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Authors Posts by Carol Ferenz

Carol Ferenz

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Thursday, September 16, 2021
Start time:  9:00 am
End time:  12:30 pm

This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. The public is invited to call in to this meeting using the following information:

You are invited to a Zoom webinar:
When:  September 16, 2021, 09:00 am Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic:  PA State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting
Please visit this link to join the webinar:
Passcode: 815687

Or One Tap Mobile:
US: +13017158592,,81273334764#,,,,*815687#  or +13126266799,,81273334764#,,,,*815687#

Or Telephone:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: 1-301-715-8592 or 1-312-626-6799 or 1-929-205-6099 or 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799 or 1-669-900-6833

Webinar ID:
812 7333 4764
Passcode: 815687

CART and sign language interpreters will be available during this meeting via Zoom.

Those using a screen reader can connect here.

The agenda for this meeting is below. Anyone who would like to make public comment prior to the meeting may submit their comments via email.

Additional auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Please email your request.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE BOARD OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AGENDA

September 16, 2021

9:00 – 9:20
Welcome & Opening Remarks, Jennifer Berrier, Secretary, Labor & Industry

  • Roll Call of Board Members
  • Action: Approval of Agenda
  • Action: Approval of Minutes, June 3, 2021 

9:20 – 9:40
Executive Director’s Remarks, Shannon Austin, Executive Director, OVR

9:40 – 9:50
Deputy Director’s Remarks, Jeremiah Underhill, Deputy Executive Director, OVR

ACTION ITEM

9:50 – 10:00
Action:  Approval of 2022 meeting dates and locations

OVR BUREAU DIRECTOR REPORTS

10:00 – 10:20
Hiram G. Andrews Center, Jill Moriconi, Director
Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services, Rod Alcidonis, Director
Bureau of Central Operations, Ralph Roach, Director

10:20 – 10:30
BREAK

STAKEHOLDER REPORTS

10:30 – 10:50
Statewide Independent Living Council, Matthew Seeley, Executive Director
PA Rehabilitation Council, Passle Helminski, Chair
Office for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Melissa Hawkins, Director
Client Assistance Program, Steve Pennington, Executive Director

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

10:50 – 11:05
Update on 2-Year Modification to the Combined State Plan, Lee Ann Stewart

11:05 – 11:30
Overview of the Client Assistance Program (CAP), Steve Pennington

11:30 – 11:50
Update on OVR Policy Workgroups

  • Financial Needs Test (FNT), Shannon Austin
  • Vehicle Modification, Tara Okon, VR Specialist
  • Supported Employment, Doug Rand, Business Services & Outreach Division Acting Chief
  • Audiological Services, Russ Goddard, VR Specialist

11:50 – 12:10
Review of Technical Support Provided to PA OVR, Rachel Anderson, VRTAC-QM

12:10 – 12:30
PUBLIC COMMENT

12:30 
ADJOURNMENT

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ODP Announcement 21-063 serves to disseminate operating procedures and directions for the IM process for private ICFs as well as SCOs and County ID Programs serving individuals residing in a private ICF. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has scheduled an ICF Task Force meeting to discuss this guidance and answer questions for September 15, 2021 from 2:00 pm–3:00 pm. Please register in advance for the ICF Task Force meeting.

During this meeting, ODP will also be providing private ICF stakeholders with timelines and information about the process to add incident management regulations into 55 PA. Code Chapter 6600.

ATTACHMENTS:

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On Friday, September 10, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced $25.5 billion in new funding for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources for providers who serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Medicare patients and an additional $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 for a broad range of providers who can document revenue loss and expenses associated with the pandemic.

Update from ANCOR:

Get Ready to Apply!

The application will open on September 29, 2021. In order to streamline the application process and minimize administrative burdens, providers will apply for both programs in a single application, and HRSA will use existing Medicaid/CHIP and Medicare claims data in calculating portions of these payments.

