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Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) has announced multiple in-person clinical supervision skills trainings occurring in the upcoming months in various locations. These sessions, aimed at enhancing clinical supervision skills and providing tools for working with supervisees, will take place on May 20–24 at Courtyard by Marriott in Lancaster, and June 10–14 at Holiday Inn Express Grove City in Mercer. Additional sessions are planned for July, October, and November in different regions. Each training is from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm daily, with a registration fee of $300. Registration is limited and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested individuals can download the registration form from the Training Management System (TMS).

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is hosting a series of public comment webinars to provide an overview of how it proposes to implement performance-based contracting for residential services effective January 1, 2025. Additional proposed changes to the Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family-Directed Support Waivers that are not related to performance-based contracting will also be covered.

The proposed changes have not been published yet. As soon as they are available to review, we will share the document with our members. We will also reconvene our Performance-Based Contracting Committee in order to develop our comments. We encourage our members to submit comments to ODP, and share your thoughts with us as well to include in our response.

Sessions will be held for specific stakeholder groups. Preregistration is required. To register, follow the registration link under the session that best defines your role. Registered participants will have the opportunity to provide verbal comments on the waiver amendment during the session.

Registration Link

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has updated ODPANN 24-015: Implementing Changes to Remote Supports and Assistive Technology in the November Waiver Amendments. The original release of the communication was missing the guidance for implementing changes to assistive technology. Please note: this has been corrected with this update. All new information is included in red. Please use this version of the communication going forward.

  • ATTACHMENT A – Remote Supports Services HCSIS Guidance
  • ATTACHMENT B – AAW Report Support Service HCSIS Guidance
  • ATTACHMENT C – Remote Supports or Assistive Technology Decision Tree

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To celebrate the diversity of individuals with autism, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) encourages you to be active participants within your home and communities! Throughout Autism Acceptance Month, ODP will be holding autism trainings throughout the month of April. You are invited to join these trainings, as they discuss what autism is, how to teach skills, address risk, and apply best practices. These trainings will be recorded and posted to MyODP in May 2024.

The attached documents offer tips for embracing autism in your community and a full listing of ODP autism trainings in April!

Training Schedule:

  • Empowering Autistic Individuals: The Vital Role of Teaching Skills
    Friday, Apr 19, 2024 10:00 AM
  • Supporting Autism and Beyond
    Friday, Apr 26, 2024 10:00 AM
  • Exploring the Complexities of Autism
    Monday, Apr 29, 2024 11:00 AM

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the next hospital/quality initiative open door forum will be conducted on April 16, 2024 at 2:00 pm. The agenda topics that will be discussed during the call include:

The call will be a Zoom webinar with registration and login instructions below. To participate by webinar, please register in advance.

Meeting ID: 160 823 4591
Passcode: 200020

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared the attached communication, ODPANN 24-035: Action Required in Preparation for Enterprise Case Management (ECM). This communication is to request providers’ assistance in updating their contact information and service information to ensure accuracy in the Home and Community-Based Services System (HCSIS) and in PROMISe™ prior to the Enterprise Case Management (ECM) transition. Please review the announcement for additional information and detail.

ATTACHMENTS:

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The 2024 Virtual Dual Diagnosis Conference, titled “Full Diagnosis: Impact of Trauma, Physical Health, and Metabolic Health,” will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and 23, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Hosted by The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs, and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the conference features nationally recognized speakers who will explore various perspectives on these crucial issues. Featured speakers include Dale Adair, MD, FAPA, Syard Evans, PhD, Beth Barol, Stacy Nonnemacher, Self Advocates United as 1, Brandi Kelly, PhD, and Dan Dubovsky. Registration for the conference is open.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA COO and Director of Mental Health, Jim Sharp.

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Lack of BH Providers in Medicare and Medicaid Impedes Enrollees’ Access to Care

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released a report citing there are not enough behavioral health providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid networks.

In an analysis published April 2, the government watchdog studied one urban and one rural county in 10 states across the country. The analysis found relatively few behavioral health providers are participating in Medicaid, Medicare, and Medicare Advantage programs, leading to difficulties in access for enrollees.

Notable Findings:

  1. On average, there were fewer than five active behavioral health providers accepting Medicare and Medicaid patients per 1,000 enrollees. Traditional Medicare had the lowest rates of providers, at 2.9 per 1,000 on average, and Medicare Advantage had the highest rate at 4.7 per 1,000 enrollees.
  2. Rural counties had fewer providers accepting Medicare and Medicaid than urban counties. In rural counties, there were 1.5 providers accepting traditional Medicare per 1,000 patients, compared to 4.4 in urban counties.
  3. Across Medicaid, traditional Medicare, and Medicare Advantage, there were fewer than two providers per 1,000 enrollees that could prescribe medication for mental health issues, such as psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners.
  4. Active providers accepting public insurance make up around one-third of the behavioral health workforce, according to the report.
  5. Fewer than 10% of public insurance beneficiaries received mental health treatment in 2023.
  6. CMS could also tighten network adequacy standards in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid to increase the size of insurers’ networks, the OIG said in its report.
  7. The OIG recommended CMS up its oversight of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees’ use of behavioral health services, and recommended CMS examine allowing more types of behavioral health providers to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
  8. CMS said it concurred with the OIG’s recommendations and said it has already taken several steps to improve access to behavioral health providers for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

If you have questions please contact RCPA COO and Director of Mental Health Jim Sharp.

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

RCPA’s 2024/25 membership year begins July 1, and this week marks the beginning of our membership renewal period. You can download the membership applications directly from the RCPA website on our Join/Renew page. Dues are owed by July 1, 2024.

Please contact Tieanna Lloyd at (717) 963-3609 or via email with any questions, and thank you for your continued support of the association. We look forward to working with you during the 2024/25 membership year!

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Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

On Monday, April 8, 2024, there will be an eclipse event and parts of Pennsylvania will have a view of a total solar eclipse. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is reminding everyone that it is not safe to directly view an eclipse with the unprotected eye. Severe eye damage or blindness can occur. It is only safe to view an eclipse through specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Regular sunglasses, even if they are very dark, will not protect your eyes. Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the lenses will instantly cause severe eye injury.

When considering any outdoor activities during the eclipse, be aware that some individuals may not understand the risk for eye damage and blindness by looking at the sun without protect eyewear or may be at risk to remove their protective eyewear.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has created a website with information about safe eclipse viewing.

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