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Tags Posts tagged with "DHS"

DHS

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared communication ODPANN 25-036. This announcement is to inform stakeholders that the contract for Performance Analysis Services (PAS) associated with PBC has been awarded.

Effective April 1, 2025, the Department of Human Services (DHS) has executed a competitively procured contract with Deloitte for PAS. The PAS vendor will assist ODP with the following primary functions related to the implementation of PBC:

  • Collect, aggregate, and analyze data and documentation;
  • Create dashboards;
  • Generate reports; and
  • Implement an information system to support the administration of the 1915(b)(4) waiver for residential and supports coordination services for the Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family-Directed Support (P/FDS) waivers.

The PAS vendor will support the collection and analysis of data relevant to Pay for Performance (P4P) initiatives associated with PBC. Additionally, systems level data on performance measures will be reported to the Provider Performance Review Subcommittee of the Information Sharing and Information Committee (ISAC).

Please view the announcement for additional information and details.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) conducted Technical Assistance (TA) sessions regarding the updated Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (PRS) regulations outlined in 55 Pa. Code Chapter 5230. These sessions were held in November 2024 for licensed PRS providers and Behavioral Health Managed Care Organizations (BH-MCO). The revised regulations became effective on January 18, 2025. To further support licensed PRS providers and BH-MCOs in implementing the new regulatory requirements, OMHSAS has released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document addressing common questions identified during those sessions. The FAQ document is now available; you can view the document here.

The FAQ document can also be found at the links below.

Comments and questions regarding this memorandum should be submitted via email to the DHS Psych Rehab inbox. You can also contact RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp.

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The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has released the outcomes from the Early Intervention (EI) Rate Methodology Study that concluded in the Fall of 2024. A key focus of the RCPA Early Intervention Steering Committee’s strategic agenda has been the review of how rates have been historically developed, including the lack of sustainable rate increases that have taken place over the past two decades. In our collaboration with OCDEL and other early intervention stakeholders, the goal was the development of a quantifiable rate methodology that uses the cost of care as a driving variable in the rate development matrix.

The EI Rate Study Final Report has been added to DHS website and can be viewed here. The study was the culmination of a year-long effort led the Public Consulting Group (PCG) and an Advisory Committee, which RCPA and other provider members were a part of.

The report reviewed the methodology and formulary variables for rate calculations across several operational dimensions of early intervention services, including staffing, operations, administration, and the calculation of how missed and cancelled visits intersect with actual costs.

The final funding review of the estimated Commonwealth fiscal impact was calculated using the number of service units provided during FY 2022/23 for Early Intervention services, current Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), and county contributions. Services with a recommended rate decrease were kept at the current rate when calculating Commonwealth fiscal impact. The result indicated that for FY 2022/23, the rates were underfunded by more than $71M, or roughly 38% of the FY 2022/23 rate.

This year there is a proposed State budget increase of $10M that is targeted to aid Early Intervention providers in stabilizing their workforce infrastructure. This would be a 3% increase over the FY 2023/24 rate. There was no rate increase last year in anticipation of the rate methodology study report. There was hope that the study outcomes, which ended in September 2024, could have made a greater impact on this year’s projected rate increase. That notwithstanding, RCPA fully supports and will be advocating that the proposed $10M funding allocation be approved for Early Intervention services in the final budget. Additionally, there is a projected Medicaid allocation of $12.6M, for a total $22.6M that will go to the final rates for FY 2025/26.

Finally, the report indicated that between the periodic rate studies, PCG recommends that OCDEL implement a rate monitoring program to measure costs annually against payments. This monitoring should also measure inflation, and OCDEL should adjust rates annually to match the rate of inflation.

RCPA thanks OCDEL and our members for the partnership in the project and looks forward to the opportunity to work together in supporting and advocating the implementation of rates that support the cost of delivering high quality Early Intervention services to the children and families of the Commonwealth.

If you have any additional questions, please contact RCPA COO Jim Sharp or IPRC Policy Director Cindi Hobbes.

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The Senate Appropriations Committee held the 2025 Department of Human Services (DHS) Budget Hearing at the Capitol in Harrisburg on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. DHS was represented by Secretary Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and Gloria Gilligan, Director of Fiscal Management, Office of the Budget. Other DHS leadership was also present.

The Senate Appropriations Committee was equipped with questions surrounding the proposed $21B DHS budget that focused on intersects with operating critical services for vulnerable Pennsylvanians across the human services landscape. RCPA submitted questions to the House Appropriations Committee’s legislators that voiced the concerns of the membership across all policy areas.

