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Authors Posts by Melissa Dehoff

Melissa Dehoff

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Melissa Dehoff is responsible for all medical rehabilitation and brain injury service issues. Ms. Dehoff attends multiple state-level meetings to advocate on behalf of members on brain injury and rehabilitation issues and is a member of the Department of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced a funding opportunity under an approved Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) spending plan that will provide American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to HCBS providers. The purpose of the funding is for the implementation of quality improvement (QI) projects to improve the services available to HCBS participants through the Community HealthChoices (CHC) and OBRA 1915(c) waivers. This opportunity focuses on supplementing activities in a manner that improves and strengthens the quality of HCBS services. The use of the ARPA funding, however, is limited to those activities that supplement rather than supplant the existing services.

DHS will provide funding of up to $40,000 per approved request submission and approve funding on a one-time basis to each qualified provider. DHS will review and approve submissions in the order in which they are received until the total funding allocated has been exhausted. Members are encouraged to submit their requests as soon as possible.

Funding will only be provided for the following improvement projects:

  • Supplemental activities to address the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). For example, SDOH activities may include:
    • Activities to address affordable and accessible housing (rent, room, and board are not allowable expenditures under this funding opportunity);
    • Activities to improve access to competitive integrated employment for participants. This may include access to benefits counseling or remote technology to support employment;
    • Activities to improve or enhance transportation for CHC and OBRA participants; and
    • Activities to alleviate food insecurities for participants.
  • Purchase of remote support technology by providers. This can include provider technology initiatives that improve service transparency and quality assurance, such as providing direct care workers with access to tablets and software that support in-home documentation of participant conditions and other related care needs.
  • Payment for the development and implementation of enhanced training for direct care workers, Medical Assistance (MA) providers, or both. This may include enhanced training on infection control practices, such as the development of videos and online modules to address best practices in infection control. This may also include training for professional development. For example, this funding may be used to promote training or coursework related to the professional advancement or development for direct care workers.
  • Purchase and implementation of new software and technology for electronic health records or quality/risk management functions. This includes funding for providers to contract with a Health Information Organization. Having access to electronic health care records enables HCBS providers to connect with local hospitals and physicians and ensure real-time communication between the HCBS provider and the participant’s medical providers.

Additional information, including the HCBS Quality Incentive Funding Request Form, is available on the DHS Long-Term Care Providers web page. Questions should be sent via email to OLTL.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been sharing information and bringing awareness about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program. This new long-term program can assist individuals who use telehealth services to help lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service.

The ACP provides:

  • Up to $30/month discount for broadband service;
  • Up to $75/month discount for households on qualifying tribal lands; and
  • A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet purchased through a participating provider if the household contributes more than $10 but less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The ACP is limited to 1 monthly service discount and 1 device discount per household.

Who’s Eligible?

An individual’s household is eligible for the ACP if the household income is at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or if a member of the household meets at least 1 of the criteria outlined on the FCC’s website.

Individuals can enroll in two steps by:

  1. Going to ACPBenefit to apply online or print a mail-in application; and
  2. Contacting their preferred participating ACP provider to select a plan, who will apply the discount to the patient’s bill.

Some ACP providers may request individuals to complete an alternative application. Eligible households must apply for the program and contact a participating provider to select a service plan.

For Additional Information:

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced the next Financial Management Services (FMS) Stakeholder meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 3, 2022, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm. This public meeting will be held to discuss upcoming changes for the administration of FMS under the Community HealthChoices (CHC), OBRA Waiver, and Act 150 Programs. Representatives from OLTL and CHC Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be in attendance to discuss upcoming changes.

