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Did you know that StationMD is more than just a telehealth provider? At StationMD, our goal is to provide superior care for the individuals served by our clients. For that reason, we have developed an educational component to our service to provide education and information to client staff via our educational webinars.

The session topics are supported by evidence-based best practices, and have been created and reviewed by our Chief Medical Officer. Upon request, talks can be presented live by one of our board-certified doctors and can be tailored to various audiences including DSPs, nursing staff, and family members. StationMD clients can easily access recorded sessions via our website.

Some of our current webinar topics include:

  • COVID-19;
  • Abnormal Glucose Guidelines;
  • Infection;
  • Vitals;
  • Agitation; and
  • Wound Care.

Contact us to learn about other benefits we provide to our clients.

This post is part of StationMD’s “Did You Know?” series. Each month, we share good-to-know information about our telemedicine service that is dedicated to individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) so that you can have a deeper understanding of how StationMD works.

To read previous topics, use this link

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Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

On September 28, 2021, AmeriHealth Caritas, which operates Medicaid managed care plans in 13 states and the District of Columbia, launched a new wholly-owned subsidiary called Social Determinants of Life, Inc. The subsidiary will invest in, support, and deploy solutions to help members build resilience, and help improve their health and create a path out of poverty. AmeriHealth Caritas is currently hiring for key leadership positions at the new company.

As the first step for Social Determinants of Life, Inc., AmeriHealth Caritas invested $29 million in Wider Circle in a $38 million funding round, becoming Wider Circle’s largest shareholder. Wider Circle is a California-based startup that builds tech-enabled, hyper-local health programs and peer-to-peer social networks. Its community care model is centered around trust, where culturally competent community engagement leaders and volunteer member ambassadors form groups with their neighbors to inform, support, and motivate one another to be more engaged and proactive about their health. Wider Circle is using the investment funds to continue developing and expanding its model. AmeriHealth Caritas has not released details about how Social Determinants of Life will leverage the Wider Circle model.

Commenting on the funding round, Darin Buxbaum, president and chief operating officer of Wider Circle said, “With the support of AmeriHealth Caritas’s new Social Determinants of Life, Inc., Blue Venture Fund and others, Wider Circle is well positioned to extend our proven hyper-local engagement model to improve health outcomes in communities nationwide.” Wider Circle offers programs to tens of thousands of members in more than 320 communities nationwide across the country

Wider Circle works with Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid managed care organizations and capitated provider organization groups. The company seeks to align with the health plan sponsors through a per engaged member per month payment model. In this model, Wider Circle is paid for each actively engaged member as long as the member remains engaged in the Wider Circle group. The groups meet 10 or more times each year at favorite local public meeting spots, and connect on the phone every other week.

Wider Circle uses an evidence-based, data-driven approach to identify and group health plan members at the local level based on demographic and similar backgrounds. The company hires community engagement and outreach specialists from the same communities to invite health plan members to participate in the local groups. From there, neighbors help the group recruit other neighbors and open doors that would otherwise remain closed.

Trained facilitators build trusted groups of neighbors in a culturally competent manner by engaging members via weekly small-group meetings for six weeks. During this group formation period, the facilitators recruit and encourage able members to become volunteer “ambassadors” to help lead the group and ensure that members are informed about planned meetings and have access to the resources they need. To support the group leaders Wider Circle has employees in every community supported by Area Managers and state and account leadership.

After training, the group members support one another through tailored in-person and virtual interactions. The groups can meet in restaurants, parks, community centers, houses of worship, and other public gathering areas. The group members meet almost every month and chat on the phone every other week.

Wider Circle programs have helped Medicare and Medicaid plan members improve preventative care utilization and vaccine adoption rates while reducing hospital days. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency, the Wider Circle groups supported participants facing isolation, delivered more than 180,000 meals, and helped participants access comprehensive social support services.

AmeriHealth Caritas serves nearly 5 million Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) members through its integrated managed care products, pharmaceutical benefit management and specialty pharmacy services, and behavioral health services.

OPEN MINDS last reported on AmeriHealth Caritas in the following articles.

For more information, contact:

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OMHSAS Offers Free Virtual Training:
The Coach Approach Workshop for Young Professionals

Message from OMHSAS:

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), in collaboration with the PA Care Partnership, is excited to announce that we will be offering a free, two-day virtual workshop entitled “The Coach Approach Workshop for Young Professionals” to be held on October 22, 2021, 9:00 am–3:30 pm and October 25, 2021, 9:00 am–3:30 pm.

The Coach Approach for Young Professionals Workshop was developed to support young professionals and various organizations that provide services and supports build stronger relationships, collaborations, and teams through equity and partnership rather than taking control or giving advice. A detailed overview of the workshop can be found here.

