CARES Act for Providers of ODP Waiver Services
The Governor signed Act 24 of 2020, which allocates funding from the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – also known as the CARES Act. Act 24 of 2020 includes $260M of COVID-19 relief funds for providers of home and community-based services for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. ODP Announcement 20-070 provides details regarding the funding distribution.
This funding will be used to provide the following payments to providers of services through the ID/A Waivers and Adult Autism Waiver:
- One-time payments for providers of Residential, Respite, and Shift Nursing services ($90M)
- 120 days (March – June 2020) of retainer payments, up to 75% of average monthly billing for 7/1/19-2/29/2020, for providers of Community Participation Support services ($80M)
- 120 days (March – June 2020) of retainer payments, up to 75% of average monthly billing for 7/1/19-2/29/2020, for providers of In-Home and Community, Supported and Small Group Employment, Companion, and Transportation Trip services ($90M)
ODP is preparing for the distribution of the funds as one-time gross adjustments for providers of Residential, Respite, and Shift Nursing services. The remittance for these gross adjustments is expected to be posted June 15 for providers of services through the ID/A Waivers with payment available June 24, 2020.
The remittance for the Adult Autism Waiver is expected to be posted June 22 with payment available July 1, 2020.
ODP anticipates distributing the funding for retainer payments through gross adjustments. The remittance for the gross adjustment is anticipated to be posted on June 15 with payment available June 24, 2020 for providers of ID/A Waivers services and remittance June 22 for providers of Adult Autism Waiver services with payment available July 1, 2020.
For providers with multiple service locations, the gross adjustment will be applied to the service location with the highest utilization of the relevant service. Providers do not need to submit requests for the funding. All currently enrolled providers that provided the above listed services and have a provider agreement for Waiver services will receive the funding as described above.
It is important to note that Act 24 of 2020 requires these funds to be expended by November 30, 2020 or returned to the commonwealth. Additionally, these funds must be used for COVID-19 related expenses. Providers must keep documentation to prove that these funds were used for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic in case of an audit. Providers will be expected to provide a report on expenditures.
Frequently Asked Questions: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Coronavirus-Relief-Fund-Frequently-Asked-Questions.pdf
