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Policy Areas

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is offering a free webinar on the assessment and management of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Dr. Chris Davlantes and Dr. Jamshid Ghajar will review the current state of mTBI assessment and management, as well as new advancements in biomarker testing. They will also provide an overview of the current standard of care, tools, and modalities, and discuss second impact syndrome.

Participants will learn about approaches and advancements in mTBI evaluation, and understand how brain injury biomarker testing can be used in conjunction with other clinical information to aid in the evaluation of suspected mTBI patients.

This free webinar is scheduled for March 22, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, is sponsored by Abbott and includes 1 ACBIS CEU. Register here.

Congress Resumes Informal Talks on Budget Reconciliation Legislation

Last week, President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address. In the speech, he acknowledged that a priority for his domestic policy agenda was to support home-based and long-term care. This is consistent with the President’s original Build Back Better plan, which included funding for the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) program, and was included in the House-passed budget reconciliation bill [read full update here].

ODP Announcement 22-025 is to inform individuals that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) updated the data used in establishing rates that impacted the hourly wage and benefits rages effective March 1, 2022.

While the rate setting process resulted in minor decreases to the Upper Bound of the Hourly Wage and Benefits Ranges for several services in Attachment #1, ODP has decided to continue the Upper Bound at the levels that were in effect prior to March 1, 2022, for those services. The Hourly Wage and Benefits Ranges in Attachment #1 have been updated and should be used to pay SSPs and to support claims processing in the Provider Reimbursement and Operations Management Information System in electronic format (PROMISe™) by the VF/EA FMS organization.

This communication will only be updated when changes occur to the information contained within.

The 2022 RCPA Conference, Together, will be held October 11–14 at the Hershey Lodge as a premier statewide event. The Conference Committee is seeking workshop proposals in every area for possible inclusion. The deadline for submissions is Monday, March 14 at 5:00 pm. Encouraged presentations are those that assist providers in developing and maintaining high-quality, stable, and effective treatments, services, and agencies in an industry where change is constant. The committee looks for presentations that:

  • Highlight new policy, research, and treatment initiatives, such as telehealth innovations;
  • Provide specific skills and information related to individual and organizational leadership development and enhancement;
  • Address system changes that affect business practices, including value-based purchasing and alternative payment models;
  • Provide guidance on recruiting and developing a committed workforce;
  • Offer concrete skills and tools to operate more efficient, effective agencies; and
  • Inspire ideas for organizations to work Together.

Workshop ideas for 2022 include:

  • Workforce shortage solutions;
  • The changing health care landscape, including telehealth changes;
  • Executive leadership;
  • Integrated care strategies for implementation and reimbursement;
  • Managed care models for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, including other state experiences;
  • Advanced ethics topics;
  • Acquisitions/mergers and consolidations;
  • Value-based purchasing and alternative payment options; and
  • Employing people with disabilities.

The committee welcomes any proposal that addresses these and other topics essential to rehabilitation, mental health, substance use, children’s, aging, physical disabilities, and intellectual/developmental disabilities & autism. Members are encouraged to consider submitting and to forward this opportunity to those who are exceptionally good speakers and have state-of-the-art information to share.

The Call for Proposals (featuring a complete listing of focus tracks) and accompanying Guidelines for Developing Educational Objectives outline requirements for submissions. Please send RCPA your proposal by Monday, March 14 at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be submitted electronically on the form provided; confirmation of receipt will be sent. Proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

If the proposal is accepted, individuals must be prepared to present on any day of the conference. Workshops are 90 or 180 minutes in length. At the time of acceptance, presenters will be required to confirm the ability to submit workshop handouts electronically four weeks prior to the conference. Individuals unable to meet this expectation should not submit proposals for consideration.

Individuals are welcome to submit multiple proposals, and we encourage members to share this information with speakers and presenters who they believe would be a good fit for the conference. Notification of inclusion will be made via email by May 13, 2022. Questions may be directed to Sarah Eyster or Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinators.

We look forward to coming together again this October!

