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Tags Posts tagged with "Office of Long-Term Living"

Office of Long-Term Living

Message from the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL):

This communication is a reminder that the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) is allowed to continue available temporary changes to the CHC waiver, OBRA waiver, and the Act 150 Program under Appendix K, Emergency Preparedness and Response, until six months after the end of the federal public health emergency related to COVID-19.

On October 15, 2021, the federal public health emergency was extended by 90 days; however, it’s possible the federal government will decide to extend the emergency further. Please visit this public health emergency website to see the current and future public health emergency declarations related to COVID-19. OLTL will issue guidance in the future when the Appendix K flexibilities are closer to expiring.

For further information on the available OLTL Appendix K flexibilities, please visit the OLTL Resources page. If you have questions about the information, please contact the OLTL Provider Helpline at 1-800-932-0939.

As a reminder, section 12006 of the 21st Century Cures Act requires all states to implement the use of EVV for Medicaid-funded personal care and home health care services. EVV must be implemented for personal care services by January 1, 2020, and for home health care services by January 1, 2023.

OLTL waiver services included in the initial implementation of EVV:

  • Personal Assistance Services (Agency and Participant-Directed Model)
  • Participant-Directed Community Supports
  • Respite (unlicensed settings only)

As part of the soft launch period, claims submitted to PROMISeTM for services subjected to EVV will be validated against EVV visits submitted through the Department of Human Services (DHS) Sandata system or DHS Aggregator. During claims processing in PROMISeTM, EVV validation against the DHS Aggregator will continue to be performed and EVV Error Service Codes (ESCs) will set without impacting claim payment. The ESCs for EVV will become active on December 13, 2019, for claims submissions with dates of service on or after November 1, 2019. Providers are expected to review when the EVV edit(s) set and actively make corrections either to the data stored in the DHS Aggregator or the claim itself to ensure errors do not repeat.

Please see this chart of EVV-specific ESCs for reference. If you have questions about EVV, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions document on the DHS EVV website or contact the EVV Resource Account.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) will be conducting the next Community HealthChoices (CHC) Third Thursday webinar on December 19, 2019 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm. During this webinar, Deputy Secretary Kevin Hancock will provide updates on the CHC program. To participate in the webinar, please register here. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email that contains the information about joining the webinar. If you have any questions, please contact the OLTL Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management at 717-857-3280.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently notified the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) of the approval of the OBRA Waiver amendment. The amendment is effective on January 1, 2020.

The changes in the approved amendment include:

  • Revise the Residential Habilitation service definition by modifying the number of hours that are defined as a day unit from a minimum of 12 hours to 8 hours.
  • Revise the service definitions of Job Finding, Job Coaching, Employment Skills Development, Career Assessment, and Benefits Counseling to address when employment services can be provided through the OBRA waiver, should the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) have a waiting list (closed order of selection) or when OVR has not made an eligibility determination within 120 days.
  • Update the Abuse Registry Screening information to reflect that the Department of Human Services (DHS) utilizes IDEMIA as the data system to process fingerprint-based FBI criminal record checks, as well as other minor changes.
  • Revise cost neutrality estimates to reflect rate changes to the Personal Assistance Services (PAS) and Residential Habilitation waiver services.

If you have any questions, please contact the OLTL Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management at 717-857-3280.

The Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) will conduct the next Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, in the Honor’s Suite at 333 Market Street Tower in Harrisburg from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Those who cannot attend in person may participate by dialing: 213-929-4212; Access Code: 524-290-985, or by webinar. If you plan to participate via webinar, registration is required.

Public comments will be accepted during presentations instead of just being heard at the end of the meeting; however, there will be an additional 15-minute period at the end of the meeting for any additional public comments.