As a follow up to the great work that our Healthy Transitions (HT) counties accomplished under the HT grant, we would like to offer this first two-day workshop to young adult professionals and providers from Berks, Bucks, and Washington Counties, as well as participants from any of our System of Care (SOC) counties. This will be the first of three workshops that will be offered across the state, and based on your experience and expertise, we are very interested in your participation and feedback in order to shape how this continues forward.

*Please note, this is an interactive virtual workshop via Zoom and will require you to use a camera.

Participation is limited; please email to reserve your space.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Aging recently announced a “Save the Date” for an upcoming virtual forum with the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Related Disorders Task Force on November 4, 2021 from 9:00 am–12:30 pm. The primary topic of the virtual forum is Physician and Consumer Education in Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Registration will open on October 13, 2021. Questions should be directed to Heidi Champa, Aging Services Specialist.

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More than $12 million in federal grant funding for services and supports designed to improve outcomes for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder has been awarded to Pennsylvania grantees.

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) will administer funding to grantees to provide employment support services, expand and enhance community recovery supports, and provide supports services to pregnant women and postpartum women in recovery from SUD. The grants are part of $55 million in federal funding awarded to Pennsylvania through the SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program COVID-19 Supplemental Awards.

Please read the press release.

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ODP Announcement 21-069 announces the release of the Quality Assessment and Improvement (QA&I) Annual Statewide Report for Cycle 1 Fiscal Years: 2017–2018, 2018–2019, 2019–2020. This provides a review of results gathered from Administrative Entities (AEs), Supports Coordination Organizations (SCOs), and Providers. The report includes a summary analysis of statewide data collected during the first three-year cycle of QA&I for the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP’s) Consolidated, Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS) and Community Living waivers, collectively referred to as the Intellectual Disability/Autism (ID/A) waivers.

This report highlights successes and opportunities for systemic quality improvement discovered during QA&I reviews in a streamlined, easy-to-use format. Key results are underscored in entity-specific subsections entitled “Reasons to Celebrate” and “Highlighting Opportunities.” The intent of the latter is to encourage entities to target these low performing areas with quality improvement activities. The QA&I Annual Statewide Report can be accessed on the MyODP website on the QA&I reports page. You may also access the QA&I report directly.

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The Council on Brain Injury (CoBI) has announced an upcoming webinar/clinical forum, “Caregiver Needs: Insights for Professionals,” on October 13, 2021 from 3:30 pm–5:00 pm. This lecture will address an often-overlooked group — the caregivers of those living with acquired brain injuries (ABI). Caregivers often step into their roles out of love, a sense of duty, or a lack of other options. They often don’t recognize themselves as “caregivers” and can end up neglecting their own needs, feeling exhausted and isolated, and at risk for health complications themselves. Elissa Lewin (of Nancy’s House) will discuss the importance of helping caregivers to recognize their own physical and emotional needs and how professionals can help. A live question and answer session will follow the presentation. Please register here.

This session is intended for a professional audience. There is no cost to attend. 

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The following announcement/reminder was issued and directed to Personal Care Homes (PCH), Assisted Living Residences (ALRs), and nursing facilities (NFs) by the Department of Human Services (DHS)/Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL):

This message is to serve as a reminder that the deadline to apply for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) payments is Friday, October 15, 2021. If you have not yet submitted your Facility Acceptance Form, please do so on or before October 15 using the highlighted directions below. The facility acceptance form may be found on the DHS Long-Term Care Providers page. PCH and ALR providers that already submitted a Facility Acceptance Form do not need to resend a form.

This message is to update and replace the Listserv email sent on August 31, 2021 with the subject “American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) One-Time Payments – Notification, Instructions, and Timelines.”

The Office of Long-Term Living has published revised lists of qualifying entities and payment amounts for personal care home (PCH) and assisted living residence (ALR) ARPA payments. The revised lists are available as of September 9, 2021, on the DHS Long-Term Care Providers page under the heading ‘American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding.’ Revisions include the addition of providers omitted from the original published list and corrected payment amounts for providers that experienced a change of ownership or a name change between April 1, 2020 and June 1, 2021. These revisions resulted in adjustments to payment amounts for all qualifying PCH and ALR providers.

PCH and ALR providers that already submitted a Facility Acceptance Form do not need to resend a form. 

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) One-Time Payments – Notification, Instructions, and Timelines

Governor Wolf signed Act 24 of 2021, which allocates $282 million of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for payments to nursing facilities (NF), personal care homes (PCH), and assisted living residences (ALR). To qualify for the one-time payment, a facility must be in operation as of June 1, 2021.

