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Policy Areas

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 24-041 and the accompanying survey. The purpose of this communication is to announce that amendments to the Consolidated, Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS), Community Living, and Adult Autism Waivers were approved by CMS. The Department amended the waivers effective May 1, 2024, to allow providers to request a one-time supplemental payment to cover recruitment, retention, and any unusual staffing expenses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic for direct support professionals, frontline supervisors, program specialists, or supports coordinators (SC).

Providers must request a Workforce Recovery Supplemental Payment by completing the survey no later than Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Information Overview and Performance Standard Webinar Sessions
Registration Now OPEN!

This webinar series will provide details on specific performance standards for Performance-Based Contracting for residential services. Each session will cover the required reporting, data source, data collection, and analysis for each performance standard.

A prerecorded General Overview Webinar will be disseminated on May 21, 2024, as a pre-requisite to the sessions outlined below. It is strongly recommended providers watch the General Overview Webinar prior to attending.

These sessions will each be unique in content and build upon one another. Providers are encouraged to attend all four sessions. Due to anticipated audience size, only two representatives from each Provider Agency should register to attend. All sessions will be recorded and made available on MyODP.

REGISTER:

You can send any registration questions you may have via email.

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Wednesday, May 22, 2024 | 2:00 PM EDT

Despite the increased awareness and government funding dedicated to improving maternal and fetal outcomes, maternal mental health conditions remain one of the most prevalent complications during and after pregnancy, affecting one in five women. An alarming 75% of these women do not receive any treatment, and nearly one in four die from suicide or opioid overdoses. If your organization is dedicated to disrupting this disheartening trend, effectively addressing and improving maternal mental health outcomes should be a central component of your strategy. Join us to hear industry experts unveil staggering statistics and discuss strategies to identify, diagnose, and treat mothers with mental health conditions throughout their entire pregnancies.

Register Here

RCPA is excited to announce our Annual Conference Embracing Challenges, Empowering Success, which will be held September 24 – 27, 2024, at the Hershey Lodge. Save the dates for this action-packed event, which promises to showcase key speakers discussing the latest in health and human services across all divisions. Registration details and more will become available in the coming months, and you can stay up-to-date with developments at the RCPA conference website.

Our conference will host lively networking events, and our Connections Hall will feature businesses and organizations that can serve your agency’s needs, be it in renovations, EHR management, or patient care.

If your organization is interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, you can complete our Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertisers Brochure or contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator. Spaces are filling up, so don’t delay!

We look forward to sharing more details in the near future and would like to extend a thank you to those organizations who have already pledged support for the conference! View our current sponsors and exhibitors on the RCPA Conference website!

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On April 24, 2024, Novitas Solutions hosted their first webinar for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) in preparation for the start date of the IRF Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) in Pennsylvania on June 17, 2024. Novitas is the RCD contractor for the state of Pennsylvania. The webinar provided an overview of the process, the different review choices, and the instructions for contractor-specific portal (Novitasphere). While the webinar primarily covered the basics of the program as previously laid out in CMS’s materials, there was some new information that was shared:

  1. For the first time, Novitas introduced the clinical leadership team for the demonstration in Pennsylvania:
    • Ene Ojile, the Contract Medical Director overseeing the RCD in Pennsylvania. Dr. Ojile is Board-Certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R), and she most recently served as Medical Director for a large freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospital.
    • Jessica Hicks, RN, MSN, the Medical Review Manager.
    • Mia Jackson, RN, BSN, the Medical Review Team.
  2. There was some discussion and confusion about the methodology Novitas will use to calculate individual hospital’s affirmation rates under the RCD. During the webinar, Novitas staff stated that the total number of submissions and resubmissions would be included in the calculation, potentially penalizing hospitals for completing resubmissions even if the claim is eventually affirmed. After the webinar, Novitas circulated a “clarification” indicating that, “The number of resubmissions is not counted against the affirmation rate.” Additional clarification will be requested to confirm how the rates will be calculated and that the same methodology will be used as in Alabama.

The slides from the April 24 webinar are now available, and Novitas has also posted a recording of the main presentation (without the public Q&A portion) available here.

Novitas will also be hosting the following training and education webinars leading up to the start date. You can register for these webinars at their website.

  • May 2 — Review Choice Selection & Process (PA IRF Providers Only)
  • May 3 — RCD: How to Prepare (All JH and JL IRF Providers)
  • June 4 — Pre-Claim and Post-Payment Review Submissions (PA IRF Providers Only)

Happy May! PA Family Network is sharing these important workshops and Good Life Groups! Register for upcoming events at their website. You can view the flyer for each workshop below.

Support Groups:

LifeCourse Workshops

Waiver Workshops