The hearing today covered several of those questions, including:

  • The projected $2.5B dollar increase in the capitation and intersects with Medicaid unwinding in PA;
  • Impacts of potential federal Medicaid cuts on state Medicaid funding;
  • Addressing IDD waitlists and funding;
  • The ongoing funding of SNAP benefits and how the state is addressing fraud, waste, and abuse;
  • Efforts to stabilize the human services workforce infrastructure with hiring and retention funding;
  • Maternal Health Care funding;
  • The viability of funding for the PA Medicaid 1115 Waiver;
  • Childcare and early education funding, including $10M in early intervention workforce monies;
  • Concerns about the fiscal and operational risks of covering GLP-1 medications; and
  • The absence of a unified plan for the allocation and implementation of the $100M in school-based mental health funding.

View the 2025/26 Department of Human Service Blue Book for in-depth budget information. Members can watch the full hearings and read the transcripts below:

Contact your RCPA Policy Director with any questions.

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Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

The House Appropriations Committee held the 2025 Department of Human Services (DHS) Budget Hearing at the Capitol in Harrisburg on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. DHS was represented by Secretary Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and Gloria Gilligan, Director of Fiscal Management, Office of the Budget. Other DHS leadership was also present.

The House Appropriations Committee was equipped with questions surrounding the proposed $21B DHS budget that focused on intersects with operating critical services for vulnerable Pennsylvanians across the human services landscape. RCPA submitted questions to the House Appropriations Committee’s legislators that voiced the concerns of the membership across all policy areas.

The hearing today covered several of those questions, including:

  • The projected $2.5B dollar increase in the capitation and intersects with Medicaid unwinding in PA;
  • Impacts of potential federal Medicaid cuts on state Medicaid funding;
  • Addressing IDD waitlists and funding;
  • The ongoing funding of SNAP benefits and how the state is addressing fraud, waste, and abuse;
  • Efforts to stabilize the human services workforce infrastructure with hiring and retention funding;
  • Childcare and early education funding, including $10M in early intervention workforce monies;
  • Concerns about the fiscal and operational risks of covering GLP-1 medications; and
  • The sustainability of State human services with the increases over the last several years.

RCPA will continue to monitor the hearings and subsequent reporting, and we plan to provide an overview of the Senate Appropriations Committee DHS Budget Hearing held today, March 5. If you have any questions, please contact your respective RCPA Policy Director.

Members can watch the full hearings and read the transcripts below:

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For members’ convenience, please find below the links to the House and Senate Department of Human Services (DHS) budget hearings. The House hearing is tomorrow, March 4, and will be starting at 10:00 am; the Senate hearing is on Wednesday, March 5, and will be starting at 9:30 am. Both hearings will be held the entire day, with a break scheduled for lunch.

If you have any questions, please contact Jack Phillips.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) released the rate study that was commissioned last August after RCPA and other industry associations collaborated to access the information needed to establish rates for services.

For background purposes, HCBS are offered through Medicaid as an alternative to facility or institutional care. Reimbursement rates for these programs are set by DHS and are informed by an actuarial rate setting process and a public comment process. Long-term services and supports (LTSS) help older Pennsylvanians and adults with physical disabilities.

The rate study revealed the need for substantial and immediate rate increases for the services which were evaluated. The study concluded, “Given the comparisons to benchmark rates, it appears that revisions to the rates studied for this report would be appropriate. The tables below show detailed results from the benchmark rate comparison.” The specific rate gaps were:

  • Adult Day                                                                     19%
  • Employment and Training Services                             35%
  • Personal Assistance — Agency                                   23%
  • Personal Assistance — PDS                                       12%
  • Residential Habilitation                                                44%
  • Structured Day Habilitation                                          22%

Findings of the study are used to inform the Commonwealth’s budget and future rate setting processes. View the results here.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar or Melissa Dehoff.

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The Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) is supporting a specialized training effort addressing child abuse recognition as well as reporting training for residential facilities through a contract with the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA). This training is for child residential staff, their related purchasing entities, and local law enforcement agencies.

Register for an upcoming training:

Training Summary:

This training is for providers and other child serving entities. It will cover clarification on what allegations must be reported to ChildLine as suspected child abuse and/or HCSIS as a reportable incident, and further clarifies when an alternative plan of supervision must be put into place. This training also teaches minimal facts interviewing skills to better determine when to make a report and explains how those reports of suspected child abuse are categorized and handled at ChildLine. Lastly, internal follow-up recommendations and communication are discussed. Other entities that interact with these 3800 facilities are also welcome to attend, including OCYF Regional Office Reps, law enforcement, and MCOs.

This training mirrors the information outlined in the OCYF Bulletin # 3800-21-01 issued January 19, 2021, and is meant as additional training (not a replacement for the mandated reporter training).

Please contact RCPA COO and Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp or RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp with further questions.

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