';
Featured
Featured posts

Image by succo from Pixabay

Today the Commonwealth Court denied the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania’s (DASPOP) request to temporarily stop portions of Pennsylvania’s transition to the ASAM Criteria, including the 1:15 counselor-to-client ratio for intensive outpatient care, the daily therapeutic hours in residential levels of care, and staff credentialing.

RCPA will make more information available as it assesses the court’s decision.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an MLN Matters publication reiterating how beginning January 1, 2022, payments will be reduced for physical therapy and occupational therapy services when they are provided in whole or in part by a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or an occupational therapy assistant (OTA). Members are encouraged to review the article to learn more, including information on the changes to payments due to the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2018. The article also provides additional information on the payment reduction and the modifiers that will be required on the claims.

Effective January 1, 2022, there will be a rate increase in the OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program for Personal Assistance Services (PAS) procedure codes W1793, W1793 TT, W1792, and W1792 TU. The new rates for the OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program were announced in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on November 6, 2021, Volume 51, Number 45 issue and can be found on the Pennsylvania Bulletin website.

New rates are based on the participant’s county of residence. Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) service plans will be updated by December 31, 2021. SCs do not need to make any service plan updates for this rate change, as an HCSIS system-wide update is being deployed to make the necessary service data rate updates onto the impacted service plans.

A chart listing the OBRA Waiver and the Act 150 Program counties, categorized by fiscal region, is located here. If you have any questions related to this email, please contact the OLTL Provider Inquiry Line at 1-800-932-0939, OPTION 2, Monday–Friday from 9:00 am–12:00 pm and 1:00 pm–4:00 pm.

Beyond Silos: Highlighting Multisystem Approachesin Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of developing programs and initiatives that work to meet the support and service needs of individuals with complex needs. This issue of Positive Approaches features a sample of cross-office efforts that enable individuals to succeed in their everyday lives. This issue will focus on ways that Pennsylvania has endeavored to better understand and meet the needs of people with complex needs including children with medical complexities and/or behavioral health needs. We offer an overview of cross office capacity building efforts supported in part by the Money Follows the Person (MFP) funds. Finally, this issue will provide overviews of peer support services as a viable support model and of PA Care Partnership philosophy of System of Care (SOC) as a foundation to build behavioral health supports and services for children, youth, young adults, and their families. These efforts here in Pennsylvania are worthy of highlighting as we strive to get better at supporting individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism (ID/A) and individuals with mental health conditions in Pennsylvania.

This issue of Positive Approaches Journal is in digital form, available for viewing online or for downloading. To print a copy of the PDF, online journal, or a specific article, you will find these options within your left navigation bar on any Positive Approaches Journal page. A new window will open with your selected document. In your browser, you may click the Print button in the top left corner of the page or use the Print capability within your browser.

Please submit feedback regarding your experience with the Positive Approaches Journal on MyODP by clicking the image below within this email or by clicking on the feedback image on MyODP within your left navigation bar on any Positive Approaches Journal page.

Overview of ODP’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding Plan Webinar
Thursday, December 9, 2021
12:00 pm–12:45 pm
Register

Join Deputy Secretary Ahrens for a discussion with stakeholders to review the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) sections of the Department of Human Services’ ARPA Spending Plan, which received conditional approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on December 1, 2021.