  • Phase 4 General Distribution — $17 billion based on providers’ lost revenues and changes in operating expenses from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
    • To promote equity and to support providers with the most need, HRSA will:
      • Reimburse a higher percentage of lost revenues and expenses for smaller providers as compared to larger providers; and
      • Provide “bonus” payments based on the amount of services they provide to Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare patients, priced at the generally higher Medicare rates.
    • American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural — $8.5 billion based on the amount of services providers furnish to Medicaid/CHIP and Medicare beneficiaries living in Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP)-defined rural areas.
      • To promote equity, HRSA will price payments at the generally higher Medicare rates for Medicaid/CHIP patients.

How Can I Prepare?

  • Review eligibility information posted on the PRF Future Payments web page, and additional detail will be added prior to September 29.
  • Search the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer to see what areas qualify as “rural” for the ARP rural payments.
  • Gather supporting documentation, such as most recent tax documents and financial statements for the second half of calendar year (CY) 2020 and the first quarter of CY 2021.

Phase 3 Reconsiderations!

As we announce the availability of Phase 4 funding, you may also have questions about how HRSA calculated your PRF Phase 3 payment. To promote transparency in the PRF program, HHS today released detailed information about the methodology utilized to calculate Phase 3 payments. Providers who believe their Phase 3 payment was not calculated correctly according to this methodology will now have an opportunity to request a reconsideration. Further details on this Phase 3 reconsideration process are forthcoming.

Grace Period for Reporting Period 1

In light of the challenges providers across the country are facing due to recent natural disasters and the Delta variant, HHS is also announcing today a final 60-day grace period to help providers come into compliance with their PRF Reporting requirements if they fail to meet the deadline on September 30, 2021, for the first PRF Reporting Time Period. While the deadlines to use funds and the Reporting Time Period will not change, HHS will not initiate collection activities or similar enforcement actions for noncompliant providers during this grace period. Several helpful resources can be found at on the PRF Reporting web page.

We know that provider relief funding is critical for health care providers across the country. We are committed to distributing it as equitably and transparently as possible to help providers respond to and ultimately defeat this pandemic.

Thank you for all you are doing during this difficult time.

Additional resources and information can be found on the PRF Reporting web page or by calling the Provider Support Line at (866) 569-3522, for TTY dial 711. Hours of operation are 8:00 am–10:00 pm CT, Monday through Friday.

——————————
Donna Martin
American Network of Community Options and Resources
Alexandria, VA
(401) 965-9411
——————————

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Message from ANCOR:

It’s Direct Support Professional Recognition Week! Your celebrations of the DSPs at the heart of our field are part of a nationwide party we throw every year to showcase the amazing and often unsung work of these incredible professionals, and mark just a small fraction of the recognition that they deserve throughout the year.

Please make sure you’re using #DSPRW2021 and tagging @TheRealANCOR on Facebook and Twitter so we can see and share your celebrations! Also, you can send photos and descriptions of celebrations to André Floyd so that they can be shared on our social media channels directly and highlighted in next Friday’s Weekly Update.

All week long, use our DSP Recognition Week Toolkit to access images, state DSP Proclamations, sample social media messages and more that enable you to spread the word among your networks. Also be on the lookout later in the week for the opening of nominations for our 2022 Direct Support Professional of the Year Awards. Stay tuned for more details!

This is one of our favorite times of year, and we cannot wait to celebrate with you and see all of your celebrations! Thank you for leveraging this week to express your gratitude for the essential work our DSPs do, day in and day out, to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We couldn’t do what we do without them!

Thank you DSPs!

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ALEXANDRIA, VA. – Today, ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill issued the following statement in response to the news that the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s budget proposal will include a $190 billion investment-less than half the amount proposed by President Biden and Senate Democrats-in Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS).

“Although decades of underinvestment in the Medicaid HCBS program make us grateful to see any allocation of resources to support community-based disability services and thankful for legislators who see these services as a priority, we were disheartened to learn that the House Energy & Commerce Committee is proposing to invest only $190 billion in HCBS in the Committee’s response to the Senate’s budget resolution.

“Indeed, $190 billion is not an insignificant amount of money, but it falls woefully short of the $400 billion proposed by President Biden in his Build Back Better agenda and approved by the Senate in the budget resolution it passed prior to the August recess.

