HHAeXchange Alternative in Illinois: Third-Party EVV Vendors
Compare a third-party EVV vendor with the state-sponsored HHAeXchange portal in Illinois: what each covers for IDOA and DRS billing, payroll export and compliance.
Resources
Sagar Kumar, COO and Co-Founder, Verveware
State-Sponsored Portal or a Third-Party EVV Vendor?
Illinois IDOA and DRS agencies can use a third-party EVV vendor that sends visit data to the state aggregator, or they can meet EVV rules with the state-sponsored HHAeXchange portal. The portal handles EVV, and Illinois covers the cost. A lot of agency work still sits outside it.
These aren't listed among the portal's features, so they stay with your team:
Billing and claims, including IDOA and MCO billing
Payroll export
Case notes and documents
Training records
Private pay, VA, private duty and respite also aren't among the payers and services listed for the state solution.
What the State-Sponsored Portal Covers
According to HHAeXchange's Illinois info hub and implementation FAQ, the portal:
"Includes the tools required to meet EVV rules," with no minimum agency or census size.
Offers scheduling based on authorizations, plans of care and patient needs. HFS notes that scheduling isn't a state requirement.
Brings in authorizations and placements from DoA, DRS and the MCOs.
Covers S5130 for IDOA, and S5130, T1003, T1002, T1004, G0299 and G0300 for DRS. Since October 1, 2026, Illinois MCO payers have new S5130 modifiers: XE for a second visit on the same day for the same customer, and TF for the enhanced rate tied to employee insurance.
The key point is what's not on that list. The payers listed for the state solution are IDOA, DRS, DDD, DSCC, HFS and the listed MCOs. VA, private-pay and private-duty clients aren't among them. No respite services appear among the in-scope services either. If you serve those clients, their visits, billing and records live somewhere else.
A visit is compliant only when all six elements are captured electronically: caregiver, member, service, date, time in and out, and GPS location. Clock-ins or clock-outs outside the 500-ft geofence aren't compliant. At least 75% of visits each state fiscal-year quarter must be fully compliant, starting April 1, 2026. Manual visits and edits are always non-compliant, even with a paper timesheet, and full caregiver SSNs are required.
What You Still Do by Hand
The portal is built for EVV and aggregation. Here's what stays with your team.
Billing and claims. Does the state-sponsored portal do billing? No. In its March 2026 townhall FAQ, HFS said billing to MCOs and Illinois Medicaid is "not currently" part of the state option. It told agencies to "continue with current billing processes until further notice." The state said it would explore billing in Summer 2026, and we haven't found an update since.
MCO billing. Every MCO is its own payer with its own process. By hand: you build and submit claims to each MCO, and you work with each one to get claims accepted. You chase down rejections, correct them and resubmit. When payments arrive, you match each remittance back to the right visits.
IDOA billing in eCCPIS. The same applies to IDOA eCCPIS billing. By hand: you rebuild verified visits as batch files, work through anything that doesn't go through, and reconcile the IDOA remittance against your visits.
Private-pay, VA and DORS billing. Private-pay and VA clients aren't among the payers listed for the state solution. By hand: you run another billing process for each and keep it in sync with your visits.
Payroll export. Payroll export isn't listed among the portal's features, and HFS notes that EVV times can't be adjusted to fit payroll. By hand: every pay period, you pull hours, check them, and re-key or upload them into ADP, Paylocity, QuickBooks or another payroll system.
Case notes and documents. Neither is listed among the portal's features. By hand: notes and files live in shared drives, on paper or in another app, and you chase them down when an auditor asks.
Training records (TTP). Training tracking isn't among the portal's listed features. IDOA agencies record training in the Department's separate Training Tracking Program (TTP). By hand: for every worker, you track when each training was taken, when the next one is due, and where the certificate is. You also track other compliance items, like quarterly conferences and home visits. Then you keep all of it in line with TTP and pull audit reports together yourself.
Getting help. Technical issues go through HHAeXchange's support portal, and authorization problems go to the payer. If a ticket sits for two business days, the state tells agencies to escalate to the program's EVV inbox. If you've waited on a help ticket while visits piled up, you know the value of a support team that knows your whole system.