In order to participate, registration is required. Please register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you choose to use your phone to call in, please use the numbers below:

Dial in: 562-247-8422
Access Code: 268096146#
Audio PIN: shown after joining the webinar

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) identified an error in the patient counts for each inpatient rehabilitation facility patient assessment instrument (IRF-PAI) measure in the March 2022 provider preview reports (which were originally issued on April 13, 2022) related to the June 2022 refresh of IRF quality data on CMS Care Compare. CMS has updated the report to apply the COVID-19 reporting exceptions to only exclude stays that occurred in Quarter 1 (Q1) and Quarter 2 (Q2) of 2020. The March 2022 provider preview reports are currently available for review until May 27, 2022. Questions about the reports should be sent by email.

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Beginning on May 10, 2022, and continuing throughout the month into early June, Tempus and the Community HealthChoices (CHC) Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be holding in-person drop-in sessions across the state to assist participants in completing Common Law Employer (CLE) and Direct Care Worker (DCW) packets. They will also be providing training on how to use the Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) system. Tempus will be taking over as the Fiscal/Employer Agent Services for CHC Participant-Directed Services; therefore, participants and DCWs must complete transition packets and attend EVV training. The chart below provides the dates, times, and locations of these drop-in sessions. Attendees do not need to set up an appointment to attend, and the sessions should take approximately one hour. Staff from Tempus and the CHC MCOs will be at each session to answer questions.

Date Location Address Time
Tuesday, May 10    York  

Hampton Inn
1550 Mt. Zion Rd.
York, PA 17402

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday, May 12 Harrisburg  

TEF Office
1500 N. 2nd Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Monday, May 16 Williamsport  

Genetti Hotel
200 West Fourth Street
Williamsport, PA 17701

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, May 18 Philadelphia  

Deliverance Church
2001 W. Lehigh Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19132

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
 

Tuesday, May 24                                  

Reading  

DoubleTree by Hilton
701 Penn Street
Reading, PA 19601

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, May 25 Allentown  

Renaissance Allentown
12 North 7th Street
Allentown, PA 18101

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, June 1 Pittsburgh  

UPMC Harbor Gardens
1650 Metropolitan Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15233

 

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday, June 2 Altoona  

Altoona Public Library
1600 5th Ave.
Altoona, PA 16602

 10:00 am – 7:00 pm

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) will host a call on May 5, 2022, from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm that will focus on and discuss post-COVID conditions (PCC), specifically cognitive symptoms or “brain fog” following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) has recently published a Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Consensus Guidance Statement on the Assessment and Treatment of Cognitive Symptoms in PCC that provides practical guidance to clinicians in the assessment and treatment of individuals with cognitive symptoms and a history consistent with PCC.

To participate, use the provided Zoom link. The passcode is: 828356.
Or dial 699-254-5252. Webinar ID: 160 331 6732. The call will be recorded and will be available on the COCA Call web page a few hours after the live event ends. Registration is not required to participate.

The slide set will be available on the day of the call on the COCA Call web page under Call Materials. Free Continuing Education (CE) will be offered for this COCA Call.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a virtual training program for both inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) and Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs). The virtual IRF training program will review the updated guidance for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility – Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) 4.0 and the LTCH Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) 5.0 for providers in the IRF and LTCH settings. This training is part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure IRF and LTCH providers have access to the education necessary to understand and comply with changes in reporting requirements associated with the IRF and LTCH Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs) that go into effect on October 1, 2022. A major focus of this training will be on the cross-setting implementation of the standardized patient assessment data elements being introduced in 2022 to ensure more consistent reporting and evaluation across post-acute care settings.

The training program consists of two parts:

  • Part 1: Beginning May 9, 2022: Access will be provided to recorded training session videos that deliver foundational knowledge necessary to understanding the new items and guidance. These videos are intended to be reviewed in advance of the live event.
  • Part 2: June 15–16, 2022: Live, virtual workshop sessions will provide coding practice on the items covered in the Part 1 videos. These live sessions will take place each day from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

To participate in the training program, registration is required. If you have questions about accessing resources or feedback regarding the trainings, please email the PAC Training Mailbox. Content-related questions should be submitted to the LTCH QRP Help Desk and IRF QRP Help Desk

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