ODP Announcement 22-021 provides guidance on the upcoming rate increases for the Adult Autism Waiver. Compensation is beginning March 1, 2022; the new rates will be implemented in the Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) on March 1, 2022. All Individual Support Plans (ISPs), including ISPs in draft, pending review, or pending approval status, will be updated with the new rates for each of the applicable services. An additional fiscal segment will automatically be added on each ISP for each service that is impacted by the rate change.

Providers are strongly encouraged to review Service Authorization Notices or the Provider Service Detail report in HCSIS to confirm the new rates were loaded, authorized, and that they are billing the increased Fee Schedule Rate before attempting to bill for any services rendered March 1, 2022, and after.

Compensation for the Period July 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022

Providers should bill normally for any services rendered from July 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022. ODP will be compensating providers, via gross adjustments, for the difference between the rate billed and the updated fee schedule rate for dates of service rendered during the period July 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022. This is intended to eliminate the provider’s effort of voiding and re-billing claims.

ODP anticipates processing gross adjustments during the April to May 2022 timeframe to ensure all billing for dates of service July 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022, has been completed. Because the rates will be loaded into HCSIS effective July 1, 2021, and the gross adjustment compensation will be issued by ODP, providers should not adjust any claims after April 1, 2022, submitted for services rendered on July 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022.

Adjustment of a claim(s) for services delivered during these dates will result in a duplication of payment that will need to be repaid. Providers are strongly encouraged to bill in a timely manner to minimize the need for corrections.

For questions on how to resolve billing errors for services that were rendered on July 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022, contact Amber Bennett.

Correction to Rates for Small Group Employment and Residential Habilitation Ineligible Fees

Because of an internal editing error, the rates for Small Group Employment and Residential Habilitation: Community Home Ineligible published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin (52 Pa.B. 1326, February 26, 2022) were incorrect. The correct rates, with the corresponding procedure codes, are higher than what was published. The corrected rates are also available on the Department of Human Services’ website.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
12:00 pm–1:00 pm EDT, 11:00 am–12:00 pm CDT,
10:00 am–11:00 am MDT, 9:00 am–10:00 am PDT

Christine Koterba, PhD, ABBP
Kimberly C. Davis, PhD

Speaker Bios:
Christine Koterba, PhD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Psychology and Neuropsychology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Ohio State University. She is also the attending neuropsychologist on the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit and the Associate Director for the Pediatric Neuropsychology Internship Track. She serves on the board of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, is a co-chair of the Education and Advocacy Committee of the International Pediatric Rehabilitation Collaborative, and is a co-chair of the International Neuropsychology Society Brain Injury Special Interest Group. In addition to her work in pediatric rehabilitation and brain injury, she has particular interest on the impact of acquired illnesses with the potential for neurological impact, such as COVID-19 and MIS-C in children. She has published on COVID-related changes to neuropsychology rehabilitation practice and has presented on the impact of the pandemic on children and pediatric neuropsychology.

Kimberly Davis, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Department of Pediatrics, Division of Psychology and a Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) in Houston, Texas. Dr. Davis is the Attending Neuropsychologist on the Texas Children’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, where she provides comprehensive assessment, consultation, and family education for children, adolescents, and young adults with recently acquired brain injury. She has also established clinical services and pre-doctoral and postdoctoral training curricula for inpatient neuropsychological consultation and outpatient pediatric cognitive rehabilitation. In addition to her work as a clinician-educator, Dr. Davis leads a number of intraprofessional collaborations aiming to enhance care for youth with acquired brain injury. She is the Vice President of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Neuropsychology Collaborative, serves on the board of the International Neuropsychological Society Brain Injury Special Interest Group, and contributes to subcommittees and work groups through the International Paediatric Brain Injury Society, International Pediatric Rehabilitation Collaborative, and American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. She has published and presented on long-term outcomes of pediatric-acquired brain injury and maintains a specific interest in family perceived educational needs throughout the continuum of pediatric brain injury recovery.

Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will:

  • Discuss 3 challenges to effective communication with families.
  • Identify alternative language to use when communicating with families.
  • Describe methods to assess caregiver communication preferences.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all members of the rehabilitation team, including medical staff, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, licensed psychologists, mental health professionals, and other interested professionals.

Level: Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Registration: Registration is complimentary for members of IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today. Multiple registrations per organization are permitted.

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