If you have any questions about registering for the webinar or require a toll-free number to dial in, please contact the Office of Long-Term Living.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) recently announced that two one-day classroom training sessions will be offered for Service Coordinators (SCs). Prior to the training sessions, and a required prerequisite, attendees must complete three OLTL SC modules. These modules will provide a strong foundation on the basics to fulfill SC requirements. Participants will be able to take what is learned from these modules and apply it to situations found every day on the job. Attendance at the training sessions is limited to SCs, not supervisors or directors. Also, two attendees will be permitted per agency. Preference will be given to SCs that were hired in 2018 and 2019. Additional registrations will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Special Note: This training is required for SCs working with waiver participants enrolled in the Aging, Attendant Care, Independence, and OBRA waivers, as well as the Act 150 program.

Session information:
Thursday, December 12, 2019 in Harrisburg
Radisson Hotel Harrisburg
1150 Camp Hill Bypass
Camp Hill, PA 17011
8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Tuesday, December 17, 2019 in Philadelphia
DoubleTree
301 W Dekalb Pike
King of Prussia, PA 19406
8:00 am – 4:30 pm

Registration is required in order to attend one of these sessions. If you have any questions regarding registration, please contact Dering Consulting at 717-234-0567.

Questions about the training should be directed to OLTL’s Bureau of Participant Operations at 717-787-8091.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) has released the Office of Long-Term Living’s (OLTL’s) proposed OBRA waiver amendments for public review and comment in the August 24, 2019 Pennsylvania Bulletin.

DHS proposes the following substantive changes to the OBRA waiver effective January 1, 2020:

  • Revise the Residential Habilitation service definition by modifying the number of hours that are defined as a day unit from a minimum of 12 hours to 8 hours.
  • To the service definitions of Job Finding, Job Coaching, Employment Skills Development, Career Assessment, and Benefits Counseling, add language that Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) services are considered not to be available if OVR has not made an eligibility determination within 120 days; and add language to address when employment services through the OBRA waiver can be provided should OVR close the order of selection, thereby creating a waiting list for OVR services.

In addition, DHS proposes to make the following technical edits:

  • Update Appendix C-2.b., Abuse Registry Screening, to reflect that the Department utilizes IDEMIA as the data system to process fingerprint-based Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal record checks as well as other minor editorial changes to the section.

The proposed amendments and a summary of all of the revisions are available for review here.

Written comments regarding these proposed waiver amendments will be accepted through close of business on Monday, September 23, 2019 and should be sent to the Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, Attention: OBRA Waiver Amendments, PO Box 8025, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8025. Comments may also be submitted to the Department via email. Please use OBRA Waiver Amendments as the subject line.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has scheduled and will be presenting webinars to Service Coordinators (SCs) to provide information about how the implementation of Community HealthChoices (CHC) will impact Attendant Care and Independence Waiver participants under the age of 21.

The implementation of CHC will change the way that Attendant Care and Independence Waiver participants who are under 21 years of age receive their Medicaid waiver services. All Attendant and Independence Waiver participants who live in Phase 3, and are not yet eligible for CHC because they are under 21 years of age, will transition to the OBRA Waiver until they become eligible for CHC.

All Phase 3 (Lehigh/Capital, Northwest, and Northeast counties) SCs serving participants who are under 21 years of age should plan to participate in this webinar.

Please register for one of the following dates:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you have any questions regarding this communication, please contact the OLTL Participant Helpline Monday through Friday at 800-757-5042 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm or via email at any time.

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The next Community HealthChoices (CHC) Third Thursday webinar has been scheduled for April 18, 2019 at 1:30 pm.

The agenda for this webinar will include Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) Deputy Secretary Kevin Hancock providing updates on the CHC launch, with a special focus on monitoring report data from both the Southwest and Southeast regions.

If you wish to participate in the webinar, you must register using this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you require captioning services, please use this link and use the following login information:
Username: OLL  Password: OLL

Reminder: All CHC related information can be found online here. Comments can be submitted electronically via email.

If you have any questions, please contact the OLTL Bureau of Policy and Regulatory Management at 717-857-3280.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) released the Service Coordinator (SC) training materials from the Community HealthChoices (CHC) Implementation for Participant-Directed Services training that was held on August 21, 2018. The presentation and training was to provide information and process updates to SCs on the implementation of CHC for participants who utilize participant-directed services in the Southeast Region, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

Contact Melissa Dehoff, RCPA Director of Rehabilitation Services, with any questions.