ANCOR Capitol Correspondence: Congress Advances Priorities Ahead of April Recess
CoBI Offers Clinical Webinar on In-Home Rehab Intervention for Persons With TBI
An Innovative In-Home Rehabilitation Intervention for Persons with Chronic TBI and Their Families: A presentation and discussion with Dr. Helene Moriarty and Dr. Laraine Winter
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Webinar
Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) often experience ongoing symptoms and limitations for years after their injuries. The investigators have designed and tested a model of TBI rehabilitation that is delivered in the home and includes family members. They will describe their ongoing NIH-funded research testing these approaches for veterans and civilians with TBI and their families.
A presentation and discussion with:
- Helene Moriarty: Professor at Villanova University, M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, and Nurse Scientist at the Corporal Michael Crescenz Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia
- Laraine Winter: Senior Research Associate at Villanova University, M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, and a Research Psychologist at the Corporal Michael Crescenz Veteran Affairs Medical Center
This session is intended for a professional audience. There is no cost to attend. Questions should be sent to MJ Schmidt. Use this link to register.
Updated Alternate EVV Technical Specifications Now Available
A message from the Department of Human Services (DHS):
Attention Personal Care Services (PCS) and Home Health Care Services (HHCS) Providers:
DHS would like to announce that the Alternate EVV Technical Specifications and updated Sandata Alternate EVV Error Handling Overview and Reference Guide are available online for your review prior to the upcoming Alternate EVV Town Hall on April 11, 2022, at 1:00 pm ET (visit here to register). There will be a second session held May 27, 2022, at 12:00 pm ET for any additional questions that may arise.
All Alternate EVV vendors will need to be certified following the new Alternate EVV Technical Specifications published March 30, 2022. Vendors are expected to review the technical specifications document in its entirety and submit any questions during your registration to the Alternate EVV Town Hall.
If a vendor is not certified (due to being new to EVV) or recertified, the EVV visits will not be accepted for any provider agency the vendor supports. For PCS, the claims or encounters will deny because visit data would not be accepted as a result of the vendor not being recertified.
DHS recommends providers work with their EVV vendor to complete system updates to allow for sufficient time to complete integration testing and the recertification process prior to the Sandata EVV Release. The deployment date is currently expected to be on June 15, 2022. Any changes to this date will be communicated in a future Listserv. The initial certification process can be lengthy, and vendors should prepare accordingly. The minimum recommended time is 7.5 business weeks.
Further contact information for recertification will be provided at the Alternate EVV Town Hall on April 11, 2022.
Sponsor, Exhibit, and Advertise in Hershey at the 2022 RCPA Annual Conference: Together
Join RCPA as we host the 2022 Annual Conference: Together, October 11–14, at the Hershey Lodge. RCPA staff and the Conference Committee are excited to release this year’s Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertisers brochure, with new opportunities to get in on the action. Booth self-selection will be back this year for the exhibitors and exhibiting sponsors who submit their contracts with payment by April 29. In order to be considered for self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted.
Don’t miss your chance to be seen and to support the work of this dynamic organization! The event is a highlight for the Pennsylvania mental health, drug and alcohol, intellectual and developmental disabilities, children’s, brain injury, medical rehabilitation, and physical disabilities and aging provider communities.
Connections Hall Brings Us Together
Exhibit activities take place during the two busiest days of the conference, with many networking opportunities throughout the event. Check out the Connections Hall web page for more details!
Exciting New Sponsorship Opportunities
The association is privileged to have the backing of the finest organizations in the field for our conference. Through the use of sponsorship circles, RCPA is able to honor all supporting organizations. Visit the Sponsors page to view opportunities and available sponsorship circles!
Sign Up Now
The deadline for inclusion in all digital materials is August 11. Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must adhere to that deadline. The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Sarah Eyster or Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinators.
CMS Releases IRF PPS Proposed Rule for FY 2023
On March 31, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2023 inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system (IRF PPS) proposed rule.
