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Tags Posts tagged with "OLTL"

OLTL

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Message from the PA Department of Aging:

You are invited to complete a survey for people who are Direct Care Workers in Pennsylvania who provide Long-Term Services and Support for older adults and people with disabilities. This includes people who work in home care community, or facility settings, and includes personal care homes, assisted living, and nursing homes. The survey is being conducted by the University of Pittsburgh in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. The results will be used to help improve the Direct Care Workforce.

The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.

The survey is being sent to members of organizations affiliated with the Pennsylvania Long-Term Care Council, Pennsylvania State Agencies, and related organizations.

Your responses to the survey are completely anonymous. The results will be summarized and reported statistically. No attempt will be made to identify any individual.

Everyone who completes the survey will have a chance to win a $100 gift card. One gift card will be given away each week for 5 weeks. The chance of winning depends on the number of people who respond to the survey. The survey will be sent via email to about 50,000 people and is available publicly on the Department of Aging website and at public “Listening Session” meetings.

If you have any questions about the survey, you can email Howard B. Degenholtz, PhD.

Visit here to start the survey. Or paste this link into your browser: https://bit.ly/DCWSURVEY2026

Thank you for taking the time to help with this important project.

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On February 28, 2026, the Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) published a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin announcing a change in the fee schedule rates in the OBRA Waiver and the Act 150 Program for Participant-Directed Personal Assistance Services (PAS) procedure codes W1792 and W1792 TU. This fee schedule rate change is effective January 1, 2026. A revised fee schedule is available here.

Written comments regarding these fee schedule rates can be sent to the Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, P.O. Box 8025, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8025. Comments can also be submitted via email. Comments received within the 30-day comment period will be considered in subsequent revisions to the fee schedule.

OLTL previously issued a listserv on December 19, 2025, confirming the Fiscal Year 2025/26 budget, signed into law on November 12, 2025, which included a $21 million investment to strengthen the workforce through increased wages for direct care workers (DCW) providing services in the Participant-Directed model for OLTL Fee-for-Service programs.

To support the January 1, 2026, effective date, OLTL updated the PROMISe™ system and the Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) with the revised rates. Service Coordinators (SC) did not need to make any service plan updates for the rate change, as a HCSIS system-wide update was implemented to make the necessary service data rate updates to the affected service plans.

SCs are encouraged to reach out to OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program participants that utilize Participant-Directed PAS to ensure they are aware of the rate change and that their DCWs may receive increases in their pay rates.

SCs may also receive specific questions from OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program participants that utilize Participant-Directed PAS supported by Financial Management Services (FMS) through the FMS vendor Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL). SCs should refer participants to the PPL Customer Service hotline at 877-908-1750 for specific questions about how the rate increase in the OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program will impact the pay of their DCWs.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has released the agenda and call information for the March 11, 2026, Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting. This meeting will be held via webinar/remote streaming only from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

Some of the agenda topics include an update from OLTL, presentations from the Community HealthChoices Managed Care Organizations (CHC-MCO) on assisted living in lieu of services option, and personal assistance services (PAS) reductions and time allocated to public comments.

Comments and questions for this meeting should be sent via email.

The conference line for the meeting is:
Bridge Number: 1 (562) 247-8321 PIN: 132-269-143#

For additional information about this meeting, visit the LTSS Subcommittee website.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) is making available for public review and comments the Office of Long-Term Living’s (OLTL) proposed amendment for the Community HealthChoices (CHC) waiver and the proposed renewal of the OBRA waiver. The proposed amendment of the CHC waiver and renewal of the OBRA waiver will be effective July 1, 2026.

DHS is proposing the following changes to the CHC waiver:

  • Add a teleservice option to the following waiver services:
    • Behavior therapy.
    • Benefits counseling.
  • Add language to specifically address teleservice delivery of waiver services and the Home and Community- Based Settings (HCBS) rule based on sections added to the waiver application.
  • Remove and modify outdated language throughout waiver.

The proposed CHC waiver amendment and a summary of all revisions are available for review here.

Written comments regarding the proposed renewal to OBRA should be sent to the Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, Attention: Keeley Anglin—CHC Waiver Amendment, P.O. Box 8025, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8025. Comments can also be sent via email. Use ”CHC Waiver Amendment” as the subject line. Comments received within 30 days will be considered in subsequent revisions to the proposed amendment.

