You are invited to participate in the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) Positive Approaches & Practices meeting on Human Trafficking. The meeting will be held April 6, 2023, from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm.
Please review the flyer for detailed session and registration information.
An announcement was issued today regarding the Bureau Director for the Bureau of Human Services Licensing (BHSL) for the Department of Human Services (DHS). The current Bureau Director, Jeanne Parisi, has accepted the Deputy Secretary position for Quality Assurance at the Department of Health, effective March 20, 2023. Brian MacDaid has been appointed Acting Bureau Director, also effective March 20, 2023. Brian has worked for the Commonwealth in DHS for the past 22 years and currently works for the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) in the Bureau of Quality Assurance and Program Analytics as the Director of the Quality Assurance Division.
During the Department of Human Services budget review this morning, Acting Secretary Arkoosh shared that part of the budget plan is to continue the enhanced rates for CPS and Transportation Trip. RCPA has confirmed that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) plans to publish the CPS and transportation rates for continuation beginning November 11, 2023, as part of the regular fee schedule. We will share more information as it becomes available.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has released the Request for Information (RFI) to gather input from stakeholders regarding the Community HealthChoices (CHC) program.
This RFI seeks information to assist the Department in gathering stakeholder feedback on the statement of work (SOW) for the upcoming re-procurement before issuing a Request for Application for vendors to bid on program participation. Through this RFI, the Department hopes to become aware of and knowledgeable about stakeholder areas of interest in the current CHC program and opportunities to strengthen the program for the benefit of participants. A vendor may respond to all or any of the specific questions or topics contained in this RFI.
The Department is requesting that all responses to this RFI be submitted by 12:00 pm on April 14, 2023. Responses must be submitted electronically with “Community HealthChoices Re-Procurement RFI” in the email subject line.
While the Department does not intend to respond to questions or clarifications during the RFI response period, vendors may submit administrative questions related to this RFI electronically using “Community HealthChoices Re-Procurement RFI question” in the email subject line. The Department may or may not respond based on the nature of the question. The Department will post all answers provided online.
RCPA will be scheduling calls to obtain member feedback on this RFI that will be used in providing comments by the April 14 deadline.
Acting Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh and leadership from the Department of Human Services (DHS) will host a webinar to discuss the proposed 2023/24 budget for the department. The briefing will take place at 9:00 am on Thursday, March 9.
Visit here to register for the briefing. DHS encourages you to submit questions ahead of the briefing so they can prepare as much information as possible. DHS will follow up on any questions that they are unable to answer during the webinar.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced a public meeting that will focus on Electronic Visit Verification (EVV). The meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2023, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm and will be held virtually. During this meeting, DHS will provide additional information and updates related to the DHS EVV implementation. Please register to attend this public meeting on the registration page. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
If you have a question that you would like to have read and answered during the meeting, please submit it electronically before March 15, 2023.
Pennsylvania is preparing for a major change in renewal processes for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients.
Starting April 1, 2023, Pennsylvania is required by federal law to review Medicaid and CHIP recipients’ eligibility every year, which means that recipients must submit a renewal. While the Department of Human Services (DHS) still sent renewals during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most people were not disenrolled from Medicaid or CHIP because of a change in eligibility.
DHS encourages everyone to share the following information with Medicaid and CHIP recipients to help them stay informed about renewals.
What Should I Do Right Now?
The best thing that Medicaid and CHIP recipients can do right now to prepare for their renewal is to make sure that their contact information is up-to-date with DHS. By making sure that their information is current, recipients can receive timely updates about their renewal. They also can opt-in to receiving text and email alerts about their benefits.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
Completing Medicaid and CHIP Renewals
Renewals should be completed when they are received, even if recipients receive them before April 1, 2023. Recipients will receive a renewal packet in the mail when it is time to renew their coverage. Information about their renewal will start to arrive 90 days before it is due. It is very important that renewal forms are completed and returned even if nothing has changed. Completing a renewal allows DHS to determine eligibility for MA or CHIP coverage. Coverage will continue for recipients who are still eligible.
There are a few ways for recipients to complete a renewal:
What is Continuous Coverage?
Under the continuous coverage requirement, individuals covered by Medicaid and/or CHIP have been able to keep their health coverage even if they would have otherwise become ineligible for the program based on other factors.
Evaluating Eligibility
Once the continuous Medicaid and CHIP coverage requirement ends, recipients will have to complete a renewal to maintain their coverage as long as they are eligible.
Are You Ineligible for Coverage?
DHS will provide instructions on how to re-enroll or share options for coverage if individuals are no longer eligible. Options for free or low-cost health coverage are available online.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) issued a communication regarding a delay in the distribution of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated to Personal Care Homes (PCH) and Assisted Living Residences (ALR) by Act 54 of 2022.
As of 2/6/2023, approximately 50 percent of the Act 54 payments for PCH and ALR had been processed by OLTL, and approximately 25 percent of the total facilities for which form submissions have been received have been fully processed and paid by the Treasury. DHS anticipates that it may take until the end of March 2023 for the remaining 50 percent of payments to be processed and finalized. Providers are asked to please be patient while the remaining payments are processed. If your facility is anticipating serious negative consequences from the delay of your payment, please email.
Visit here for information on the exact breakdown of the $26,767,000 of available Act 54 funding for PCH and ALR.
Please remember that Act 54 of 2022 requires the ARPA funding to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and spent by December 31, 2026, or returned to the Commonwealth. Additionally, these funds must be used for COVID-19 related expenses. Providers must keep documentation to prove that these funds were used for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic in case of an audit. Any person or entity accepting an ARPA payment agrees to provide documentation to the Department of Human Services (DHS) upon request for purposes of determining compliance with Act 54 requirements. Instructions on expenditure reporting will be provided at a later date.
DHS recommends that providers consult their accountants or attorneys for further clarification on acceptable uses of ARPA funding. DHS encourages providers to review guidance for eligible expenditures on the US Department of the Treasury website in their Compliance and Reporting Guidance.
If your facility has not submitted an Act 54 Facility Acceptance Form, you may still do so. Do not submit this form if your facility has previously applied for this funding.
Other questions about this information may be directed via email.
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