2/28/26 EVV exemption under attack 😡

SUMMARY OF THIS ACTION ALERT:

Contact Senate and House financial committees to remove damaging EVV language from Budget.

UPDATE:

The proposed budget from the House and the Senate does not include the amendments that were requested to take out that bad language in the former governor's budget--

The bad language in the budget removing the EVV exemption for live-in caregivers is still in the budget being proposed by both Chambers.

The Budget as a document, has to go to a Conference Committee since the House and Senate versions are different.

We don't know who will be appointed to that Committee yet. But we do know it will be members of the finance committees.

ACTION #1 This Weekend:

We are contacting the finance committees in both the House and the Senate to educate them about the EVV issue.

~~~~~~~

Email subject: Request to Remove Harmful EVV Language

Dear Members of the ____________Committee,

I want to make you aware of language that remains in the proposed Budget, which will impose real harm on people with disabilities and their families without any substantiated fiscal or program integrity benefit.

I respectfully request that you remove the following language from Item #291 in the budget:

“The Department of Medical Assistance Services shall seek federal authority through the necessary waiver(s) and/or state plan amendments…to eliminate the live-in caregiver exemption from electronic visit verification requirements…”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says that live-in caregivers are not considered visitors and allows states to grant an exemption from the EVV requirement to record hours for live-in caregivers.

This is important to me because I am the live-in caregiver for my son/daughter/family member/spouse/parent. Requiring live-in caregivers to use EVV will impose real harm on people with disabilities and their families and caregivers.

ADD one or two of these TALKING POINTS or add your own:

Live-in caregivers do not "visit," and the use of a "visit" monitor system does not capture the ongoing presence and involvement of the caregiver.
Care is continuous, not clock-based, and using EVV misrepresents how care actually happens and forces caregivers to log artificial “shifts” that don’t reflect reality.
EVV is designed for an attendant who “visits” to provide intermittent support. Live-in caregiving is continuous and cannot be chopped up into visit tasks.
If there is a need for oversight, care recipients and families can easily verify that care occurred.
Live-ins are on call 24/7. Shift workers are not on call and clock out at the end of a shift. Live-ins cannot clock out. It’s unreasonable to expect a live-in caregiver to clock in and out for every issue addressed around the clock.
The EVV system was created to track shift-worker attendant time and movement to help prevent fraud. There is no potential fraud component for live-in caregivers.
EVV tracks location. The live-in caregiver will be at the location, so there is no point in the location tracking aspect. The task tracking is easily verified by other means.
Live-in caregivers are working around the clock far more hours than they are being paid.
Live-in caregivers provide care intermittently throughout the day and night
Live-in caregivers respond to unpredictable needs such as: seizures, elopement, behavioral crises, toileting, medications, and much more.
Overnight and on-call hours are hard to document.
Live-in caregivers must remain available at all times and may be awakened multiple times per night for seizures, medical needs, or elopement.
Live-in caregivers are tied up with all too common urgencies and emergencies around the clock, day and night. They shouldn't be forced to direct their energy to a time clock and away from the person receiving care.
EVV does not add anything to the quality of care or even accountability, since care recipients and families can easily verify that care occurred without EVV.
Many live-in caregivers are family members who left paid employment to provide care and save Virginia significant institutional care costs.
Requiring these live-in caregivers to use EVV will push many toward institutional care instead.
It shows bad faith for Virginia to now remove that exemption, and it will make caregiving feel punitive and distrustful.

Requiring live-in caregivers to use electronic visit verification (EVV) would return Virginia to a system it dispensed with for live-in caregivers in 2020. CMS recognizes that EVV is a burden for live-in caregivers and allows this exemption.

Please remove this harmful language from the final Budget.

Sincerely,

XXXX

ACTION #2 This Weekend

In addition to the Committee members

EMAIL and Call Leadership- They each get their own email since they are not on the committees we are contacting but they are in Leadership and need to know about this issue:

Speaker Don Scott - 804-698-1088

deldscott@house.virginia.gov

Dear Speaker Scott,

Delegate LeVere-Bolling- 804-698-1080

deldleverebolling@house.virginia.gov

Dear Delegate LeVere-Bolling

Delegate Terry Kilgore- 804-698-1045

delTkilgore@house.virginia.gov

Dear Delegate Kilgore,

