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Medical Rehab

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Temple University Harrisburg has announced their free fall 2021 training programs for personal care home (PCH) and assisted living residence (ALR) providers. The training programs will be offered fully online and may be counted toward annual administrator training requirements.

The training sessions that will be offered include:

Please only register for these sessions if you are sure you will be able to complete them. Participation is limited for each course. If you register and later discover you are unavailable to participate, please cancel your registration to allow another individual to participate.

If you have any questions or need technical assistance with registering, please email Temple University or call Temple at (215) 204-4866.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) issued a notice of an upcoming Financial Management Services (FMS) stakeholder meeting scheduled for August 6, 2021 from 1:00 pm–2:30 pm. This public meeting will be to discuss upcoming changes for the administration of FMS under the Community HealthChoices (CHC), OBRA Waiver, and Act 150 programs. Representatives from OLTL and CHC Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be in attendance to discuss upcoming changes. Meeting details are below:

Join from the meeting link

Join by meeting number
Meeting number (access code): 132 276 5679
Meeting password: kiDvMyG7S35

Tap to join from a mobile device (attendees only)
+1-408-418-9388,,1322765679## United States Toll
+1-202-860-2110,,1322765679## United States Toll (Washington D.C.)

Join by phone
+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
+1-202-860-2110 United States Toll (Washington D.C.)
Global call-in numbers

Join from a video system or application
Dial 1322765679@pa-hhs.webex.com
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.

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Each day we learn more about COVID and try to better understand the rules and guidelines being promulgated for safety. Just a couple of months ago, RCPA announced that we will continue all events virtually. One month later, we announced the ability to hold hybrid events with the option to attend in person. Clearly, that is what we all want, and what we hear from RCPA members.

So, with the Annual Conference approaching at the end of September, we need to again re-evaluate where we are with our approach to such events. And discussion about COVID was obviously a big part of last week’s virtual RCPA Board meeting.
As of today, here are the RCPA guidelines:

  1. Annual Conference. The plan proceeds with a fully hybrid event. You can attend in-person for part or all of the conference and it will all be available virtually as well. We already have many sponsors and exhibitors — and the program, which is excellent, is near completion. The change, however, is that we are requiring on-site attendees — including speakers, exhibitors, etc. — to be fully vaccinated. It is the most responsible approach at this time, and you will be seeing more about this shortly. If you are not vaccinated, or are just uncomfortable attending in person, the virtual event is available and we hope you actively participate, as many did at our successful virtual conference last year.
  1. Meetings. Similarly, each RCPA division director will be discussing with members whether any upcoming meetings will be in person, hybrid, or virtual. Again, all such meetings will require on-site attendees to be fully vaccinated.
  1. Provider Site Visits. One of the hallmarks of RCPA is that staff historically have spent a great deal of time “on the road” visiting with providers for better understanding programs, services, issues, etc. COVID clearly brought that practice to a halt. Of recent, some of these important visits have been reinstated. Moving forward, this will be based on a case-by-case discussion between the RCPA staff member(s) and the provider organization.

The most current federal and local guidance will be followed regarding mask wearing at all events. Having outlined all of the above, we all know it can change again tomorrow. But given the many questions and comments from members on this issue, we felt it important to document the thinking at this time.

Thank you,

Richard S. Edley, PhD
RCPA President/CEO

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A PA ABLE Savings Program account gives individuals with qualified disabilities (Eligible Individuals), and their families and friends a tax-free way to save for a wide range of disability-related expenses while maintaining government benefits. The state and federal tax-free investment options are offered to encourage Eligible Individuals and their families to save private funds to support health, independence, and quality of life.

To help you learn about the important features and benefits of PA ABLE, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department is hosting free webinars.

Some of the topics that will be discussed include eligibility requirements for opening a PA ABLE account, the federal and state tax benefits of PA ABLE, and how PA ABLE account interacts with current benefits.

