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Policy Areas

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NOTE TO INSPECTOR: The word "iridium" on the pen's nib is not a brand: it's the name of the metal of which the nib is made. Thanks. Inky old fountain pen on a $100 bill.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held their regular public meeting on January 16 – 17, 2025. During one of their presentations, “Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Skilled Nursing Facility Services; Home Health Agency Services; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Services; Outpatient Dialysis Services; and Hospice Services,” there was a draft recommendation specific to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF). The draft recommendation was for fiscal year 2026 and noted that Congress should reduce the 2025 Medicare base payment rate by 7 percent. The PowerPoint presentation is available here.

During this public meeting, MedPAC voted to finalize this recommended payment reduction to fiscal year 2026 IRF Prospective Payment System (PPS) payments. Both AMRPA and other national hospital stakeholders, on behalf of IRFs, strongly opposed this proposed payment cut (prior to the public meeting). However, MedPAC advanced the recommended cut with limited discussion about the potential impacts on patient access and IRF operations.

MedPAC’s recommendations do require Congressional action. As a result, advocacy will be planned to continue to voice concerns with this recommendation. Members will be kept apprised of any upcoming changes.

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RCPA partnered with The Alliance of Community Service Providers, The Arc of Pennsylvania, MAX Association, PAR, and TPA, in a collaborative workforce study and surveyed our members to collect data on the impact of the Commonwealth’s ID/A investment. We are pleased to share the results of that study, published and released today. This report also includes information on the demographic profile of our workforce, employee benefits provided, and critical data on vacancies and retention for Direct Support Professionals who provide the lifeline for individuals and families served by our community system.

Also available is a one-page infographic highlighting key data points from the compensation report, complemented with additional facts regarding inflation and the waiting list for intellectual disability services. Examined together, these factors illustrate the continued urgency for ongoing investment to meet the needs of our ID/A community and the thousands of people who remain on a waiting list without essential services.

The associations plan to continue our joint advocacy efforts regarding the budget for the coming Pennsylvania fiscal year.

Contact Carol Ferenz, IDD Division Director, with any questions.

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Please share these PA Family Network workshops and support groups with your network! Register for upcoming events at PA Family Network’s website.

Support Groups

LifeCourse Workshops

Waiver Workshops

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made updates to the training schedule for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) provisions of the Medicaid Access Rule. The new training session dates and tentative topics for each session can be found below. These dates and topics are subject to change.

  • May 14, 2025, 3:00 pm ET: Timely Access, Waiting Lists, Person-Centered Planning Reporting Requirements & Minimum Performance Levels, and Website Requirements
  • June 11, 2025, 3:00 pm ET: Institutional Rule Provisions*

*Nursing Facility and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Rate Transparency provisions finalized in CMS-3442-F: Medicare and Medicaid

You can learn more about the training series and register for upcoming sessions on the HCBS Provisions of the Medicaid Access Rule Training Series registration web page.

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The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association Political Action Committee (RCPA PAC) is asking members to consider making a personal contribution to the PAC. With these donations, we have been successful in supporting legislative leadership who understand the severe challenges facing many of our providers. These representatives are willing to stand up for our issues as we fight to move Pennsylvania forward.

We urge you to view our 2025 Legislative & Administrative Priorities to see how RCPA is and will continue to work for you. We are able to achieve these goals thanks to our members’ dedication and contributions.

Make an online contribution and advocate for yourself today. While the request is voluntary, we encourage you to make a contribution of $100, $250, $350, $500, or more to the RCPA PAC. If you are interested, you can also consider making a recurring monthly donation.

If you have any questions regarding the RCPA PAC or making a donation, please contact Jack Phillips, Director, Government Affairs.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-007, which states that the 2024 National Core Indicators® Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI®-IDD) State of the Workforce (SoTW) survey portal will open on February 10, 2025.

With the introduction of Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) in 2024, residential providers in the Select and Clinically Enhanced tiers, in accordance with performance measure WF 03.3, are now required to “participate in the NCI®-IDD State of the Workforce Survey and release provider NCI®-IDD data to ODP to validate turnover and other workforce data.” All other eligible providers remain strongly encouraged to participate and contribute to the data used to improve the Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities/Autism service system.

The PBC Residential Data Submission Tools for each tier will be open from February 15, 2025, to March 15, 2025. Providers planning to submit for either Select or Clinically Enhanced tiers are advised to complete the NCI SoTW survey. Providers are encouraged to obtain a copy of the NCI SoTW submission before submitting their data and documents to ODP. A copy of the survey can be found here.

Providers not participating in the PBC process will complete the NCI® SoTW survey by June 30, 2025.

Please review the announcement for additional information and detail. Any questions, please contact Ms. Lee Stephens, ODP IM4Q/NCI®-IDD Statewide Lead, via email.

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StationMD is a qualified provider in Pennsylvania of the STAT waiver service in the ID/A waivers. They are excited to share the next chapter of a webinar series with the Pennsylvania I/DD community on seizure management, which will be held on Tuesday, January 28, at 1:00 pm.

The webinar will include:

  • General information about the STAT waiver service in Pennsylvania;
  • A presentation from their co-founder Dr. Matthew Kaufman, titled “Seizure Management in the I/DD Population;” and
  • Additional time for Q&A.

Please visit this link to register, and feel free to share this invite with anyone that can benefit from this information.

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