Delegate Webert- 804-698-1061

delmwebert@house.virginia.gov

Dear Delegate Webert,

Senator Reeves- 804-698-7528

senatorreeves@senate.virginia.gov

Dear Senator Reeves,

Senator Stanley- 804-698-7507

senatorstanley@senate.virginia.gov

Dear Senator Stanley,

Emails for House Appropriations Committee

Dear Members of the House Appropriations Committee,

DelLTorian@house.virginia.gov,

DelBCarr@house.virginia.gov,

DelDMcQuinn@house.virginia.gov,

DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov,

DelCHayes@house.virginia.gov,

DelDReid@house.virginia.gov,

DelRWillett@house.virginia.gov,

DelBSewell@house.virginia.gov,

DelAAskew@house.virginia.gov,

DelCHerring@house.virginia.gov,

DelMPrice@house.virginia.gov,

DelKTran@house.virginia.gov,

DelSSimonds@house.virginia.gov,

DelJThomas@house.virginia.gov,

DelALaufer@house.virginia.gov,

DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov,

DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov,

DelRBloxom@house.virginia.gov,

DelKHodges@house.virginia.gov,

DelSWyatt@house.virginia.gov,

DelBWiley@house.virginia.gov,

DelEMcLaughlin@house.virginia.gov,

Emails for the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee:

Dear Members of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee,

senatorlucas@senate.virginia.gov,

senatordeeds@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorlocke@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorbagby@senate.virginia.gov,

senatormcdougle@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorobenshain@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorstuart@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorreeves@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorfavola@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorsurovell@senate.virginia.gov,

senatormcpike@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorboysko@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorpillion@senate.virginia.gov,

senatorrouse@senate.virginia.gov,

senatoraird@senate.virginia.gov,

Calling- (You can leave message too)

If you are constituent, ask to for an appointment time to speak to your Legislator.
If you are not a constituent, ask to speak to the Legislative Assistant. If they ask if you are a constituent and try to block you, then say "I am a member of the Virginia Autism Project, a statewide advocacy group and I want to speak to the legislative assistant on a budget matter of concern to the autism and caregiver community"
EXPLAIN Why EVV is such a hardship to live-in caregivers.
Ask if they have any information about the EVV issue.
If they do then you can talk about why it is important to you
If they do not know anything about EVV-
Tell them what EVV is
Tell them why removing this language is important to you.
Ask them to make this a priority for the final Budget.

Delegate Torian, 804-698-1024

Delegate Carr, 804-698-1078

Delegate McQuinn, 804-698-1081

Delegate Krizek, 804-698-1016

Delegate Hayes, 804-698-1091

Delegate Reid, 804-698-1028

Delegate Willett, 804-698-1058

Delegate Sewell, 804-698-1025

Delegate Askew, 804-698-1095

Leader Herring, 804-698-1004

Delegate Price, 804-698-1085

Delegate Tran, 804-698-1018

Delegate Simonds, 804-698-1070

Delegate Thomas, 804-698-1021

Delegate Laufer, 804-698-1055

Delegate Austin, 804-698-1037

Delegate Morefield, 804-698-1043

Delegate Bloxom, 804-698-1000

Delegate Hodges, 804-698-1068

Delegate Wyatt, 804-698-1060

Delegate Wiley, 804-698-1032

Delegate McLaughlin, 804-698-1036

Senator Lucas, 804-698-7518

Senator Deeds, 804-698-7511

Senator Locke, 804-698-7523

Senator Bagby, 804-698-7514

Senator McDougle, 804-698-7526

Senator Obenshain, 804-698-7502

Senator Stuart, 804-698-7525

Senator Reeves, 804-698-7528

Senator Favola, 804-698-7540

Senator Surovell, 804-698-7534

Senator McPike, 804-698-7529

Senator Boysko, 804-698-7538

Senator Pillion, 804-698-7506

Senator Rouse, 804-698-7522

Senator Aird, 804-698-7513

SEPARATE but IMPORTANT Action

The House of Delegates has a page where you can make public comments on bills. (The Senate doesn't have this.)

Please go to:

https://hodspeak.house.virginia.gov/committees/H02/bill_feedback

Scroll down and check the box next to:

🔲 HB30. Torian. Budget Bill.

🔲 SB29. Lucas. Budget Bill.

Tell Them: Remove under Item #291

REMOVE ->"NNNNN. The Department of Medical Assistance Services shall seek federal authority through the necessary waiver(s) and/or state plan amendments under Titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to eliminate the live-in caregiver exemption from electronic visit verification requirements. The department shall promulgate emergency regulations to implement this change within 280 days or less from the enactment of this act. The department shall implement this change upon federal approval and prior to the completion of any regulatory process undertaken in order to effect such change."

ADD:

I am a parent/caregiver/person with disabilities and maintaining the EVV exemption for live-in caregivers is important to me because--

ADD: Talking points from list above or use your own

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