Some of the key provisions contained in this proposed rule include:
Proposed Updates to the FY 2023 IRF PPS Payment Policies
CMS is proposing to update the IRF PPS payment rates by 2.8 percent based on the IRF market basket update of 3.2 percent less than a 0.4 percentage point productivity adjustment. CMS is proposing that if more recent data becomes available (for example, a more recent estimate of the market basket update or productivity adjustment), they would use this data, if appropriate, to determine the FY 2023 market basket update and the productivity adjustment in the final rule. In addition, the proposed rule contains an adjustment to the outlier threshold to maintain outlier payments at 3.0 percent of total payments. This adjustment will result in a 0.8 percentage point decrease in outlier payments. The estimated overall IRF payments for FY 2023 would increase by 2.0 percent (or $170 million), relative to payments in FY 2022.
Proposed Permanent Cap on Wage Index Decreases
CMS is proposing a permanent 5 percent cap on annual wage index decreases to smooth year-to-year changes in providers’ wage index payments.
Soliciting Comments on the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Recommendation to Include Home Health in the IRF Transfer Policy
A recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that evaluated early discharges from IRFs to home health recommended that CMS expand the IRF transfer payment policy to apply to early discharges to home health. CMS is requesting feedback from stakeholders about potentially including home health in the IRF transfer payment policy, as recommended by OIG. CMS plans to analyze home health claims to determine the appropriateness of including home health in the IRF transfer policy, and is seeking comments to inform this future analysis and any potential future rulemaking.
Soliciting Comments on the Methodology for Updating the Facility-Level Adjustment Factors
CMS is seeking public comments regarding the methodology used to determine the facility-level adjustment factors and suggestions for what may be driving the variability in the IRF teaching status adjustment factor.
IRF Teaching Status Adjustment Policy
CMS is proposing to codify the longstanding IRF teaching status adjustment policy in regulation and clarify certain teaching status adjustment policies.
Proposed Updates to the IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP)
The IRF QRP is a pay-for-reporting program. IRFs that do not meet reporting requirements are subject to a 2.0 percentage point reduction in their Annual Increase Factor (AIF). CMS is proposing one policy change and is initiating three Requests for Information (RFIs) related to the IRF QRP.
Quality Data Reporting on All IRF Patients Regardless of Payer
CMS is proposing to expand the IRF qualify data reporting requirements, which currently apply to all admitted IRF patients with Medicare Part A fee-for-service (FFS) and Medicare Part C, such that IRFs would begin collecting data on all IRF patients, regardless of payer. This policy proposal would help to ensure all IRF patients are receiving the same quality of care and that provider metrics reflect performance across the spectrum of IRF patients. CMS is proposing that this expanded quality reporting requirement would take effect starting with the FY 2025 IRF QRP, meaning providers would need to start collecting the IRF-Patient Assessment Instrument (PAI) assessment on all patients receiving care in an IRF, regardless of payer, beginning on October 1, 2023.
Inclusion of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Healthcare-Associated Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) Infection Outcome Measure in the IRF QRP — Request for Information (RFI)
CMS is seeking stakeholder feedback on the future inclusion of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile Infection (HA-CDI) Outcome Measure as a digital quality measure in the IRF QRP. This measure tracks the development of new C. difficile infection among patients already admitted to IRFs, using algorithmic determinations from data sources widely available in electronic health records. This measure improves on the existing NHSN Facility-wide Inpatient Hospital-onset Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) Outcome Measure (NQF #1717) by requiring both microbiologic evidence of C. difficile in stool and evidence of antimicrobial treatment. Through this RFI, CMS would like to assess the feasibility of this digital measure in IRFs. If this type of measure is proposed and finalized in a future rule, this would be the first digital measure in the IRF QRP.
Overarching Principles for Measuring Equity and Healthcare Quality Disparities Across CMS Quality Programs — Request for Information (RFI)
CMS is committed to achieving equity in health care outcomes for beneficiaries. In this RFI, CMS provides an update on the equity work that is occurring across CMS. Included are: plans to expand the quality reporting programs to allow CMS to provide more actionable, comprehensive information on health care disparities; measuring health care disparities through quality measurement and reporting these results to providers; and providing an update on our methods and research around measure development and disparity reporting.
