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Authors Posts by Jim Sharp

Jim Sharp

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’s (OMHSAS) February 2023 Stakeholder webinar is scheduled for next Friday, February 24, 2023, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm. The February Stakeholder webinar was rescheduled due to conflicts with the quarterly Mental Health Planning Council (MHPC) meeting.

Register for the meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Call-in Number: (914) 614-3221
Access Code: 458609184#

If you have any questions or would like RCPA to submit a topic for the webinar, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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Pennsylvania is preparing for a major change in renewal processes for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients.

Starting April 1, 2023, Pennsylvania is required by federal law to review Medicaid and CHIP recipients’ eligibility every year, which means that recipients must submit a renewal. While the Department of Human Services (DHS) still sent renewals during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most people were not disenrolled from Medicaid or CHIP because of a change in eligibility.

DHS encourages everyone to share the following information with Medicaid and CHIP recipients to help them stay informed about renewals.

What Should I Do Right Now?

The best thing that Medicaid and CHIP recipients can do right now to prepare for their renewal is to make sure that their contact information is up-to-date with DHS. By making sure that their information is current, recipients can receive timely updates about their renewal. They also can opt-in to receiving text and email alerts about their benefits.

  • Visit COMPASS and log into their My COMPASS Account.
  • Use the free myCOMPASS PA mobile app.
  • Call 877-395-8930 or 215-560-7226 (Philadelphia), Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

What Else Do I Need to Know?

Completing Medicaid and CHIP Renewals
Renewals should be completed when they are received, even if recipients receive them before April 1, 2023. Recipients will receive a renewal packet in the mail when it is time to renew their coverage. Information about their renewal will start to arrive 90 days before it is due. It is very important that renewal forms are completed and returned even if nothing has changed. Completing a renewal allows DHS to determine eligibility for MA or CHIP coverage. Coverage will continue for recipients who are still eligible.
There are a few ways for recipients to complete a renewal:

  • Complete the forms DHS sends and mail them back in the envelope included in the packet.
  • Drop completed forms off at the local county assistance office (CAO).
  • Complete the renewal online.
  • Complete the renewal over the phone by calling 866-550-4355.

What is Continuous Coverage?

Under the continuous coverage requirement, individuals covered by Medicaid and/or CHIP have been able to keep their health coverage even if they would have otherwise become ineligible for the program based on other factors.

Evaluating Eligibility

Once the continuous Medicaid and CHIP coverage requirement ends, recipients will have to complete a renewal to maintain their coverage as long as they are eligible.

Are You Ineligible for Coverage?

DHS will provide instructions on how to re-enroll or share options for coverage if individuals are no longer eligible. Options for free or low-cost health coverage are available online.

Get more information and resources at DHS’s website.

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The Office of Financial Resources at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will be conducting a webinar on how to develop a competitive grant application. The same webinar will be offered on two dates: February 23, 2023, and March 7, 2023, both at 2:00 pm (ET).

Webinar: How to Develop a Competitive Grant Application

The webinar will address:

  • The three registration processes that need to be completed;
  • Preparing to apply for a grant;
  • Key components of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO);
  • Responding effectively to the evaluation criteria; and
  • Resources and technical assistance that are available.

Information on how to access the webinar can be found on the Training Events web page. There is no need to register in advance. If you would like to receive the slides prior to the webinar, you can make a request electronically.

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will award approximately 26 applicants up to $3,000,000 to provide resources to improve the mental health outcomes for children and youth, birth through age 21, who are at risk of or have serious emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. This grant supports the implementation, expansion, and integration of the System of Care (SOC) approach by creating sustainable infrastructure and services required as part of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and their Families Program.

You can find additional information here. The grant closes on March 21, 2025.

If you have further questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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As discussed in the recent RCPA Telehealth Operations Work Group meeting, the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) announced a telehealth funding opportunity. To participate in this funding, or for additional details, please visit this website.

OMHSAS will accept funding requests beginning today, February 1, 2023. RCPA recommends all members interested in this funding to review the announcement as soon as possible.

If you have questions or concerns related to this opportunity, please send via email. If you have any other questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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Governor Shapiro is directing all state agencies, boards, and commissions to compile a catalog of the licenses, certificates, and permits they issue – including the statutory authority governing the length of time they must process applications and the application fee charged by each agency. Commonwealth agencies will have 90 days to send this information to the Governor’s Office, which will then review, analyze, and establish efficient application processing times for all occupational permits or licenses based on agency recommendations. Once those recommendations are put in place, if an agency does not respond to an applicant before the date-certain, the agency will be required to refund the application fee.

Under this Executive Order, the Governor’s Office will also conduct a review of the existing digital services that Pennsylvanians use to apply for licenses, certificates, and permits and work to modernize those application platforms and services to better serve Pennsylvanians.

Unpredictability and long wait times for Commonwealth-issued licenses, certificates, and permits can create unnecessary barriers for Pennsylvania workers and businesses. For example, an NPR analysis from 2021 found that Pennsylvania had some of the longest wait times in the country for issuing nursing licenses. More than half of the nursing applicants who applied in Pennsylvania that year waited at least three months to hear back.

In addition to nursing licenses, the Commonwealth issues hundreds of licenses, certificates, and permits, from barber and salon licenses to teacher certifications to business permits. Under the direction of the Governor, the Administration will work expeditiously to ensure Pennsylvanians get responses in a timely manner — and the Shapiro Administration will have real skin in the game. Governor Shapiro is making clear his Administration will be customer-service oriented and that state government will work harder to get them a response, so that they can pursue their dreams.

Read Executive Order 2023-07, Building Efficiency in the Commonwealth’s Permitting and Licensing Processes, here.

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