FIDA form tests providers’ patience
What is almost as bad as preparing taxes? For the providers who will be participating in the Fully Integrated Dual Advantage demonstration project for dual eligibles, it’s the dreaded Americans With Disabilites Act attestation form. The state Department of Health and CMS require the form to ensure that the physical sites of providers who participate in FIDA plans are ADA accessible.
In theory, the goal is admirable. In practice, New York doctors have had to fill out different three- or four-page ADA attestation forms for nearly every insurer.
The questions are highly specific. Is the threshold no greater than one-quarter of an inch, or if beveled, three-quarters of an inch? Is the door handle no higher than 48 inches? And so on.
Aetna’s form, for example, requires more than 40 answers when sub-questions to the 25 questions are included.
“The form looks simple, but it is demanding,” said an executive at a Manhattan physician practice. “What if on the first page I have to say ‘no’ to a question? What are the consequences?”
The form, which was due last month, may be required from doctors, hospitals, physical therapists and pharmacies, said the New York Health Plan Association. Plans must only contract with providers that have filled out the ADA form.
The form “is overwhelming in terms of the level of detail, and hard to gauge what level a provider needs to meet for compliance,” said HPA President Paul Macielak.
Far more than an inconvenience, the ADA form is a legal document that can’t be ignored, warn lawyers. Providers “should not treat ADA attestation forms lightly as they might later be used in audits of FIDA compliance or as potential adverse evidence in ADA public accommodations litigation,” noted law firm Epstein Becker Green in a December client alert.