• Read more about Eastern Equine Encephalitis Identified in Maine Mosquitoes

AUGUSTA – The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) announced today that mosquitoes from the York County town of Lebanon tested positive for Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE).

These are the first mosquitoes in Maine to test positive for EEE since 2019, when a horse also tested positive. The last human case of EEE in Maine was in 2015. No known human cases of any locally acquired mosquito-borne illnesses have occurred in Maine this year.

Sep 9, 2023

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently concluded a series of listening sessions about the municipal General Assistance (GA) Program. Developed as a safety net program of last resort over 40 years ago, it is administered by municipalities and Tribes and overseen by DHHS, which reimburses 70 percent of eligible costs. Assistance is provided to eligible individuals by voucher for basic needs such as food, housing, and medication.

• Read more about Maine DHHS Works with Partners to Gather Input on the General Assistance Program

• Read more about Billing Guidance and Claims Reimbursement for Distinct Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorder Units

On October 1, 2023, the Office of MaineCare (OMS) systems will update and prepare to reimburse claims under the new methodology for distinct psychiatric and substance use disorder units as described in the proposed MBM, Chapter II, Section 45, Hospitals Services rule.

• Read more about Rights of Recipients of Mental Health Services and Rights of Recipients of Mental Health Services Who Are Children in Need of Treatment

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services is pleased to invite you to provide input on the Department updates of the Rights of Recipients of Mental Health Services (Adult RoR) and the Rights of Recipients of Mental Health Services who are Children in Need of Treatment (Children’s RoR) (LD 1080).     

• Read more about Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) Phase 2 Trainings

The EVV requirements for Home Health providers delivering services under Section 40 were implemented on January 1, 2023.

We continue to offer weekly provider and aggregator trainings. All trainings are online via Microsoft Teams.

NOTE:  The Absorb training system has been updated to allow providers to register for trainings more than once.

EVV Training Schedule

• Read more about MaineCare Rate Reform Expert Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) Consultation on Draft CY2024 Rate Determination Schedule

Pursuant to P.L. Ch. 639, MaineCare will host its Annual Draft Rate Determination Schedule Consultation with the Rate Reform Expert Technical Advisory Panel (*TAP) on October 4, 2023, from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM via Zoom. This meeting is open to the public.

• Read more about Attention: MaineCare Provider Enrollment Updates

The Office of MaineCare Service (OMS) is providing the following information about the status of provider enrollment case processing timeframes. MaineCare is experiencing a high volume of enrollment cases. In addition, our provider enrollment credentialling vendor, Gainwell Technologies, is experiencing staffing shortages. These challenges are causing provider enrollment cases to take much longer to process than normal, resulting in many pending enrollment cases. Currently, some enrollment cases are taking over 60 days to complete. 

• Read more about Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccination: Hold Claims

On August 14, 2023, the American Medical Association (AMA) updated the CPT® Category I New Immunization Vaccine Codes Long Descriptors to include CPT codes related to RSV vaccines. At this time, rates have not yet been established for these codes. We will communicate rates to providers once they are available.     

• Read more about New Search Feature and E-Bulletins Webpage

Search archived notices       

You can now search all e-messages by subject/title and topic list on the improved MaineCare Bulletin webpage.  We were hearing that the search feature wasn’t user friendly, so we made some updates to make it easier to search archived e-messages.     

• Read more about CORRECTION TO REGISTRATION LINK Section TBD, Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) – Rate Study Kickoff Meeting

The original registration link and calendar event for this kickoff meeting displayed an incorrect date.