None of this is a knock on HHAeXchange. The portal does the EVV job it was built for. The question is who handles everything else.
How Your Data Connects to HHAeXchange
Illinois is a hybrid EVV state. You can use any qualified vendor as an alternate EDI vendor, as long as visit data reaches HHAeXchange through EDI.
Every agency submits the HHAeXchange Provider Enrollment Form.
Submit the Illinois API Attestation Form to open an EDI onboarding ticket.
Your EDI vendor and HHAeXchange test against Illinois's specifications. Custom systems must also complete testing.
Data captured during setup is sent retroactively once linking is complete. Keep running HHAeXchange compliance reports to reconcile.
Paid Sandata counts as third-party. Agencies on the state-sponsored Sandata option move to the state-sponsored HHAeXchange solution. You can switch to the state portal later through a ticket.
Verveware's HHAeXchange EDI integration is live for Illinois IDOA and DRS, so your visit data still reaches the state aggregator. Read about Verveware's HHAeXchange integration.
What a Third-Party EVV Vendor Adds
Ask yourself:
What's your payer mix?
How many hours go into billing, remittance, payroll and accounting?
Can you find notes and training records when an auditor asks?
Do you serve private-duty or veteran clients?
Are you stressed and run down by eCCPIS IDOA billing or by working MCO rejections?
How close are you to 75%?
If you're thinking about switching, see how implementation works.
Along with EVV software, Verveware includes:
Real-time EVV compliance-rate tracking, so you see where you stand against the state threshold.
Scheduling and case notes, plus document storage.
Audit-ready TTP reporting.
Unified billing: IDOA batch billing files and remittance, plus direct billing for IDOA, MCO (EDI billing for MCO claims), DORS, VA and private-pay clients.
Automated IDOA remittance. Verveware is the only EVV system that automates IDOA remittance.
Payroll hours export to ADP, Paylocity and QuickBooks.
HHAeXchange EDI integration, live for Illinois IDOA and DRS.
These tools support your records. They don't replace documentation specifically required by IDOA, DRS or HFS.
FAQ
Does Illinois Require Agencies to Use HHAeXchange?
No. Illinois is a hybrid EVV state, so agencies can use the state-sponsored HHAeXchange portal or another qualified EVV system. Either way, visit data must reach HHAeXchange, the state aggregator, through EDI, and every agency must submit the HHAeXchange Provider Enrollment Form.
Is the HHAeXchange Portal for IDOA and DRS Agencies State-Sponsored?
Yes. Illinois covers the cost of the state-sponsored HHAeXchange portal, which includes the tools required to meet EVV rules. There's no agency or census size requirement. The state and HHAeXchange don't pay for fobs, so caregivers clock in by mobile app or IVR.
Can I Use a Third-Party EVV Vendor in Illinois?
Yes, if your third-party EVV vendor sends visit data to HHAeXchange according to Illinois's EDI specifications and completes testing. You still submit the HHAeXchange Provider Enrollment Form. When you're ready, you file the Illinois API Attestation Form, which opens an EDI onboarding ticket.
Is Sandata Considered Third-Party EVV in Illinois?
Paid Sandata counts as third-party EVV, according to the Illinois DoA-DRS implementation FAQ. Agencies on the state-sponsored Sandata option move to the state-sponsored HHAeXchange solution. If you're not sure which version you use, check with Sandata or HHAeXchange Technical Customer Care before you choose.
Can I Switch to the State-Sponsored Portal Later?
Yes, by submitting an HHAeXchange ticket. Be ready to lose key features you rely on to run your business, starting with billing, which isn't part of the state option. Manual edits always count as non-compliant, so plan for caregivers to clock in electronically from the first day.
Does the State-Sponsored Portal Handle Billing?
No. In a March 2026 townhall FAQ, HFS said billing to MCOs and Illinois Medicaid is "not currently" part of the state option. It told agencies to continue their current billing processes until further notice. The state planned to explore billing in Summer 2026, so check with HFS for updates.
See Verveware With Your Illinois Workflow
Request a Verveware demo to see EVV, IDOA billing, remittance and payroll export work together for your agency. Book a demo.
