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Physical Disabilities & Aging

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Community HealthChoices (CHC) is Pennsylvania’s new waiver program for people with physical disabilities or a brain injury, and older Pennsylvanians.

Join Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation and Pennsylvania Health Law Project for a webinar on CHC Thursday, March 26, 2020 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

You will learn:

  • WHAT CHC is and WHO may enroll.
  • HOW individuals with disabilities and seniors can join CHC.
  • WHAT services are available in the CHC Medicaid Waiver.
  • HOW to get the services you need through CHC and HOW to challenge service denials.

This webinar is for anyone who works with people with physical disabilities, brain injuries, and older Pennsylvanians who are dual eligible. Register here to participate.

Hosted by: Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) and Pennsylvania Health Law Project (PHLP), and funded by a generous grant from the HealthSpark Foundation.

This live, recorded webinar will include captioning and time for Q&A. If you have any questions, please contact Josephine Tramontano at 888-744-1938 or via email.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) of the Department of Human Services (DHS) is working closely with the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) to ensure preparedness for OLTL participants in response to a possible outbreak of COVID-19. OLTL is aware that the Pennsylvanians we serve, including those that are Nursing Facility Clinically Eligible (NFCE), are an extremely vulnerable population in relation to morbidity and mortality related to a COVID-19 outbreak. DOH is designated to lead the response for the Commonwealth to COVID-19. Currently, Pennsylvania does not have a confirmed case of COVID-19.

In response to numerous inquiries related to guidance for COVID-19, OLTL has gathered the following resources for information from DOH and other sources:

  • Resources for health care facilities, including steps health care facilities can take, interim guidance for health care facilities, and strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Long Term Care (LTC) facilities, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • For questions about OLTL compliance issues related to COVID-19, providers can submit concerns via email. Otherwise, please visit the DOH site, which has several downloadable documents that can be used for information dissemination, or call 877-PA-HEALTH.

DHS is supporting DOH in the dissemination of information related to COVID-19, and all guidance is provided by, and should be sought through, DOH.

All OLTL providers, including Community HealthChoices (CHC)-MCOs are encouraged to:

  1. Review infection control protocols at the facilities and agencies who provide care for their participants;
  2. Evaluate staff adherence to provider infection control protocols; and
  3. Evaluate the capacity to implement emergency backup plans in the event that staffing is impacted by the COVID-19 virus.

While COVID-19 is raising concerns, it is also an opportunity to evaluate preventative infection control measures. Medically fragile individuals, including those participants who are NFCE and their supporting staff, are all at increased risk for infection of all kinds, not just COVID-19. As always, prevention is the best response, and the best prevention is good infection control.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) is working closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) to ensure preparations for a response to a possible Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the state and as a result, has issued a Health Alert with pertinent information. DOH is the lead agency for the Commonwealth’s response to COVID-19. At the time of this dissemination, Pennsylvania has zero confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Again, DHS is supporting DOH in the disseminating of information related to COVID-19 and all guidance is provided by, and should be sought through, DOH.

All providers are encouraged to:

  1. Review internal infection control protocols and emergency backup plans for events in which a provider does not have adequate staffing to meet individuals’ health and safety needs.
  2. Evaluate staff adherence to provider infection control protocols.
  3. Evaluate capacity to implement emergency backup plans in the event staffing is impacted by the COVID-19 virus.

While COVID-19 is raising international concern, it presents an opportunity to evaluate preventative infection control measures. Medically fragile individuals, those in congregate settings, and the staff that support/interact with them are all at increased risk for infections of all kinds, not just COVID-19. As always, the best response is prevention and the best prevention is good infection control.

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HCQU West is presenting a webinar on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, entitled “Court Appointed Guardianship: A Basic Overview with Dr. Sarah Stockey, DHCE.”

This webinar reviews the role of a court appointed guardian, as well as the limitations of guardianship. Concepts such as decision-making capacity and standards for surrogate decision-making will be explored in detail. Ethical standards of behavior for guardians will also be reviewed. Participants should come away from the webinar with a basic understanding of when a guardian is appropriate, what the role and limits of a guardian include, and how a guardian operates on behalf of the client.

To enroll, please visit the Milestone HCQU West Training Center. Please call 724-283-0990 with any questions.

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The next Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee will convene on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Pennsylvania Department of Education Honors Suite, 1st floor, 333 Market Street Tower, Harrisburg, PA 17126. If you are unable to attend in person, the option to participate via teleconference is also an option. The conference line number is: 562-247-8422; PIN: 490-838-184. The agenda for this meeting is here.

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Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) has announced the release of the 6th edition of its financial education book, Cents and Sensibility: A Guide to Money Management. This new edition contains updates to all the topics covered before, with the addition of a new chapter about housing, and a new section on supported decision-making. Topics covered include:

  • Money mapping (budgeting);
  • An overview of where to keep your money;
  • How to save safely, including information about PA ABLE and a comparison with Special Needs Trusts;
  • Borrowing money and understanding credit;
  • Housing, including information about insurance;
  • Funding your assistive technology;
  • Adult decision-making, including a new section on supported decision-making; and
  • A Financial Independence Checklist for transition-age youth.

Cents and Sensibility, 6th edition is available for download as a 508 compliant PDF on their website.

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On February 5, 2020, ninety-nine members of the House of Representatives signed and sent a letter to Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), that questions the proposed eight percent cut to therapy services. The proposed cut was included in the calendar year (CY) 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule that was published on November 15, 2019. The letter contained two questions asked of CMS, including the methodology and data that were used in this decision making. The responses to these questions were requested by February 21, 2020. Contact RCPA Rehabilitation Services Division Director Melissa Dehoff with questions.

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