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Authors Posts by Fady Sahhar

Fady Sahhar

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Fady is responsible for policy and regulatory matters related to Physical Disabilities and Aging, with primary focus on personal assistance, employment services, and service coordination. Emphasis is placed on engaging the Office of Long-Term Living and the Community HealthChoices Managed Care Organizations, coordination of care with Behavioral HealthChoices MCOs, and collaborations with other advocacy and provider associations. Fady is also the President / CEO of ProVantaCare, an RCPA-affiliated company focused on contracting with MCOs, and is the President of XtraGlobex, a consulting firm focused on Value-Based Payment contracting. He brings extensive experience in the advocacy and operations of human services providers in physical disabilities and aging, from his role at Liberty Resources, Inc., and his service with a number of nonprofit services providers. He earned an MBA in Marketing from The University of Tennessee and a PhD in Organizational Leadership from Capella University.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), with support from Mercer Government Human Services Consulting (Mercer), part of Mercer Health & Benefits LLC, is conducting a rate study survey for the following Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS):

  • Adult Day;
  • Structured Day Habilitation;
  • Employment and Training;
  • Personal Assistance (Agency);
  • Personal Assistance (Participant-Directed); and
  • Residential Habilitation.

Please complete the survey for the Calendar Year (CY) 2023, which spans from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, unless it is otherwise specified. Please submit the survey by Friday, August 23, 2024. This survey is one piece of the targeted rate review and is intended to collect current provider rate and wage data and general feedback on the challenges of providing these services. The information collected in this survey will be used to assist in developing a point of reference for the rate range to evaluate current payment rates. In addition to results from this survey, the review will include payment rate information from Managed Care Organizations (MCO) in OLTL claims data, recent legislative policies, department expectations, and other data obtained from publicly available sources.

HCBS providers that delivered multiple service categories during CY 2023 should fill out this survey separately for each service category you delivered.

HCBS providers that did not deliver any of the service categories listed above should disregard this survey. OLTL is partnering with Mercer to perform a rate study exclusive to the service categories listed above at this time.

The information collected for this survey will be used for both this rate study and to meet the requirements of House Bill 1300 from the 2023–2024 Pennsylvania General Assembly regular session. The information you provide will remain confidential and private and will only be shared publicly through high level summary reports that do not include provider level detail. Please comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and do not share any protected health information (PHI) within your survey responses.

You can review the survey questions before starting the survey. This survey tool does not allow individuals to save and go back to answer questions. Please have all your agency information such as wages, employee information, and financial statements readily available. This will help you to submit accurate information when answering the questions.

HCBS providers can access the survey here. OLTL and Mercer appreciate your time and this valuable feedback. If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out via email. A listserv has been established for ongoing updates on the CHC program. It is titled OLTL-COMMUNITY-HEALTHCHOICES; please visit the ListServ Archives page to update or register your email address.

Please share this email with other members of your organization as appropriate. Also, it is imperative that you notify the Office of Long-Term Living for changes that would affect your provider file, such as addresses and telephone numbers. Mail to/pay to addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers may be updated electronically through ePEAP, which can be accessed through the PROMISe™ provider portal. For any other provider file changes please notify the Bureau of Fee for Service Programs Enrollment and Certification Section at 1-800-932-0939 Option # 1.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar or Melissa Dehoff.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced two waiver amendments that are open for public comment. The amendments detail the Community HealthChoices (CHC) waiver renewal and the OBRA waiver amendments. Information on the CHC waiver and OBRA waiver are available individually as well as in the June 15, 2024, PA Bulletin. Comments are due July 15, 2024.

Those interested in submitting comments can do so in the following ways:

  1. For the CHC waiver:
    1. Send a letter to the Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, Attention: Keeley Anglin—CHC Waiver Renewal, PO Box 8025, Harrisburg.
    2. Submit comments to the department via email. Use “CHC Waiver Renewal” in the subject line.
    3. Please use the CHC Waiver Comment Form.
  2. For the OBRA waiver:
    1. Send a letter to the Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, Attention: Keeley Anglin—OBRA Waiver Amendment, PO Box 8025, Harrisburg.
    2. Submit comments to the department via email. Use “OBRA Waiver Amendment” as the subject line.
    3. Please use the OBRA Waiver Comment Form.

Comments received by July 15, 2024, will be considered in subsequent revisions to the proposed renewal and amendment. For more information, please contact Fady Sahhar or Melissa Dehoff.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced the launch of a Rate Study to be conducted by Mercer for Personal Assistance, Adult Day, Structured Adult Day, Residential Habilitation, and Employment Services. This study is intended to inform the 2025/26 budget process. You can view details for the Rate Study here. Key dates for this process include:

  • June 2024: The release of the Provider Survey. RCPA will share it with members as soon as it becomes available.
  • June Provider Meeting: A discussion of the Rate Study components.
  • July 2: The LTSS Subcommittee Meeting.
  • July 18 Provider Meeting: Details to come and will be shared once available.
  • September 4: LTSS Subcommittee Meeting to discuss the Rate Study results.

For more information, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) announced that the department will be releasing the CHC and OBRA Waivers Amendments, as well as the proposed Rate Refresh Study details, in early June. In light of this information, the PD&A meeting currently scheduled for May 29 will be rescheduled. A new date and time will be sent to members as soon as the dates of these releases are available.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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