DHS is proposing the following changes to the OBRA waiver:

  • Add a teleservice option to the following waiver services:
    • Behavior therapy.
    • Benefits counseling.
  • Revise outdated language regarding the OLTL quality improvement strategy and quality monitoring processes.
  • Add language regarding the need for a Service Coordinator to reassess a participant due to a trigger event.
  • Add language to specifically address teleservice delivery of waiver services and the Home and Community-Based Settings (HCBS) rule based on new sections in the waiver application.
  • Add language to comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services Final Rule (Access Rule) to update the complaint process for the fee-for-service waiver and update the timeframe to resolve a complaint from 45 to 60 days due to the additional requirements of the Access Rule.
  • Update OLTL’s goals for unduplicated number of waiver participants who are expected to elect participant direction.
  • Modify performance measures AA-2 and QP-2 and divide SP-5 into three separate performance measures: SP-5 (amount, frequency and duration), SP-9 (type) and SP-10 (scope).
  • Remove and modify outdated language throughout waiver.

The proposed OBRA waiver renewal and a summary of all revisions are available for review here.

Written comments regarding the proposed renewal to OBRA waiver should be sent to the Department of Human Services, Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, Attention: Keeley Anglin—OBRA Waiver Renewal, P.O. Box 8025, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8025. Comments can also be sent via email. Use ”OBRA Waiver Renewal” as the subject line. Comments received within 30 days will be considered.

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Today, the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) issued Bulletin 59-26-02, “Participant Review Tool,” which updates the standardized Participant Review Tool (PRT) for Service Coordinators (SC) as well as provides additional clarification on the location of face-to-face visits with participants when completing the PRT.

This bulletin also provides guidance to SCs on when increased face-to-face visits with program participants should be scheduled to protect their health, safety, and welfare. This bulletin rescinds OLTL Bulletin 59-16-12 and any other OLTL policy documents or parts of policy documents that are inconsistent with this bulletin’s contents. This bulletin applies to enrolled Service Coordination Entities (SCEs) performing services in OLTL Medical Assistance Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for the OBRA waiver and the Act 150 Program.

Members are encouraged to review the bulletin, as well as the following documents that were included with the bulletin:

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The agenda and link to join the January 7, 2026, Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting have been released. The call on January 7, 2026, will be held via webinar and remote streaming only and will take place from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

A few of the key agenda topics, in addition to an update from the Office of Long-Term Living’s (OLTL) Deputy Security, include information being shared by OLTL on the 2026 OBRA Waiver renewal and the Community HealthChoices (CHC) Waiver amendment. Additionally, there will be a presentation from OLTL’s Enrollment Unit on enrollment and redeterminations/data requests.

To participate in the meeting, the information is below:
Conference line — Bridge Number: 1 (415) 655-0052 PIN: 571-523-182#
Webinar Link
Remote Streaming Link

Comments and questions may be sent electronically.

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The Fiscal Year 2025/26 budget, signed into law on November 12, 2025, includes a $21 million investment to strengthen the workforce through increased wages for direct care workers providing services in the Participant Directed Model for Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) programs. This additional funding provides for a rate increase in the OBRA Waiver and Act 150 Program for Participant Directed (Consumer) Personal Assistance Services procedure codes W1792 and W1792 TU, effective January 1, 2026.

In anticipation of the upcoming rate increase, OLTL is updating the OLTL Home and Community-Based Waiver Services Rates fee schedule, for which additional communication will be sent in the future. To support the January 1, 2026, effective date, OLTL will be updating their systems to include PROMISe™ and the Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) with the revised rates. Service Coordinators do not need to make any service plan updates for the upcoming rate change, as a HCSIS system-wide update is being implemented to make the necessary service data rate updates to the affected service plans.

Please contact the OLTL Provider Inquiry Line at 800-932-0939, OPTION 2, Monday to Friday, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.

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On November 12, 2025, the Fiscal Year 2025/26 Budget was signed into law, removing travel restrictions. As a result, OLTL will resume holding hybrid LTSS Subcommittee meetings. The meetings scheduled for April 2026 – June 2026, which were changed to webinar and remote streaming only earlier this year, are now scheduled to be held as both in-person and webinar with remote streaming.

Since the travel ban has been lifted, reimbursement for Subcommittee members’ travel expenses may be submitted with an itemized receipt for review.

The Office of Long-Term Living appreciates your understanding and flexibility.

Please share this message with staff, participants, and any other interested parties.

If you have questions about the LTSS Subcommittee Meetings, please send them electronically.

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Public Partnerships LLC (PPL) will be conducting the quarterly Support Coordinator Training for OLTL. The session will be led by PPL Account Managers Tiffany Angel and Elise Mercer and will cover topics including participant enrollment, navigating BetterOnline™, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), and supporting Common Law Employers in their responsibilities.

The first training session is scheduled for December 16, 2025, from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST. To register, please visit PPL’s OLTL page and scroll to the “What’s New” section. Select “Click here for Registration Links.” You may also access all registration dates directly by visiting PPL’s OLTL Training Schedule.

For assistance or additional information, please submit your questions electronically or call 855-243-8775.

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