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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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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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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the regulations that prohibit discrimination based on disabilities to clarify obligations in several critical areas. Specifically, the rule:

  • Ensures that medical treatment decisions are not based on negative biases or stereotypes about individuals with disabilities, judgments that an individual with a disability will be a burden on others, or dehumanizing beliefs that the life of an individual with a disability has less value than the life of a person without a disability.
  • Prohibits the use of any measure, assessment, or tool that discounts the value of a life extension on the basis of disability to deny, limit, or otherwise condition access to an aid, benefit or service.
  • Defines what accessibility means for websites and mobile applications and sets forth a specific technical standard to ensure that health care and human service activities delivered through these platforms are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
  • Adopts the U.S. Access Board’s standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment, like exam tables and mammography machines.
  • Details requirements to ensure nondiscrimination in the services provided by HHS funded child welfare agencies, including, but not limited to, reasonable efforts to prevent foster care placement, parent-child visitation, reunification services, child placement, parenting skills programs, and in- and out-of-home services.
  • Clarifies obligations to provide services in the most integrated setting, like receiving services in one’s own home, appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Additionally, the Final Rule updates existing requirements to make them consistent with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), as many HHS recipients are also covered by the ADA. This consistency will improve and simplify compliance.

View the full press release here. If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

 

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Photo by Michael Schofield on Unsplash

The While House issued a press release announcing that the Access Final Rule will be released later today. These regulations include:

  • The Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule, which will require all nursing homes that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to have 3.48 hours per resident per day of total staffing, including a defined number from both registered nurses (0.55 hours per resident per day) and nurse aides (2.45 per resident per day);
  • Introducing the requirements of the rule in phases to make sure nursing homes have the time they need to hire staff, with longer timeframes for rural communities;
  • Ensuring adequate compensation for home care workers for HCBS operations of in-home care (both Personal Assistance Services and Community Habilitation) by “requiring that at least 80 percent of Medicaid payments for home care services go to workers’ wages. This policy would also allow states to take into account the unique experiences that small home care providers and providers in rural areas face while ensuring their employees receive their fair share of Medicaid payments and continued training as well as the delivery of quality care;”
  • The state requirement to be more transparent in how much they pay for home care services and how they set those rates, increasing the accountability for home care providers; and
  • The creation of a state home care rate-setting advisory group made up of beneficiaries, home care workers, and other key stakeholders to advise and consult on provider payment rates and direct compensation for direct care workers.

We will continue to monitor the details of these regulations and Pennsylvania’s plans to comply. If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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The Inglis Impact Accelerator is dedicated to fostering a more accessible and inclusive world by investing in entrepreneurs within, and allies to, the disability community with disruptive ideas and business ventures.

To that end, RCPA member Inglis is looking for six businesses to participate in a 15-week virtual program that concludes with a virtual pitch event. The program includes interactive webinars, workshops, and both one-on-one and group coaching sessions about refining and testing business ideas, attracting and engaging customers, optimizing sales funnels, and more.

Each business that successfully completes the program and pitches at the virtual pitch event will receive a $5,000 cash prize provided by Highmark Wholecare.

Eligibility requirements:

  • Founder must reside in Pennsylvania.
  • Founder will ideally have identified a target market and created a minimum viable product/service or prototype.
  • The program does not require a legal business entity to apply, but we are seeking businesses that plan to file in the near future if they haven’t already.
  • Our rigorous selection process will prioritize ideas in three core areas — housing accessibility, assistive technology, and innovative healthcare models, as well as founders who identify as having a disability.
  • At least one member of the founding team should expect to spend a minimum of 4-6 hours per week participating in programming and dedicated work efforts for the duration of the 15-week program.

If you know any founders whom you think might be interested in participating in the program, please share the flyer and link to apply.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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Message from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS):

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to monitor and assess the impact that the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Change Healthcare has had on all provider and supplier types. Today, CMS is announcing that, in addition to considering applications for accelerated payments for Medicare Part A providers, we will also be considering applications for advance payments for Part B suppliers.

Over the last few days, we have continued to meet with health plans, providers and suppliers to hear about their most pressing concerns. As announced previously, we have directed our Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) to expedite actions needed for providers and suppliers to change the clearinghouse they use and to accept paper claims if providers need to use that method. We will continue to respond to provider and supplier inquiries regarding MAC processes.

CMS also recognizes that many Medicaid providers are deeply affected by the impact of the cyberattack. We are continuing to work closely with States and are urging Medicaid managed care plans to make prospective payments to impacted providers, as well.

All MACs will provide public information on how to submit a request for a Medicare accelerated or advance payment on their websites as early as today, Saturday, March 9.

CMS looks forward to continuing to support the provider community during this difficult situation. All affected providers should reach out to health plans and other payers for assistance with the disruption. CMS has encouraged Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations to offer advance funding to providers affected by this cyberattack. The rules governing CMS’s payments to MA organizations and Part D sponsors remain unchanged. Please note that nothing in this statement speaks to the arrangements between MA organizations or Part D sponsors and their contracted providers or facilities.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) has shared several available resources to address providers’ concerns regarding the Change Healthcare outage. The system remains unavailable due to a current cyber-attack. You can read the full press release, which details resources and short-term solutions.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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