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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) has issued additional guidance on the Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) Enhancements.

As stated in the communication sent on December 10, 2021, Critical Incident Report Extensions changes were implemented in the EIM system on December 11, 2021. With these changes, once the maximum number of allowed extensions is reached, providers and service coordinators (SC) will need to contact OLTL if additional extensions are needed.

The December 10, 2021, communication indicated that OLTL had drafted a form to use in the near future, and once approved, you would be notified. The OLTL EIM Critical Incident Report Extension Request form has been approved and is here for your use.

When requesting incident report extensions, please follow these instructions:

  • Request forms must be submitted to OLTL at least 5 business days prior to incident report due date, via email.
  • Reasons for prior extensions must be clearly documented in the incident report.
  • The reason for an extension request must be detailed, valid, and clearly documented in the incident report as well as in the Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) notes.
  • Incident report extensions will be approved for 30 days from previous report due date.

OLTL staff will respond to extension requests within 3 business days by replying to the requestor to let them know if the request was approved or rejected. If rejected, the reason for the rejection will be included in the response. If approved, OLTL staff will enter the extension in EIM.

Any questions regarding the information in this email should be directed here.

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Project Goal: To improve service delivery and processes for DHS’ clients, DHS staff, and business partners

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) is launching a website to share information about the ECM system up to and beyond implementation. The website is intended to communicate key information of the services provided to participants and families through multiple DHS program offices, regardless of the human services program or county providing the service.

The ECM website can be accessed here.

ECM will replace several legacy systems across program offices through the implementation of one common solution. By means of this website, users can get acclimated with all ECM subsystems and their functions. The primary pages and a brief synopsis are as follows:

  • About ECM: An overview of ECM, its timelines, goals and objectives, benefits, scope, and project governance structure.
  • Stakeholder: An overview of the participants who benefit from ECM. This will include links to the subpages for the different stakeholder groups, including the Program Areas, County Organizations, Hearings and Appeals, Providers, Service/Support Coordinators, Administrative Entities and Those we Serve.
  • Development: Description of the scope of the project, the technology used, methods used to implement and operate the future ECM, and the phases of the project. The development and maintenance of the ECM system will follow a hybrid-agile system methodology which will be described in more detail within this area of the website. System development involves the process of producing and sustaining an information technology system. It covers technology, people, and processes.
  • Change and Training: Information about the system including training materials, user guides, and schedules. It is key that the stakeholders and those we serve are supported throughout the entire project process.
  • News: Communications such as press releases, news coverage, and announcements.
  • ECM FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions that cover various topics like general information, the timeline for the project, implementation process, and trainings.

We hope that you will refer to the website often as more information is posted while PA DHS and its partners prepare for the initial launch.

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Tablet on a desk - Newsletter

The Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS)/Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) Quarterly Release goes live on December 11, 2021. The Release Newsletter has been posted to the HCSIS Learning Management System (LMS). The newsletter is also here. Please log in to LMS and click on the “HCSIS Release 85.00 Newsletter” link to review this and all newsletters. If you do not have access to LMS, please contact your agency’s Business Partner Administrator (BP Admin), which would be the person that gave you HCSIS/EIM access.

If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact the OLTL EIM resource account.

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Effective January 1, 2022, there will be a rate increase in the OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program for Personal Assistance Services (PAS) procedure codes W1793, W1793 TT, W1792, and W1792 TU. The new rates for the OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program were announced in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on November 6, 2021, Volume 51, Number 45 issue and can be found on the Pennsylvania Bulletin website.

New rates are based on the participant’s county of residence. Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) service plans will be updated by December 31, 2021. SCs do not need to make any service plan updates for this rate change, as an HCSIS system-wide update is being deployed to make the necessary service data rate updates onto the impacted service plans.

A chart listing the OBRA Waiver and the Act 150 Program counties, categorized by fiscal region, is located here. If you have any questions related to this email, please contact the OLTL Provider Inquiry Line at 1-800-932-0939, OPTION 2, Monday–Friday from 9:00 am–12:00 pm and 1:00 pm–4:00 pm.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) is announcing a series of 60 minute live, interactive webinars on housing issues. In addition to targeted content, the live webinars feature Question and Answer (Q&A) sessions with housing experts and OLTL staff. This training is targeted to Service Coordinators and other Managed Care Organization (MCO) and Service Coordination Entity (SCE) support staff who assist program participants in securing and maintaining affordable, accessible housing.

The live webinars build upon information already provided in Online Housing Training Modules and Inglis’ Prepared Renter Program (PREP) Curriculum so participants have a more comprehensive view of housing-related issues. In addition, the live webinars identify go-to resources and what they cover so they can be easily referenced in the future as needed.

There are four topic areas, each offered twice between December 7, 2021 and December 16, 2021, with morning and lunchtime options:

Webinar 1: Understanding and Navigating Throughout Housing Nuances

  • 8 Housing-Sector Nuances
  • 5 Key Partnerships to Cultivate
  • 2 Main Pathways to Housing Resources

Webinar 2: Funding Sources and Clarifying Common Affordable Housing Pitfalls

  • 6 Kinds of Funding Sources
  • 3 Concepts to Understand About Affordability and Income-Based Eligibility

Webinar 3: Must-Have Housing Resources and Resources for Those with Complex Housing Barriers

  • Top 6 Housing Resources
  • Top 4 Complex Housing Barriers

Webinar 4: Keeping Participants’ Housing With Landlord Engagement Techniques

  • Speaking the Landlord Language
  • Benefits of Maintaining Tenants

For details on webinar dates and times and to register, please visit the OLTL Housing Webinars registration page.

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Gateway Health plans will soon be Highmark Wholecare – same access to doctors, same commitment to care and whole-person approach to health. All that’s changing is the plan names. You can learn more about the transition to Highmark Wholecare, effective January 1, 2022, by visiting their website.

 

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Message from the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL):

This communication is a reminder that the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) is allowed to continue available temporary changes to the CHC waiver, OBRA waiver, and the Act 150 Program under Appendix K, Emergency Preparedness and Response, until six months after the end of the federal public health emergency related to COVID-19.

On October 15, 2021, the federal public health emergency was extended by 90 days; however, it’s possible the federal government will decide to extend the emergency further. Please visit this public health emergency website to see the current and future public health emergency declarations related to COVID-19. OLTL will issue guidance in the future when the Appendix K flexibilities are closer to expiring.

For further information on the available OLTL Appendix K flexibilities, please visit the OLTL Resources page. If you have questions about the information, please contact the OLTL Provider Helpline at 1-800-932-0939.

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