Caregiving
EVV in Ohio: What Caregivers and Families Actually Need to Know
The short answer
Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is federally required time-tracking for personal care and home health services billed to Medicaid. In Ohio, caregivers clock in and out on a phone or tablet at the start and end of each shift, capturing the time, location, and service. Families do not have to do anything. Good agencies catch missed punches the same day.
What to remember
- EVV is Electronic Visit Verification, required by the federal 21st Century Cures Act.
- Ohio uses Sandata as the state EVV aggregator.
- Caregivers clock in and out using a phone app, capturing time, location, and service code.
- Missed or late clock-ins put visit billing at risk and can trigger Medicaid audit findings.
Why EVV exists
Section 12006 of the federal 21st Century Cures Act required every state Medicaid program to verify that home-care visits actually happened. Ohio implemented EVV for personal care in 2021 and for home health visits in 2023.
The point is fraud prevention. The unintended effect is that families now see caregivers tap a phone when they walk in and again when they leave.
What it captures
Who provided the service (the caregiver's verified ID).
Who received it (the consumer's record).
When the visit started and ended.
Where the visit happened, by GPS at clock-in and clock-out.
What service was delivered (personal care, homemaker, respite, etc.).
What families notice
A short, polite check-in: the caregiver opens an app, scans or taps, and the visit is logged. No paperwork on the kitchen counter.
An occasional 'I have no signal, can I clock in from your wifi?' question. Sandusky Street and rural parts of Lucas County have real dead zones; Reliance caregivers are trained to switch to wifi or call the office to log the visit manually.
Sometimes an after-hours text from a coordinator confirming that a shift was completed when the app didn't sync. We'd rather text and confirm than miss the visit.
What to do if something looks wrong
If a family member sees a missed visit or wrong time on an authorization statement, call the agency the same week. EVV records can be corrected with proper documentation but the correction window is short.
If the agency seems to dismiss the concern, call your case manager. Persistent EVV problems are a quality-of-service issue, not a billing quirk.
Why EVV exists
The 21st Century Cures Act required all state Medicaid programs to verify in-home personal care and home health visits electronically by 2020 (personal care) and 2023 (home health).
The goal was to reduce billing fraud and confirm visits actually happened. Ohio implemented Sandata as the statewide aggregator. Every Medicaid-funded personal care visit in Ohio flows through Sandata or an approved alternate vendor.
Frequently asked
Does EVV mean my home is being recorded?
No. EVV captures a GPS coordinate at clock-in and clock-out only. There is no audio, no video, no continuous tracking. The caregiver's phone goes back to being just a phone between punches.
What happens if the caregiver forgets to clock in?
The agency can document a manual exception with a reason, but Ohio Medicaid limits how many manual entries are allowed before it triggers a compliance review. Reliance reviews missed punches every morning and corrects them with the caregiver before the day ends.
Do I (the family) have to do anything for EVV?
No. EVV is the agency's responsibility. The only thing families occasionally help with is wifi access in areas with bad cell coverage.
Is EVV recording me at home?
No. EVV captures a single GPS point at clock-in and clock-out. No audio, no video, no continuous tracking.
Sources we cite
Cite this page
Reliance Care coordinator team. (2026). EVV in Ohio: What Caregivers and Families Actually Need to Know. Reliance Care Solutions. https://www.reliancecaresolutions.com/resources/news/what-is-evv-ohio-caregivers
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