These one-time ARPA funds must be used for COVID-19 related costs not otherwise reimbursed by federal, state, or other sources of funding. The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) sent a letter dated August 30, 2021, with details about the payments, including information about the approved use of and reporting on these funds. For reference, a sample of the letter, a list of qualifying entities and payment amounts, and a copy of the Facility Acceptance Form are available on the DHS Long-Term Care Providers page under the heading ‘American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding.’

Nursing Facility Payments

  • ARPA NF Payment #1 – Medical Assistance (MA) Days
    • The total funds available for a one-time payment to Non-Public and County NFs pursuant to Act 24 (ARPA NF Payment #1) is $198,000,000. Each facility’s ARPA NF Payment #1 is calculated by dividing the facility’s MA days, as reported for the NF Assessment for the third quarter of calendar year 2019, by 4,976,570, the revised total 2019 MA days for all facilities, as reported for the NF Assessment for the third quarter of calendar year 2019, to obtain an NF specific quotient. Each NF’s quotient is multiplied by $198,000,000 to determine its payment amount.
  • ARPA NF Payment #2 – Licensed NF Beds
    • The total funds available for a one-time payment to Non-Public and County NFs pursuant to Act 24 (ARPA NF Payment #2) is $49,000,000. Each facility’s ARPA NF Payment #2 is calculated by dividing the facility’s licensed NF beds as of March 31, 2020 by all licensed Non-Public and County NF beds as of March 31, 2020 to obtain an NF specific quotient. Each NF’s quotient is multiplied by $49,000,000 to determine its payment amount.

NFs enrolled in MA do not need to submit requests for funding. All NFs enrolled in MA will receive the funding, provided they meet the criteria described above. OLTL will distribute the funding as a one-time gross adjustment. NFs enrolled in MA can expect to see the payment appear as a gross adjustment transaction/lump sum payment on the PROMISe remittance advice dated September 6, 2021, with payment occurring September 15, 2021.

NFs not enrolled in MA must complete the Facility Acceptance Form and return it by October 15, 2021, to DHS. Providers may also fax the completed form to the OLTL Bureau of Finance at 717-787-2145. Checks will be issued and mailed in the order in which DHS receives Facility Acceptance Forms.

PCH/ALR Payments

  • ARPA PCH/ALR Payment #1 – Licensed Occupancy
    • The total funds available for a one-time ARPA payment to PCHs and ALRs pursuant to Act 24 (ARPA PCH/ALR Payment #1) is $27,000,000. Each PCH/ALR Payment #1 is calculated by dividing the licensed occupancy of the PCH or ALR, as determined by the most recent DHS inspection on or before April 1, 2020, by the total licensed occupancy of all PCHs and ALRs, including those with a special care designation, as determined by the most recent DHS inspection on or before April 1, 2020, to obtain a facility-specific quotient for each PCH and ALR. Each facility’s quotient is multiplied by $27,000,000 to determine its payment amount.
  • ARPA PCH/ALR Payment #2 – Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Residents Served
    • The total funds available for a one-time ARPA payment to PCHs and ALRs pursuant to Act 24 (ARPA PCH/ALR Payment #2) is $3,000,000. Each ARPA PCH/ALR Payment #2 is calculated by dividing the number of individuals for whom the PCH/ALR received a state SSI payment from DHS in March 2020 by the total of all PCH’s/ALR’s individuals for whom a state SSI payment was made in March 2020 to obtain a facility-specific quotient. Each PCH’s/ALR’s quotient is multiplied by $3,000,000 to determine its payment amount.

PCHs and ALRs must complete the Facility Acceptance Form and return it by October 15, 2021, to DHS. Providers may also fax the completed form to the OLTL Bureau of Finance at 717-787-2145. Checks will be issued and mailed in the order in which DHS receives the Facility Acceptance Forms. 

Act 24 of 2021 requires the ARPA funding to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and spent by December 31, 2026, or returned to the commonwealth. Additionally, these funds must be used for COVID-19 related expenses. Providers must keep documentation to prove that these funds were used for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic in case of an audit. Any person or entity accepting an ARPA payment agrees to provide documentation to DHS, upon request, for purposes of determining compliance with Act 24 requirements. Instructions on expenditure reporting will be provided at a later date.

DHS recommends that providers consult their accountants or attorneys for further clarification on acceptable uses of ARPA funding. DHS encourages providers to review guidance for eligible expenditures on the U.S. Department of the Treasury website in their Compliance and Reporting Guidance.

NFs that have questions about the information in this Listserv should contact the OLTL Provider Helpline at 800-932-0939.

PCHs and ALRs that have questions about the information in this Listserv should contact the Operator Support Hotline at 866-503-3926 or via email.

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