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Policy Areas

Background: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved temporary changes to the OBRA and CHC 1915(c) waivers beginning March 6, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Approval of these changes is covered under Appendix K, Emergency Preparedness and Response, which states may use during emergency situations to request amendments to their approved waivers.  These changes addressed potential staffing shortages and the need for service provision not included in approved service descriptions to ensure participant health and safety needs could be accommodated for the duration of the COVID-19 statewide emergency. The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) extended the same flexibilities to the Act 150 Program. CMS approved an amendment to Appendix K which allowed some flexibilities to continue until March 5, 2021.

In January 2021, OLTL submitted another amendment to request extension of the Appendix K flexibilities until six months after the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE). CMS has not yet approved the amendment; however, they recently instructed OLTL to assume that any previously approved flexibilities will continue to be approved in the interim.

Until further notice, the Appendix K flexibilities can continue in the CHC waiver, the OBRA waiver, and the Act 150 program.  For additional details on the flexibilities, please go to the OLTL COVID19 Provider Resources web page to view the guidance updated for the CHC waiver on January 4, 2021 and updated for the OBRA waiver and Act 150 Program on January 15, 2021.

Additional questions should be directed to the OLTL Provider Helpline at 1-800-932-0939.

In order to recognize the many accomplishments and contributions of people with a developmental disability, Tom Wolf, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, proclaims March 2021 as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We encourage all citizens to support Pennsylvanians with a developmental disability and their families in all aspects of Pennsylvania community life.

Dates: April 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2021

Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm ET

Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities is hosting a four-part virtual webinar/conversation, Healthy Sexuality: Talking to your child, youth or adult about healthy sexuality. All are welcome to attend, but this conversation series is designed for parents, support coordinators, adults with disabilities, educators, and other professionals.

Conversation Leaders

  • Beverly L. Frantz, PhD, and Parris A. Boyd, LSW, Institute on Disabilities at Temple University
  • Loretta A. Sachs, Behavioral Health Specialist, Milestone Centers Inc., Health Care Quality Unit West

Webinar Schedule

  • Session 1, Wednesday, April 7 – How to start a conversation about healthy sexuality, how to answer questions, and what topics to start with.
  • Session 2, Wednesday, April 14 – The Good-Hearted Living model will be explored. How to incorporate positive thinking and joy into our lives.
  • Session 3, Wednesday, April 21 – This session will explore the intersection between the Good-Hearted Living model and healthy sexuality.
  • Session 4, Wednesday, April 28 – How to achieve good boundaries and positive consent, especially virtually?

There are no fees for these events, but registration is required for each session. For more information, email parris.boyd@temple.edu.

Date of Data Extraction: 03/10/2021

This report is produced using data on COVID-19 that is self-reported by ODP providers and Supports Coordinators. ODP began capturing this data in mid-March 2020.

COVID-19 Suspected means that a person has been tested for the COVID-19 virus and is awaiting the test results OR a test has been ordered by a health care practitioner, but the person has not been tested yet.

COVID-19 Confirmed means that a person was tested for the COVID-19 virus and test was positive OR was diagnosed with COVID-19 by a health care practitioner even if no test was completed.

Tested Negative means that a person was tested for the COVID-19 virus and test was negative.

Individuals
COVID-19 data for individuals with an intellectual disability or autism is captured using the Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) system. Data is captured for individuals who:

  • Reside in a private Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with an Intellectual Disability;
  • Receive Home and Community-based (HCBS) Waiver services;
  • Receive base-funded services; or
  • Reside in ODP-licensed settings but do not receive HCBS Waiver or base-funded services, e.g. are private-pay or whose services are funded by another state.

Data for Pennsylvanians with an intellectual disability or autism who are not known to ODP (i.e. who do not fall into one of the above categories) is not captured.

Staff
COVID-19 data for staff persons who support the individuals identified above was captured using an email resource account maintained by ODP through June 10, 2020. From June 10 forward providers report staff COVID-19 data via a web-based form developed by ODP. “Staff” include any staff employed by the service provider. Supports Coordinators who have no physical contact with enrolled individuals since mid-March are not included.


