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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

 

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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.

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Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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As the Federal Public Health Emergency unwinds, more than a million Pennsylvanians on the Medicaid rolls will have their eligibility determinations reviewed. RCPA has been a part of the MA/CHIP Watch Group, an advocacy partnership focused on this process for children and families to ensure coverage for services. The partnership is a group of Pennsylvania health, law, and policy advocates who work directly with and on behalf of Medical Assistance (MA) and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees. For approximately one year, the group has been meeting regularly with DHS staff to discuss DHS’ plans to resume regular operations when the federal provision for continuous coverage, put into place in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), ends.

DHS has an unprecedented task ahead: conducting MA eligibility checks for an estimated 1.1 million MA enrollees, who either no longer appear to be eligible or have overdue renewals. The group remains very concerned about the enormous administrative workload the County Assistance Offices (CAOs) will face when redetermining eligibility for this large volume of cases while resuming regular operations after three years, and how that is likely to translate into individuals losing coverage, though remaining eligible.

Recently, the group presented a letter of recommendations to DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh outlining these concerns and pathways to ensure transitional care and coverage for children. Additionally, RCPA in their meetings with DHS continues its advocacy and support for the recommendations outlined in the letter to Secretary Arkoosh.

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The sustained funding of community-based mental health services, such as community residential programs, family-based support, outpatient care, and crisis intervention, are critical to the wellbeing of our constituents and our communities. Funding levels for county mental health services have direct impacts on whether these important community and family supports will be available. Yet for too many years, state funding for mental health services has lagged far behind its needs. Counties find themselves advocating for the prevention of funds being cut instead of achieving the increases that are needed to catch up from years of underfunding.

This year, RCPA and other system stakeholders once again teamed with the County Commissioner Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) through the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition. The mission and vision of this campaign continues to promote awareness of the critical funding needs of mental health services for vulnerable Pennsylvanians. As RCPA and the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition continue our efforts, we ask our members, stakeholders, and partners to join us in this collaborative effort by engaging with your legislators. “County mental health services provide a critical piece to the public safety net for people in need,” notes Richard S. Edley, PhD, President and CEO of RCPA. “The system sustained cuts over a decade ago with little relief since then. It is time to restore those dollars and further enhance the system. Not only will it provide critical funding for the individuals receiving services, but there are positive benefits — both financially and clinically — to the entire community.”

The Coalition welcomes the many new partners for this 2023–24 initiative, as the time to act is now for engaging with your representative. Local communities and providers have come together to sustain the safety net and serve those who need it most. The reality is that the demand for service far outweighs capacity and rate structures to serve this population.

View our first of many communications that will go out on behalf of the Coalition as an open call to the PA General Assembly and stakeholders. This will provide you with strategic talking points for our outreach. If you have additional questions or would like to join the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has released the registration information and agenda for the March 1, 2023, Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting. The meeting will be held at the PA Department of Education Building’s Honors Suite, 1st Floor, at 333 Market St. in Harrisburg, or via webinar from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

To participate in the meeting via webinar, please register here. When registering, please verify that you entered your email address correctly. You will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar if you registered correctly. Note that if you have trouble accessing the webinar registration through Internet Explorer or Safari web browsers, you should try accessing it through a different web browser, such as Chrome or Edge.

Dial In Number: 1 (213) 929-4212
Access Code: 315552949#.

Public comments will be taken after each presentation. Questions can be entered into the chat box during the presentations, and these questions will be asked at the end of each presentation. There will be an additional period at the end of the meeting for any additional public comments.

If you have any questions about alternative methods for submitting questions or comments during a subcommittee meeting, including options when no internet access is available, please submit them electronically.

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