The proposed rule will be published in the April 6 Federal Register. Comments on the proposed rule are due by May 31, 2022.
FDA Authorizes Second Coronavirus Booster Shot for People 50 and Older
Temple University Hosting 9th Annual Disability & Change Symposium on March 30 — Agenda Announced
Free Film Screening “Under the Lights”
Harry Bruell, President and CEO of PathPoint in California, is sponsoring a special free film screening on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 1:00 pm PDT (4:00 pm EDT) of the award-winning short film “Under the Lights,” the story of a young man with epilepsy.
Under the Lights is the story of Sam, a boy with epilepsy who is so desperate to feel like a normal kid that he goes to prom knowing that the lights will make him have a seizure. Cinema has historically stigmatized and ignored people with epilepsy, a demographic of 1 in 26 who have almost never been represented authentically on screen and suffer from brutal stigma every day. Under the Lights was written and directed by a filmmaker with epilepsy, Miles Levin, and Miles will participate in a Q&A as part of the film screening.
Please register here and consider involving groups of people that you support and/or clients. Feel free to share this invite broadly and invite friends, family, and community members. This could also be a great class for remote learning. Remember to register!
PathPoint
Supporting people in living the life they choose
Play Golf and Support the RCPA PAC
Susan Tachau, Co-Founder and CEO of RCPA Member PATF, to Transition to a New Role in September 2022
Susan Tachau, Co-Founder and CEO of PATF, to Transition to a New Role in September 2022
Message from Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF)
In September of this year, Susan Tachau will be stepping down as CEO of PATF. In her new role as PATF’s Innovation Officer, Susan will work on special projects and advocacy activities.
To help with this transition, PATF is developing a new Strategic Plan and a comprehensive, state-of-the-art brand book — both of which will help guide the organization into the future.
PATF is now accepting applications for their next CEO. Read the job description and share with your networks.
Interested applicants should send a cover letter/letter of interest, resume, and salary requirements via email by May 15, 2022.
“Susan has been a force in the disability community for some time, and it is her passion to expand access to assistive technology and create a more equitable world that has been the foundation for PATF’s programs. Now, as our organization approaches its 25th year in 2023, we are grateful that Susan will stay on as our Innovation Officer, to help with the transition as we enter this new chapter,” shares Nancy Murray, PATF Board President.
Under Susan’s leadership, PATF has established itself as the top Alternative Financing Program (AFP) in the country, continually providing more loans and extending more capital each year for the purchase of assistive technology than any other AFP, and providing information and assistance to thousands more Pennsylvanians, helping them access alternative funding resources they didn’t know existed.
With Susan’s advocacy, PATF has also had significant impact among Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), helping to secure more federal funding for CDFIs to serve the disability community and educating CDFIs on best practices. In 2021, Opportunity Finance Network recognized Susan’s CDFI work with the Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Finance.
In addition, in the last year, Susan founded Appalachian Assistive Technology Loan Fund, a subsidiary to PATF, so that people with disabilities in nearby states will have access to affordable financing for assistive technology.
Driven by Susan’s passion, PATF has developed an incredible suite of informational and educational tools related to topics of assistive technology funding and financial education.
“Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work in a field that I love. Ever since my first child was diagnosed with a disability, I have known that disability empowerment would be the focus of my efforts. During my time at PATF, our programs have grown tremendously in size, diversity, and influence. I have benefitted from the support of talented and dedicated co-workers and volunteers who have made PATF the leader in its field.
“The future for the organization is bright — we are financially secure, we have flourishing programs, we have excellent staff, we have a strong board, and we have just finished developing a strategic planning framework. I look forward to my new role as PATF’s Innovation Officer, and to ensuring a smooth transition for our new CEO,” says Susan.
Please join PATF in congratulating Susan on a lifetime’s worth of impactful advocacy for people with disabilities and thanking her for her decades of dedicated service to this organization and to the Pennsylvania disability community.
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