Shapiro Admin Can Do More as Rollbacks to Food and Health Benefits Loom in PA, Experts Say
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OMHSAS Monthly Stakeholder Call Today — Registration Still Open
ID Connect Consultation Resource
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is reaching out to organizations to highlight the ID Connect consultation resource. Community organizations have expended significant effort to develop COVID-19 policies to support the safety of individuals during the pandemic. This effort has created an important base of knowledge, which can serve as the foundation for broader infection control policies and practices.
ID Connect consultations can help with difficult policy development and implementation related to infectious diseases. Some examples:
- ID Connect can consult to develop policy in support of an individual’s informed choice to assume more or less risk than their peers, while striving to meet the potentially conflicting needs of other residents and staff.
- ID Connect can support the COVID-19 policies implemented and transform them into broader infectious disease policies to prevent duplicative effort.
- ID Connect can provide subject matter expertise on infectious diseases, not limited to just COVID-19, when developing and implementing policies that address future concerns.
ID Connect can be contacted through regional Healthcare Quality Units (HCQU) to set up a consultation. For more information, please contact your regional HCQU.
| HCQU Website | Counties Served |
| KEPRO Southwest HCQU | Westmoreland, Allegheny, Bedford/Somerset, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Washington |
| Milestone West HCQU | Butler, Armstrong/Indiana, Beaver, Clarion, Venango, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence |
| Central PA HCQU | Northumberland, Blair, Centre, Columbia/Montour/Snyder/Union, Huntingdon/Mifflin/Juniata, Lycoming/Clinton, Schuylkill |
| Eastern PA HCQU | Carbon/Monroe/Pike, Berks, Lehigh, Northampton |
| Northeast PA HCQU | Lackawanna/Susquehanna, Bradford/Sullivan, Luzerne/Wyoming, Tioga, Wayne |
| Philadelphia Coordinated Health (PCHC) | Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery |
| South Central PA HCQU | Cumberland/Perry, Adams/York, Dauphin, Franklin/Fulton, Lancaster, Lebanon |
| Milestone Northwest HCQU | Clearfield/Jefferson, Forest/Warren, Cameron/Elk, McKean, Erie, Potter |
Lobbying for Good on the Moral Matters Podcast, Featuring RCPA President/CEO Richard Edley
The Moral Matters podcast recently discussed “Lobbying for Good” with Richard Edley, PhD, who is a psychologist and current President/CEO of RCPA, an advocacy and lobbying organization in Pennsylvania that supports community health and human services organizations. He shares his journey to this career, and why we should all learn more about how lobbyists — and even political action committees — might be acting on our behalf. Listen to the podcast here.
RCPA Member Beacon Health Options to Become Carelon Behavioral Health
On May 1, Beacon Health Options of Pennsylvania, Inc., the behavioral health Medicaid managed care organization serving members in Western Pennsylvania, is becoming Carelon Health of Pennsylvania, Inc.
In June 2022, Beacon’s parent company Elevance Health announced the launch of Carelon, a new healthcare services brand. The name Carelon is derived from the word “care” and suffix “-lon,” which means full and complete. Beacon is joining with other businesses across the nation under the Carelon brand to provide ongoing healthcare services to support whole-person health.
Provider contracts, reimbursement, policies, and points of contact will all remain the same. All existing phone numbers, emails, websites, and portals will redirect to the Carelon-branded locations with no action required from providers.
Providers with questions can call 877-615-8503.
EVV Public Meeting Planned for March 24, 2023
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced a public meeting that will focus on Electronic Visit Verification (EVV). The meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2023, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm and will be held virtually. During this meeting, DHS will provide additional information and updates related to the DHS EVV implementation. Please register to attend this public meeting on the registration page. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
If you have a question that you would like to have read and answered during the meeting, please submit it electronically before March 15, 2023.
DDAP to Continue Allowing for Expansion of Take-Home Methadone Until 5/11/24
Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) issued Licensing Alert 01-2023 to detail continued expansion of the availability of take-home methadone through the ongoing suspension of 28 Pa. Code § 715.16(e).
On Feb. 9, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced the final renewal of the federal public health emergency (PHE) declaration. The PHE will not be renewed when it expires on May 11, 2023. Both the federal and Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs’ (DDAP) expansions of the availability of take-home methadone will remain in place until May 11, 2024. DDAP will keep the field aware of developments at the federal level that could extend flexibilities beyond May 2024. Read the full alert and background information on the regulatory suspension.
DDAP Reminder: X-Waiver No Longer Needed to Prescribe Buprenorphine to Treat OUD
With the passage of the 2023 federal omnibus bill, which included the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act, Congress eliminated the “DATA-Waiver Program.” The DATA-waiver is commonly referred to as the X-waiver.
Now, the requirement to have an X-waiver from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) to prescribe buprenorphine, a Schedule III narcotic, for opioid use disorder (OUD) has been removed. Any prescriber with a general DEA license can prescribe the medication.
DDAP is reminding DEA registrants of the following:
- A DATA-Waiver registration is no longer required to treat patients with buprenorphine for OUD.
- Going forward, all prescriptions for buprenorphine only require a standard DEA registration number. The previously used DATA-Waiver registration numbers are no longer needed for any prescription.
- There are no longer any limits or patient caps on the number of patients a prescriber may treat for opioid use disorder with buprenorphine.
- In Pennsylvania, no current state laws or regulations prohibit practitioners from adopting this change.
Separately, the Act also introduced new training requirements for all prescribers. These requirements will go into effect on June 21, 2023. The DEA and SAMHSA are actively working to provide further guidance and DEA will follow up with additional information on these requirements. Please contact the DEA’s Diversion Control Division Policy Section for additional guidance.
ODP Announcement Regarding Federal COVID-19 PHE Ending May 11
ODP Announcement 23-023 provides a high-level summary of how the notice that the Federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will end on May 11, 2023 will impact services rendered through the Consolidated, Person/Family-Directed Support (P/FDS), Community Living, and Adult Autism Waivers (AAW).
Two documents that provide a brief description of flexibilities available during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including the date that the flexibilities end, are included as Attachment A (related to the Consolidated, P/FDS, and Community Living Waivers) and Attachment B (related to the AAW). Additional guidance regarding how to return to regular operations (requirements in the current waivers and policies) once each flexibility ends will be published in the future. Questions about this communication should be directed to the appropriate ODP Regional Office.
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