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ODP

ODP Announcement 23-005 is to inform stakeholders that the United States General Services Administration announced a change to the Transportation Mile reimbursement rate, procedure code W7271, beginning January 1, 2023.

The new rate is $0.655 per mile. This communication provides notice of the rate change, as well as provides instructions for Supports Coordination Organizations (SCOs) on how to add transportation mileage to the vendor screen. It also instructs direct service providers on how to submit claim adjustments, if applicable.

Questions regarding this announcement should be addressed to the appropriate ODP Regional Program Managers.

ODP Announcement 23-003 serves to inform all waiver providers and vendors whose last digit of their Master Provider Index (MPI) number is 6, 7, 8, or 9, as well as new providers who enrolled in the 2021/2022 fiscal year, that they must submit their qualification documentation to their assigned AE and/or the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP). This documentation is due from February 1 through March 31, 2023.

If the provider is enrolled to provide services in BOTH an ID/A waiver and the AAW, providers should submit all supporting documentation to both their Assigned AE and BSASP via email. If your agency is enrolled to provide services in an ID/A waiver only, providers should submit all supporting documentation to their Assigned AE.

For reference to provider qualification, please see PA Code Chapter 6100, Subsections 6100.83-84, which contains provider qualification citation specifications. Inquiries about this communication regarding the ID/A qualification process should be sent to the ODP Provider Qualification inbox.

Inquiries about this communication regarding the AAW qualification process should be sent to the AAW Provider Qualification inbox.

ODP Announcement 23-002 reports that the renewals for the Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS) Waivers have been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with an effective date of January 1, 2023. CMS approves waivers for a five-year period. The current Consolidated, Community Living, and P/FDS Waivers expired June 30, 2022, but were extended twice as discussions continued between the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and CMS.

Major changes in the renewals include:

  • Remote Supports has been added as a separate, discrete service in all three waivers.
  • Clarification about the activities that can be performed under the Communication Specialist service has been added, the amount of Communication Specialist services that participants can receive each year has increased from 40 hours to 60 hours, and effective January 1, 2024, the communication specialist will be required to successfully complete training provided by ODP.
  • The amount of Benefits Counseling services that participants can receive each year has increased from 10 hours to 15 hours.
  • The amount of tuition that can be covered through Education Support services has increased from $35,000 to $40,000.
  • Companion services have expanded to support additional participants at their place of employment.
  • Supported Employment services can now support participants during work-related trips.
  • Participant Directed Goods and Services have been added to the Consolidated Waiver.
  • The purpose of the Supports Broker service has been clarified, and recertification requirements for Supports Brokers have been added.
  • The Specialized Supplies service will continue to cover personal protective equipment once Appendix K flexibilities end.
  • Music, Art, and Equine-Assisted Therapy are available to individuals who receive residential services.
  • Staff working for, or contracting with, Residential Habilitation, Life Sharing, or Supported Living providers must complete Department-approved training on the common health conditions that may be associated with preventable deaths.
  • Clarification about requirements for using technology in the provision of waiver services has been added with a focus on protecting individual privacy when using technology.
  • Clarification about experience and education requirements for Supports Coordinators and Supports Coordinator Supervisors has been added, and Supports Coordinators will continue to be allowed to use teleservices to perform some of the required face-to-face monitoring per year.

A list of all major changes made in the renewals is available in the record of change document and each full waiver application approved by CMS, which are available at:

ODP will be holding a webinar to discuss major changes made in these approved waiver renewals on February 9, 2023, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm. You can register for the webinar here.

Questions about this communication should be directed to the appropriate Office of Developmental Programs Regional Office.

ODP Announcement 23-001 provides information about the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) initiative to utilize up to $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as part of the ongoing systemic recovery of services for people with an intellectual disability and autism.

To support the ongoing restoration of the intellectual disability and autism service delivery system, ODP is implementing a supplemental recovery and expansion initiative utilizing ARPA funds. This initiative is designed to provide supplemental payments to support the recovery and service expansion in the following three areas: Community Participation Support, Employment, and Supports Coordination.

All questions and comments related to this announcement can be directed to the Rate Setting inbox.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is excited to announce a new program available for any individual registered with ODP. ODP has funded online Speech and Language Pathology services, Just SO (Short-Term Online), through TechOWL at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University.

Individuals and their families/teams can receive up to 10 hours of virtual services from a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist (SLP). An SLP can work with your team to:

  • Assess current communication;
  • Recommend a communication focus;
  • Develop a communication support plan;
  • Teach practical strategies for communication;
  • Select, set up, and/or customize a communication device, if recommended;
  • Plan for getting an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device, including writing an insurance report, if necessary; and
  • Troubleshoot communication strategies, AAC devices, and more.

Visit here if you are interested in this new, free program. For questions, contact TechOWL at 800-204-7428 or via email.

Tablet on a desk - Newsletter

The Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) Division of Quality Management’s QM Spotlight is now available. This is the third in a series of quarterly publications that are intended to shine a light on ODP’s revised Quality Management Plan & Action Plan Review Checklist. Administrative Entities (AEs), Supports Coordination Organizations (SCOs), Providers, Quality Assessment and Improvement (QA&I) reviewers, and anyone who reviews QM plans – including their own – should reference this information as they develop/evaluate QM plans.

To better support professionals assisting individuals on the autism spectrum and their families, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Autism Services, Education, Resources, and Training Collaborative (ASERT) want to learn more about the training needs of professionals. The data collected from this survey will be used by ODP to inform trainings to reflect the needs of provider and professional organizations throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact ODP via email.

Note: This survey is anonymous, and any contact information that you provide will be kept separate from your survey responses.

Please use this link to complete the survey. This survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Please complete by February 10, 2023.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is distributing an updated Acronym Guide for external stakeholders. The guide is current as of December 29, 2022.

If there are additional acronyms that you would like to have added to the Guide, please feel free to submit them to the ODP Outreach inbox. The Guide will be updated periodically to allow for the addition of new acronyms.

The Office of Developmental Programs is issuing this Health Alert to bring awareness that GFA Production (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. is voluntarily recalling one lot of Easy Care First Aid® AfterBurn® Cream, 0.9 g single-use packets. FDA analysis found the product to be contaminated with Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus sonorensis.

This recall is to the consumer level. The single use packets are sold in:

  • boxes of 10; or
  • packaged in certain First Aid kits.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a Safety Communication that provides additional details and information, including guidance for people who have used or have purchased the affected product and their caregivers.

If you have used or have purchased one of these affected products, talk to your health care provider to decide on a suitable alternative and discuss if additional treatment is necessary because of using the recalled products. Additionally, please follow the recommendations provided by the FDA.

Where to Learn More: