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Authors Posts by Sharon Militello

Sharon Militello

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As communications director, Sharon Militello is responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of the association website and social media pages; editing and preparation of communications; preparing and running webcasts; cultivating media relations; and maintaining relationships with technology support vendors.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2020

Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar announced today that the Department of State will provide accessible write-in ballots to voters with disabilities who request one.

“These ballots will allow blind and low-vision voters to vote privately and independently in Tuesday’s primary,” Secretary Boockvar said. “We are committed to increasing accessibility for voters with disabilities and implementing a long-term solution for accessible ballots for the November election and beyond.”

U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson issued an order on Wednesday mandating that the department offer an accessible write-in primary ballot for voters with disabilities who request one.

To obtain an accessible write-in ballot, an individual must:

  • Be an eligible Pennsylvania voter who applied for an absentee or mail-in ballot by the May 26, 2020, deadline and has not yet submitted their voted ballot.
  • Submit an email request to [email protected]  for the accessible write-in ballot by 8 p.m. on May 29, 2020. Include in the email the voter’s full name, date of birth and address where registered.
  • Complete an accessible declaration electronically sent to them by the department and authenticate the declaration with a valid Pennsylvania driver’s license, a valid Pennsylvania state personal identification number or the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number.

The department will electronically transmit via email to the requesting voter: (1) an accessible write-in ballot; (2) an accessible declaration form; (3) accessible instructions; (4) an accessible candidate list for the voter’s election district; and (5) a write-in envelope.

Using their screen reader software, voters with disabilities can then vote in the privacy of their own homes, print their voted ballot and return it to their county elections office. Their county must receive their voted ballot by 8 p.m. on June 2.  A postmark is not sufficient.

MEDIA CONTACT: Wanda Murren, 717-783-1621

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National Council is gathering the information via a secure portal, which will be sent to HHS. It is hoped that HHS will use this information in the way that they provided funding directly to skilled nursing facilities via their bank accounts (instead of allocating funds to the state Medicaid agency, for example).

National Council believes this information will be very important in the dissemination of HHS funds to Medicaid providers. National Council is hopeful this action will encourage them to make payments directly to providers, again, as they have with the $4.9bn to skilled nursing facilities.

It is, of course, up to provider comfort whether or not they participate. National Council hopes to collect this information via the portal by tomorrow, May 29.

Dear Member,

We realize some of you thought our email yesterday was a scam or a phishing attempt. Rest assured, it was not a scam. But we apologize if we caused confusion in our attempt to convey important information about our time-sensitive effort to unlock money from the Department of Health and Human Services Provider Relief Fund.

As we search for ways to help you withstand the brutal economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are using every tactic we can think of to obtain federal funds for you. Our current effort to tap into the HHS Provider Relief Fund requires a coordinated effort, but this strategy will not put your organization at risk.

HHS has to make payments directly to providers and to facilitate this we are coordinating a broad effort to request money from the Relief Fund, following the approach used by a coalition of nursing homes, which is now receiving $4.9 billion from the Fund.

To clarify, we have established a secure portal to accommodate the effort to gather information. ALL INFORMATION SUBMITTED TO THE SECURE PORTAL will be kept confidential.

Why are we doing this now? Because the federal government is currently determining how to target Medicaid providers to receive a portion of the remaining unallocated COVID-19 Provider Relief Funds. In other words, the money is available. And we want to do everything we can to position you to receive this funding.

There is no obligation to participate, but if you choose to participate, we respectfully request that you upload the following information to this secure data collection portal: https://learningcommunities.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/1140/home

1. TINs

  1. Medicaid enrollment numbers (calendar year 2019)
  2. Medicaid 2018 and 2019 revenue(from all sources of Medicaid revenue in these calendar years)
  3. Total Revenue 2018 and 2019
  4. Bank account/routing number

The National Council will submit the information collected on the secure, external site DIRECTLY TO HHS. THE DATA WILL NOT BE RETAINED.

If you wish to participate, please complete and submit the form no later than Friday, May 29, 2020. Questions? Email [email protected] and please note that this request is separate from current HHS efforts to collect additional information from prior CARES funding recipients. Submitting your information is not a guarantee that you will receive HHS funding.

I hope that helps clarify our intent, and please accept my apologies for any confusion we caused. Perhaps in our haste to unlock this vital funding we failed to provide the fullest picture possible or anticipate your concerns.

Please remember we always have your best interests at heart.

Sincerely,

Chuck Ingoglia
President and CEO
National Council for Behavioral Health

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Today, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs announced the following webinars. Please click on the links for further information.

DDAP WEBINAR OPPORTUNITIES

Ethics Webinar (See flyer)
This course will address ethical considerations in SUD treatment. This training will review many topics,
including defining what ethics are and are not, ethical principles, and a decision-making model.
The 6-hour training has been broken out into three 2-hour sessions. Participants must attend all
three sessions in order to receive credit.

June 2, 10 AM – 12 PM
June 3, 10 AM – 12 PM
June 4, 10 AM – 12 PM

Screening and Assessment Webinar (See flyer)
This training provides participants with the knowledge needed to provide these services to individuals in Pennsylvania who are possibly in need of SUD services. The training will include an overview of the skills necessary in conducting screenings and assessments, as well as tools required by DDAP. This training focuses on the Level of Care assessment, as opposed to the clinical assessment. The 6-hour training has been broken out into three 2-hour sessions. Participants must attend all three sessions in order to receive credit.

June 8, 10 AM – 12 PM
June 9, 10 AM – 12 PM

OTHER AVAILABLE WEBINAR OPPORTUNITIES

Digital Recovery Support Services: Planning Now and For the Future – June 8 at 2 PM
Unity Recovery’s will feature peer staff and peer supervisors from across the country that have been providing digital recovery support services over the last 12 weeks. Join this free webinar to discuss lessons learned and identify best practices from everything to service delivery, remote working, and supervision.

World No Tobacco Day Webinar – June 2 at 8 AM
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health will host a World No Tobacco Day webinar featuring a panel of distinguished tobacco control experts who will discuss what decision makers, parents, families, educators, and health care providers can do to help prevent and reduce tobacco product use, including e-cigarettes, among young people.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) issued a notice to announce a procedure code change for Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT) Services within the OBRA Waiver. Due to 2020 Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) updates, the procedure code for CRT in the OBRA Waiver is changing from 97127 SE (which was end-dated as of May 25, 2020) to 92507 SE (effective May 26, 2020).

The service definition and units of service will remain the same. OBRA Waiver Cognitive Rehabilitation Providers will be required to utilize “92507 SE” for claims submitted with dates of service 5/26/2020 forward for Cognitive Rehabilitation. The “OLTL Home and Community-Based Waiver Services Rates” sheet has been updated to reflect the change.

Another automated system update is scheduled to occur in HCSIS on 5/29/2020 to add the new “92507 SE” code so it is available for selection onto OBRA Waiver FY 2020-2021 service plans. Service Coordinators (SC) will need to manually add the new service code “92507 SE” onto OBRA Waiver FY 2020-2021 service plans. OLTL’s Participant Services Review Unit within the Division of Fee- For- Service (FFS) Operations will be working directly with impacted OBRA Waiver Service Coordination Entities (SCE) to address any additional FY 2020-2021 service plan updates.

Members that have billing questions regarding this procedure code change or wish to receive the new rates sheet in an alternate format should contact the OLTL Provider Inquiry Unit or 800-932-0939.

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ODP Announcement 20-059 provides operational guidance through a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) format regarding services rendered through the Consolidated, Community Living, Person/Family Directed Support, and Adult Autism Waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. ODP anticipates updating this document on an ongoing basis.

All ISPs revised as a result of COVID-19 must include the following language in the service note:

The changes made to this plan to services, the amount of service, or when services are delivered are being made to ensure participant health and safety during the COVID-19 emergency. These changes are time limited. When the COVID-19 emergency restrictions are lifted, the plan will be revised to reflect the previously authorized services and service levels. The changes made to the ISP are intended to revert to levels prior to being impacted by COVID-19 and are not subject to fair hearing and appeal requirements.

Questions or comments can be directed to the Regulatory Administration Unit mailbox.

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