Today, the Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Aging (PDA) released their Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) concept paper. This concept paper, which was developed based on public input, describes the plan’s features and includes the following highlights:

• Coordinates physical health and LTSS through Community HealthChoices managed care organizations (CHC-MCO).
• Provides participants with a choice of two to five CHC-MCOs in each region.
• Includes value-based incentives to increase the use of home and community-based services and meet other program goals.
• Creates a system that allows Pennsylvanians to receive services in the community, preserves consumer choice, and lets consumers have an active voice in the services they receive.
• Standardizes measures of both program and participant-level outcomes to assess overall program performance and improve CHC over time.
• CHC-MCOs will be accountable for most Medicaid-covered services, including preventive services, primary and acute care, LTSS (home and community-based services and nursing facilities), prescription drugs, and dental services.
• Participants who have Medicaid and Medicare coverage (dual eligible participants) will have the option to have their Medicaid and Medicare services coordinated by the same MCO.
• Behavioral health services continue to be provided through the behavioral health managed care organizations (BH-MCOs), but CHC-MCOs and BH-MCOs will be required to coordinate services for individuals who participate in both programs.

The MLTSS plan, recently re-named Community HealthChoices, is an integrated system of physical health and LTSS which focuses on improving health outcomes and allowing individuals to live safe and healthy lives with as much independence as possible. CHC supports individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, older adults, and adults with physical disabilities, in the most integrated settings possible.

Feedback on the concept paper may be submitted through Friday, October 16, 2015. The concept paper feedback will shape the November 2015 request for proposals (RFP) for CHC-MCOs. The RFP will be tentatively awarded in March 2016, contingent upon successful readiness reviews and negotiations. CHC will go live in the Southwest region in January 2017, the Southeast region in January 2018, and the Northwest, Lehigh-Capital, and Northeast regions in January 2019.