Employers and HR professionals can participate in an overview webinar about the PA ABLE program, learning:

  • What PA ABLE is;
  • Who is eligible;
  • How employees use accounts; and
  • How to set up payroll deduction.

Offer PA ABLE Savings Program to Your Employees For FREE:

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FEMA/CDC have emergency planning videos with ASL interpretation available for public use:
FEMA CDC Accessible: Flood Waters During and After a Disaster
FEMA Accessible: CDC Helping Adults Cope During an Emergency
FEMA Accessible: CDC Helping Children With Disabilities During an Emergency

FEMA Social Stories:
FEMA’s Flood Insurance Advocate Explains Flood Claims
FEMA’s Flood Insurance Advocate Explains When Flood Insurance is Required

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A free webinar is being sponsored by the PA Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Preparedness and Response, PA Department of Human Services Division of Emergency Planning and Safety Operations, and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

DATE: Monday, August 9, 2021
TIME: 10:00 am–11:30am
Register through TRAINPA
LOCATION: Zoom

For more information, see the flier.

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The following information was released from the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) today regarding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding distribution.

Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was allocated by the General Assembly and enacted by the Governor to provide $282 million to nursing facilities (NF), personal care homes (PCH), and assisted living residences (ALR). These ARPA funds should be used for COVID-19 relief for costs not otherwise reimbursed by federal, state, or other sources of funding. To qualify for the one-time payment, the facility must be in operation as of June 1, 2021.

OLTL is still working on the details of all of these payments. Providers should be expecting to receive a letter with more details about the payments, including information about the approved use of and reporting on these funds, in August of 2021.

Additionally, as OLTL did with the CARES Act payments, payment information by facility for NF, PCH, and ALRs will be posted to the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) website.

Nursing Facility Payments

Out of the $282 million, $247 million is allocated for NF payments. $198 million will be allocated to NF based on Medical Assistance (MA) days of care for the third quarter of calendar year 2019 and $49 million will be allocated based on licensed beds for all nursing facilities as of March 31, 2020.

NF providers enrolled in the MA program do not need to submit requests for the funding. All currently enrolled NFs will receive the funding provided they meet the criteria in the act.

OLTL is preparing the distribution of the funds as one-time gross adjustment for NFs currently enrolled in MA. Providers should expect to see the payment appear as a gross adjustment transaction/lump sum payment on a PROMISe remittance advice with payment issuance occurring nine days after the transaction appears on their remittance. OLTL’s intention is to distribute the payments in early fall 2021.

NFs who are not currently enrolled with MA must complete a form providing information for OLTL to issue the payment and return it to DHS. The form is currently being developed and will be posted on the DHS’ website in August 2021. Reminder messages will be sent to facilities when the form is posted on the DHS website. Checks will start to be issued and mailed in fall 2021. It is a manual process to prepare an invoice to generate a payment to a provider; thus the checks will be issued as the forms are processed.

PCH/ALR Payments

Out of the $282 million, $30 million was provided for payments to PCHs and ALRs. $27 million will be allocated based on the occupancy of the facility on or before April 1, 2020, and $3 million will be allocated proportionally based on the number of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) residents in the facility as of March of 2020.

PCH and ALRs must complete a form providing information for OLTL to issue the payment and return it to the Department. The form is currently being developed and will be posted on the DHS’ website in August 2021. Reminder messages will be sent to facilities when the form is posted on the DHS’ website. Checks will be issued and mailed starting in fall 2021. Please understand it is a manual process to prepare an invoice to generate a payment to a provider; thus checks will take time to be issued to the almost 1200 PCH and ALRs.

If you have questions about the above information, please contact the OLTL Provider Helpline at 800-932-0939.

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The Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information (COE PHI) and SAMHSA have created one-page resources to assist practitioners and consumers on guidance for telehealth visits and encounters. The tips provide an overview of best practices for appointments to assist in creating a safe environment for treatment.

COE PHI: Tips for Telehealth Privacy
SAMHSA: How to Prepare for a Video Appointment

Please feel free to share these resources with your staff and stakeholders. If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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