Notes:

  • The amount of time between testing for COVID-19 and obtaining the test results may be as much as 7 days.
  • It takes 24 hours for data submitted through EIM or through the resource account to be available to ODP for aggregate, statewide reporting.
  • Data is not validated against Department of Health records.
  • Data on confirmed, tested negative and deaths is cumulative.
  • Effective June 10, 2020 ODP transitioned to a web-based tool for the reporting of Staff COVID-19 cases.

The graph below gives a visual of the week over week trend for COVID infections for both individuals and staff:

COVID-19 Data for ODP licensed residential settings and private ICFs by county can be found here.

COVID-19 Data for State Centers is updated daily and can be found here.

The Annual 2021 Pennsylvania Gambling Conference (March 11, March 18, March 25) still has scholarships available for this virtual event. Registration is required through the conference event page.

To access the scholarship:

  1. After selecting the number of tickets you would like, click ‘check out.’
  2. You will then be directed to the ‘info/payment’ page.
  3. The promo code option is under the credit card info section.
  4. Enter the word ‘Statewide’ – this will apply the discount (the total cost should reduce by $40).

The scholarship only covers registration, so if you are requesting Social Work CEs, there will still be a fee, but the $40 fee will come off for each person registered. IGCCB & PCB CEs will be available at no cost.

You can register multiple individuals, but each attendee’s name and email address is applied under the ‘ticket holder’ area. If you have any questions, please submit to this email.

A drug and alcohol treatment provider member has asked whether regulations requiring clients to sign releases of information (ROIs) are suspended during the Covid pandemic disaster.

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) has not suspended these regulations. In instances where a client’s signature is missing, the provider will be cited.

DDAP has suggested that providers can use a drop box, socially distance or mail releases to obtain signed consent. Some providers are also using document managements systems, including Docushare, to obtain client signatures.

In March 2020, DDAP issued a clarification on 42 CFR that explained that, under both federal and state law, Pennsylvania’s providers can only release client information in a medical emergency, even during the covid pandemic. The two-page clarification can be found here.

To: Providers of CPS and Transport-Trip Services

In the coming week, ODP will begin allowing providers to submit information on their fixed costs to be considered for potential reimbursement. In preparation for this, providers who wish to be considered should begin gathering the following information: estimated CPS revenue 1/1/21–6/30/21, estimated transport trip revenue 1/1/21–6/30/21, estimated fixed costs 1/1/21–6/30/21 for building related expenses (lease/mortgage, utilities, insurance, and maintenance), and vehicle related expenses (lease/depreciation, insurance, and maintenance). We will also ask for actual fixed costs for the period 7/1/19–6/30/20 for the same categories.

We recognize that this is not a comprehensive list of the fixed costs you may incur, but is meant to capture the significant ones consistently across providers. We will collect this information via an online survey over the course of a few weeks. Upon analyzing the submitted information and available funding, providers could expect to receive reimbursement for some or all of these costs in the form of a gross adjustment issued prior to the end of May.

Rick Smith l Director
PA Department of Human Services l Office of Developmental Programs
Bureau of Financial Management and Program Support
625 Forster Street Room 412 l Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-783-4873
www.dhs.pa.gov  www.myodp.org

This is a reminder that ODP is requesting providers to identify a point person to complete the National Core Indicators Staff Stability Survey for 2020. Please complete this survey by March 15.

This survey will take less than a minute to complete.

If your agency has already returned the information, thank you. See the original communication below for more information:

Good morning:

Pennsylvania will once again be participating in the National Core Indicators Staff Stability Survey for 2020. There will be further information forthcoming on this critical survey, but initially, we are attempting to provide the cleanest possible contact list to the survey organizers to ensure a robust, statistically significant response rate from ODP providers. We expect the survey to be open for completion during the months of April and May.

As background, you can find previous years’ reports here. We are asking that each provider agency identify an email and phone number for the appropriate person to complete the survey. This would typically be a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Finance/Payroll, or Human Resources (HR) professional.

You can identify the appropriate person using this link. This contact survey will be available until March 15. If you do not provide an updated contact point, it would be our intention to use your Act 24 reporting contact as the initial contact for your agency. This can always be changed later, but it will be more efficient to identify the correct respondent up front. There can only be one identified reporting email per agency (MPI). Thank you in advance for your attention.

Rick Smith  l  Director
PA Department of Human Services  l  Office of Developmental Programs
Bureau of Financial Management and Program Support
625 Forster Street Room 412  l  Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-783-4873
www.dhs.pa.gov  www.myodp.org