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RCPA (Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association), PAR (Pennsylvania Advocates and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities), The Arc of Pennsylvania, TPA (The Provider Alliance), The Alliance of Community Service Providers, and MAX Association sent a letter to the general assembly requesting their support of our joint budget request.
As the organizations representing Pennsylvania’s Intellectual Disabilities/Autism (ID/A) service providers, we are asking them to include $430 million in the 2023/24 state general fund budget proposal to significantly improve the wage rates for the Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who provide care to individuals with ID/A. This funding and its federal match are crucial because the ID/A system is in crisis. Nearly 60,000 Pennsylvanians with ID/A are at risk of losing or experiencing a reduction of essential services because there are not enough DSPs to care for them.
See the letter for full information.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released two notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRM): Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services and Managed Care Access, Finance, and Quality.
If adopted as proposed, the rules would establish national standards for access to care regardless of whether that care is provided through managed care plans or directly by states through fee-for-service (FFS). Specifically, they would establish access standards through Medicaid or CHIP managed care plans, as well as transparency for Medicaid payment rates to providers, including hourly rates and compensation for certain home care and other direct care workers. The rules would also establish other access standards for transparency and accountability and empower beneficiary choice.
The proposed rules together include new and updated proposed requirements for states and managed care plans that would establish tangible, consistent access standards and a consistent way to transparently review and assess Medicaid payment rates across states. The rule also proposes standards to allow enrollees to easily compare plans based on quality and access to providers through the state’s website.
Other highlights from the proposed rules include:
The proposed rules will be published in the May 5, 2023, Federal Register, and comments will be accepted through July 3, 2023.
The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced that they will be presenting a live, interactive, six-session webinar series on housing issues.
The webinars will be held every Wednesday, beginning May 24, 2023, through June 28, 2023, from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. They will include targeted content and question and answer sessions with housing experts and staff from OLTL.
The information covered in this webinar series will be similar to the information covered in the 2022 OLTL housing webinar series.
This webinar series builds on information already provided in the Online Housing Training Modules and the Self-Determination Housing of Pennsylvania (SDHP)/Inglis’s Prepared Renter Program (PREP) curriculum.
This series of webinars is designed to be taken in order. The content in each session builds on prior content. Participants will get the most out of the program by taking all of the sessions in order. Although individuals are not required to complete the sessions in order, to keep the sessions focused, the webinar leader may opt to table questions that were covered in prior sessions.
The target audience for this webinar series is Service Coordinators (SC), Managed Care Organizations (MCO), and Service Coordination Entity (SCE) support staff who assist program participants in securing and maintaining affordable, accessible housing through Home and Community-Based Services. Additional target audiences for these webinars includes individuals and organizations who provide long-term services and supports for older Pennsylvanians and people with physical disabilities.
2023 OLTL Housing Series Curriculum
Webinar 1: Understanding Housing Nuances in Pennsylvania
Webinar 2: Recommended Relationships to Have in the Housing Sector
Webinar 3: Types of Housing Funding Sources
Webinar 4: Fair Housing with the Housing Equality Center of PA
Webinar 5: Keeping Participants Housed with Landlord Engagement Techniques
Webinar 6: Top 7 Housing Information Resources to be Aware Of
Registration is available.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) wishes to create awareness of a recent announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommending consumers, health care providers, and facilities not use certain surgical N95 respirators manufactured by O&M Halyard, and to use caution with certain surgical masks and pediatric face masks manufactured by O&M Halyard. For access to additional details, please visit “FDA Safety Communication: O&M Halyard Surgical N95 Respirators, Surgical Masks, and Pediatric Face Masks.”
If this creates a hardship to a provider, please reach out to Douglas Trahey electronically.