“If our elected officials are to take seriously the need to overcome a decades-long direct care workforce crisis and support people with disabilities to bounce back from the perilous effects of the pandemic, it is absolutely essential that Congress approve the full $400 billion originally proposed for the Medicaid HCBS program. We know that legislators who care about their most vulnerable constituents will do the right thing and continue to push for the largest amount of funding possible to ensure that community-based services won’t continue to languish.”

——————————
Barbara Merrill
Chief Executive Officer
American Network of Community Options and Resources
Alexandria, VA
(703) 535-7850 (103)
——————————

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ANCOR is asking all members to advocate for funding for HCBS.

The Ask:
Use our action tool to ask your members of Congress to support and fully fund the inclusion of $400 billion for HCBS in the budget reconciliation package.

Why It Matters:
Congress is currently negotiating the Build Back Better Act, the budget resolution legislation that will include an investment of billions of dollars in the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) program. The House version will include just $190 billion for the HCBS program, missing the mark on the President’s promise in his American Jobs Plan to fund the HCBS program at $400 billion and falling far short of what community-based disability service providers need to bounce back from the pandemic and address the ongoing direct support workforce crisis. That makes now the critical time to insist that your members of Congress fully invest in the Medicaid HCBS program. Frankly, if not now, when?

The Details:
The House has drafted its budget reconciliation bill, the Build Back Better Act. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is the committee of jurisdiction, will begin marking up the Build Back Better Act on Monday, September 13.

The language in the Energy and Commerce bill includes an investment of $190 billion in the HCBS program. While we celebrate this historic investment in the HCBS program, the level of financing is insufficient to sustain access and stabilize the direct care workforce. A $400 billion investment in dedicated support for HCBS is essential for building a sustainable HCBS infrastructure that can begin addressing the magnitude of unmet need in our communities.

After the committee markup, the bill will be sent to the floor of the House for a full vote in that chamber before moving onto the Senate for final negotiations.

Thank you for taking action now to ask your Representative and Senators to support the full $400 billion in funding for HCBS.

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Message from the PA Workforce Coalition:

The Pennsylvania Workforce Coalition is a partnership initiated by PA APSE consisting of State Agencies and statewide membership organizations to increase employment and advancement of people with disabilities. While we work on a larger event for spring 2022, we wanted to start connecting people sooner.

We are asking your help with distributing two surveys. One is targeted to individuals with disabilities who are looking for employment. The second is for businesses who are looking for employees.

Please share these surveys with anyone or business whom you believe would be interested.

Thank you for your assistance.

The first survey is for individuals who are looking for jobs:
PA Workforce Coalition – Talent Survey

We are accepting interest until Friday September 24, so please be sure to submit by this time. Please allow 15 minutes to complete this form. You will need a valid email address. If any part of this form is inaccessible for you, please contact us.

For additional resources, please visit here.

If you know of a business in Pennsylvania who may be interested in being part of this event in October or learn more about the spring event, please have them contact us.

The following survey is for businesses looking for talent acquisition:

PA Workforce Coalition — Talent Acquisition Survey: Understanding Your Workforce Needs to Implement Solutions for Talent Acquisition

We are hosting virtual workshops and opportunities this October to help connect YOU with talent. Please submit your initial responses by September 30 to ensure you are included. Please allow 10 minutes to complete this survey. You will need a valid email address. If any part of this form is inaccessible for you, please contact us.

Collaborative Partners of the PA Workforce Coalition include:
PA APSE (Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst)
PA Department of Labor & Industry
PA Workforce Development Board
PA Chamber of Business and Industry
PA Chamber for Black-Owned Business
Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL)
Office of Developmental Programs (ODP)
Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS)
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR)
PA Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN)
PAR (Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability)
RCPA (Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association)

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A message from Rick Smith of the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP):

Dear Providers of ODP Waiver or Base Funded Services:

ODP is currently in the process of refreshing data for Fee Schedule services. The data gathered by this survey will help inform ODP rate assumptions.

By September 20, providers are asked to answer the following questions for ODP waiver or base funded services only; which includes Consolidated, Community Living, P/FDS, Adult Autism waivers and Base. Do not include ICF/ID data in your agency’s response. Please provide only one survey response per organization (MPI). If the data is not available, please skip that question and move to the next question.

ODP Rate Assumption Survey link 

Sincerely,

Rick Smith
Director of Fiscal Operations

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