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The agenda for the January 4, 2023, Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting has been released. The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and will take place in person in the PA Department of Education Building’s Honors Suite, 1st Floor, at 333 Market St. in Harrisburg as well as via webinar. The link to register for the webinar is here, and the dial-in number is (415) 930-5321, with access code 440793029#.

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

As the holiday season approaches, remember to protect yourself and others by staying up-to-date with your COVID-19 and flu vaccines. You may be eligible to receive your flu vaccine at the same time as a recommended COVID-19 vaccine. Your healthcare practitioner or pharmacist can help you decide if you should receive both vaccines at the same time.

Flu Vaccine

CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every flu season, with rare exceptions. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of serious complications from influenza. A full listing of people at Higher Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications is available.

COVID-19 Vaccine

CDC recommends that people ages 5 years and older receive one updated (bivalent) booster if it has been at least 2 months since their last COVID-19 vaccine dose, whether that was:

  • Their final primary series dose; or
  • An original (monovalent) booster.

People who have gotten more than one original (monovalent) booster are also recommended to get an updated (bivalent) booster.

Staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccination is important for maximum protection. You are up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines if you have completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series and received the most recent booster dose recommended for you by CDC.

You are still up-to-date if you receive all COVID-19 vaccine doses recommended for you and then become ill with COVID-19. You do not need to be immediately revaccinated or receive an additional booster.

Updated (bivalent) boosters became available on:

  • September 2, 2022, for people 12 years of age and older; and
  • October 12, 2022, for people aged 5–11.

Your healthcare practitioner, including your pharmacist, can help you determine if you are up to date with your vaccines.

Additional Resources

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) has reported that currently there is an ongoing measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio. The first case was identified October 22, 2022, and as of December 20, there are over 80 confirmed cases. There is concern that there will be cases spreading into neighboring states, including Pennsylvania.

The measles outbreak in Ohio, combined with the predicted seasonal increase in internationally-imported measles cases, is of special concern. In the United States, most cases of measles occur in people who have travelled abroad and import measles into the United States. Typically, the number of these cases increases from midwinter through spring.

Read the Health Alert to learn more.

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The Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Office of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) host a quarterly Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices Meeting. This meeting aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to live an everyday life.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. The topic is employment. See the flyer for details.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) has approved RCPA’s request to review the RCPA IBHS Regulatory Review Recommendations within the context of the current IBHS regulations.

The premise of the recommendations addresses the challenges and barriers IBHS providers have faced in creating the staffing infrastructures and meeting the burdensome operational protocols for regulatory compliance. The overreaching nature of the regulations, coupled with the impact of the pandemic, has caused great strain on an already depleted behavioral health workforce. These system stressors limit the ability to provide vital, quality services to children and families. Due to the prohibition for the use of waiting lists, it is difficult to capture the true number of children and families going without these essential services. We contend there are thousands of children across the Commonwealth with unmet treatment needs and written orders for IBHS services who await care.

The current lack of access to care is a result of the workforce crisis and operational requirements of implementing the regulations. We feel these access issues and children waiting for services are compelling reasons, in the interest of the public, to merit a review of the regulations. We have also provided these recommendations to OMHSAS, the HealthChoices BHMCOs, and leadership in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

RCPA extends its gratitude to our members and those who have supported this process as well as the IRRC for their review. There is no current timeframe for the review, as there are many other, similar regulatory review requests on the docket. With that said, we remain vigilant in our efforts and seek partnership and collaboration with all stakeholders to address the current crisis.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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In an effort to provide additional information on a new provider type recently announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a Medicare Learning Network (MLN) fact sheet was released. This new provider type, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REH), is a new Medicare Part A provider type. Starting January 1, 2023, Medicare will pay for Medicare-enrolled REHs to deliver emergency hospital, observation, and other services to Medicare patients on an outpatient basis. Additional information, including how to become an REH, billing, payment, reporting quality data, etc. is available in the fact sheet.

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Image by DarkmoonArt_de from Pixabay

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) recently released the following Save the Date notice:

Please join the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month. ACL will be hosting a virtual Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Partners Day on February 28, 2023, from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm.

Each year, under what was previously called TBI Stakeholder Day, ACL convenes interested parties to discuss important issues around TBI services, supports, and systems and to learn from other partners, brain injury survivors, family members, support networks, and state and federal representatives.

This year, we will have sessions on aging, employment, the intersectionality of TBI and other medical and social issues, and peer support.

While we are still working on finalizing the agenda for the 2023 ACL TBI Partners Day, our plans are to include state and federal representatives as well as brain injury survivors and family members in the sessions. Session participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions during each session. There will be no cost to register for the event.

We will provide more details about the 2023 TBI Partners Day in the coming weeks. If you have any questions about this event, please do not hesitate to contact us via email. For now, please save the date!

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