Mountain State Times

The West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS), Bureau for Medical Services, has announced plans to audit Medicaid waiver providers regarding the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds received during the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers were informed about this audit through a letter sent on April 12, 2024.

The Bureau for Medical Services (BMS) will conduct these audits to verify that ARPA funds were used appropriately, specifically ensuring that 85% of the funds went directly to the direct care workforce as wages or other incentives. The audit aims to confirm proper expenditure of ARPA funds by March 31, 2025. Any funds found unused or misused must be returned.

During the pandemic, ARPA funds provided a 50% rate increase to waiver programs from April 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. These increases required that 85% of the additional funding benefit workers involved in providing or billing for services receiving rate hikes and those offering other Medicaid and state-funded Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). Organizations receiving these funds agreed to comply with this requirement.

Approximately $390 million in ARPA funds were distributed: $200 million went to Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Waiver (IDDW) providers, $116 million to Aged and Disabled Waiver (ADW) providers, $73 million to Personal Care providers, and $984,000 to Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver (TBIW) providers. Providers have until March 2025 to utilize these funds for direct care workers and related costs covering Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and most of FY2025.

Providers will receive details about the timeline for reviews and submission of supporting documentation on or after May 15, 2024. Information regarding the final reconciliation process will also be shared at that time.

It is crucial to understand that DoHS and BMS do not pay wages directly; they reimburse services rendered. Providers receive rates from which they decide on employee compensation based on their business operations.