Instructions to Apply for Retainer Payments for Providers of MaineCare Benefits Manual (MBM), Sections 18, 20, 21, and 29 Services 

May 13, 2022

This is a follow up to the August 30, 2021 e-message and September 24, 2021 e-message regarding Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Retainer Payments made in 2021 to providers of certain services under Sections 18, 20, 21, and 29.  

Some providers of eligible services under Sections 18, 20, 21, and 29 who did not qualify to receive these retainer payments in 2021 may now qualify under revised Appendix K authority approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 7, 2022. As a reminder, these payments are intended to provide relief and mitigate the risk of agency closures during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for providers of select services. Please reference the full list of eligible services in the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Retainer Payment Request Guidelines. 

The Department has modified the retainer payment attestation requirement regarding staff layoffs (#4 within the attestation form) so that a provider may still qualify to receive a retainer payment even if they laid off staff during the retainer period of October through December 2020. The Department retains all other requirements regarding implementation of retainer payments in Maine from the Appendix K previously approved by CMS on June 7, 2021. 

Providers who are now eligible for payments under this new guidance must complete and submit an attestation form no later than Sunday, June 6, 2022 to be eligible for retainer payments. The Department appreciates earlier submissions to facilitate its review and processing of payments. Providers must report the compensation and fixed costs associated with any laid off staff, as described above, on the attestation form. The Department will reduce the amount of any retainer payment by that amount. The attestation form includes instructions and information about how MaineCare will make payments. 

We anticipate making payments in early to mid-July 2022, and we will issue an e-message when we have a specific date. Timing of the payments is in part dependent on providers’ timely submission of attestation forms. 

Please contact Provider Relations Specialist Tammy Usher with questions.