DDS Guidance Regarding Provider Attestation for Absence Payments for Nonresidential Services During the COVID-19
State of Emergency
As a result of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Proclamation of a State of Emergency dated March 4, 2020, the Department of Developmental Services (Department) issued a directive on
March 12, 2020, and additional guidance on
May 7, 2020 and
June 18, 2020, authorizing regional centers to pay vendors for consumer absences for nonresidential services, pursuant to Title 17, California Code of Regulations section 54326(a)(11), that were the direct result of the COVID-19 State of Emergency.
Although absence payments ended on August 31, 2020, in accordance with the Department’s
July 17, 2020 and
August 31, 2020 directives, providers that claimed absence payments between May and August 2020 must attest to the following requirements in compliance with general auditing principles outlined in the Department’s
May 7, 2020 guidance and requirements established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:
1) If a provider experienced any reduction in payroll due to employee layoffs or furlough days for direct service professionals during the period absences were claimed, claims were reduced by the same level as the reduction in payroll.
2) If a provider received COVID-19 relief funding, including but not limited to, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance Program, or any other similar federal or state programs, claims received from the regional center were repaid or offset if: (1) the funds received from PPP or other programs did not require repayment (e.g. forgiven PPP loan) and (2) the funds received from PPP or other programs were for the same expenses reimbursed by the regional center.
Providers will attest to the requirements above through the existing provider certification in eBilling. Underlined in the
enclosure is the new attestation requirement added in eBilling. Additionally, providers must maintain documentation, subject to review and audit, to support absence claims during the State of Emergency. Please share this information with your provider community.
