Plan Selection Period of New Medicaid Physical HealthChoices Announced
REMINDER: RCPA Member Use of Electronic Systems Survey
RCPA is looking to gather information regarding your organization’s experience with electronic data systems and is requesting your assistance. This short survey asks questions regarding systems used for Time, Attendance, and Payroll; Electronic Health Records; Service Data Collection; Medication Management; and Billing services.
If you haven’t completed this survey yet and are willing to do so, please complete it by close of business Friday, June 24, 2022. We will be closing the survey at that time.
Thank you to those who have participated already.
Our goal is that, with your responses, we will be able to provide your colleagues with this helpful information! Please note that RCPA will only share de-identified, aggregate data with members. We will not release any individual data unless given explicit permission to do so.
Budget Talks Enter Final Days; Your Help is Needed
Only a few days remain before the end of the fiscal year, and lawmakers are close to finalizing the state’s 2022/23 General Fund budget. Because of your direct outreach over the last few months, our workforce issues remain among their top priorities.
According to reporting by The Associated Press: “… difficulty in finding workers to care for children, the elderly and disabled has budget-makers eyeing more subsidies for those professions.”
You have been tireless advocates for this issue, making lawmakers understand how this workforce crisis is affecting our most vulnerable individuals and families, as well as the providers and professionals who serve them. Let us build on this momentum.
With budget negotiations about to end, if you haven’t done so already, please contact your state senator and representative TODAY and tell them to increase funding to support human services professionals. And please ask your networks to do the same.
Time is of the essence right now. What happens over the next few days will determine the level of care individuals and families in need receive over the next year, and whether providers and professionals can continue to support them.
USE THIS LINK to learn how you can help. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay informed of our progress. Most importantly, TAKE ACTION TODAY. Tell lawmakers to increase funding to address the workforce crisis facing Pennsylvania’s health and human services. Thank you for your continued efforts and support.
“Collect, Share, Act” Measurement-Based Care Webinar on July 21
Coronavirus Vaccines for Kids Under 5 Are Finally Here
ANCOR’s 2022 Policy Summit & Hill Day Registration Now Open
New PROMISe Guidance: Provider Electronic Portal Update
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is pleased to announce new provider enrollment portal enhancements designed to improve a provider’s enrollment experience. Providers will enter the enrollment portal from PROMISe™ using their existing registered login criteria. Upon successful login, providers will have access to these new enhancements:
- Applications for adding additional service locations, revalidations, and reactivations will prepopulate parts of your application;
- After logging into the portal, existing providers will be able to submit change requests to update their provider file without the need to complete a full application; and
- Proof of provider enrollment status with PA Medicaid is available to view and print.
See the PROMISe Quick Tips update for more information. If you do not have an existing login, please select “Register Now” in the Provider Login box and complete the process options. Additional enhancements are planned and will be communicated through future banner alerts and quick tips.
If you have further questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.
Providing COVID-19 Therapeutics: Your Questions, Answered – July 12 Webinar
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 • 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
The PA Department of Health (DOH), Department of Human Services (DHS) and Management Agency, and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation are jointly hosting an informational webinar on COVID-19 Therapeutics.
Outpatient COVID-19 treatment and preventive therapies can improve patient outcomes and save lives. Oral antivirals (Paxlovid, Lagevrio) and monoclonal antibodies for pre-exposure prophylaxis (Evusheld) are now widely available in Pennsylvania, but more can be done to improve awareness, access, and equity. This session is intended for providers and facility administrators and will cover why, when, and how to prescribe and access outpatient COVID-19 treatment and preventive therapies. The session will include presentations by leaders and clinicians from DOH, DHS, and additional organizations, as well as provide an opportunity for Q&A.
Use this link to register for the webinar scheduled for Tuesday, July 12 at 4:00 pm. See the flyer for more information including registration assistance.
The Value of H.E.A.R.T in Healthcare Management
[From Incite Consulting Solutions]
I was recently at a meeting of behavioral health leaders and the CEO of a large provider organization was there. We got to talking about the workforce and he mentioned all the data his organization can generate now.
He said that if you want to thrive and grow in the health care world, you need to be able to crunch numbers and make tough decisions. I couldn’t help but wonder… are we losing the passion and compassion that drove so many of us into the behavioral health care field by increasingly focusing on having a head for business? How do we focus on metrics while not losing sight of what’s truly important?
It’s no surprise that so much of a behavioral health leader’s time is spent on fiscal and administrative issues. Revenue cycle, productivity, clinical workflows, EMR issues – these can make or break an organization. These are activities that require us to lead with structured, analytical thinking. They call on our strengths of judgment and perspective.
The challenge? For most of us we entered this field with a strong sense of mission. We wanted to help people live better lives. We were, and are, driven by empathy – not clinical expertise, administrative excellence, and management oversight. We’ve undervalued the value of heart, creativity, and empowerment.
What we do is centered on human interactions and relationships, maintaining H.E.A.R.T while advancing healthcare management is important.
You and your staff are passionate about changing the world for good, facing the challenges of providing better behavioral health services and the mission it serves. At times, this can conflict with the time and attention needed to implement business processes to measure our success. In a series of blogs this summer, we will explore how to find balance between these two important aspects of behavioral health work.
Interested in continuing the conversation? We want to know what your successes and challenges have been with H.E.A.R.T in your workforce during these difficult times. Please share your ideas and perspective with us here.
Negotiations on Budget Reconciliation Package Continue on Capitol Hill
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