to the Cost Report software utilized for 2003 reports. However, you should refer to the Dear Administrator letter dated June 1, 2004 to be reminded of the changes which were made to the 2003 report that will continue for 2004 reporting.

Personal Care Provider Cost Report Data Security

The Department has developed a data security system. Once your cost report passes all edits and is finalized, a Declaration Control Number (DCN) will appear on the computer screen and each page of report printouts. Any change in the cost report will cause the DCN to be erased and another DCN will not be generated until the report is finalized again. Please refer to the HELP section of the PCPCR software for information on creating the Final Cost Report and the DCN Number.

Filing the Report

The Department will be accepting reports when you receive this letter. When the report has been successfully uploaded and filed with the Department, the agency will receive an electronic acknowledgment indicating the report is accepted and echoing back the DCN for the agency's report. This will happen each time that the agency files a report with a different DCN. Reports with the same DCN will be rejected after the first report is accepted.

Operator and Independent Accountant Certifications

The Bureau must receive the originally executed copies of both the operator's certification (Schedule E) and the accountant's opinion (Schedule F) no later than September 14, 2005. These statements can be printed from the software and the original hard copy must be mailed to the address listed above. If a facility files multiple reports, certifications are required only for the "final" report. The DCN of the "final" report must appear on both Schedule E (Operator's Certification) and Schedule F (Accountant's Opinion). Please refer to the HELP section of the PCPCR software for information on creating the Final Cost Report and the DCN.

If multiple reports are filed, the Department will deem the last report filed for a district contract as the facility's "final" report, unless the agency notifies the Bureau, in writing, that an earlier submission should be recognized as the "final" report. The agency must clearly identify such earlier submission by DCN as the "final" report and insure that the certifications are appropriately completed for the "final" report.

Should your Personal Care Agency have any problems or have questions regarding the completion of the electronic cost report please call the Personal Care Rate Unit at (518) 473-8910.

Should you have any problems or questions regarding the electronic mail network please contact the

Sincerely,

Kathleen E. Gill
Chief Health Care Fiscal Analyst
Bureau of Long Term Care Reimbursement

Enclosures