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OLTL

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This is a reminder that there is a Financial Management Services (FMS) stakeholder meeting today, August 5, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm.

The purpose of this public meeting is to discuss upcoming changes for the administration of FMS under the Community HealthChoices (CHC), OBRA Waiver, and Act 150 programs. Representatives from the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) and CHC Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be in attendance to discuss upcoming changes.

Please register using this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you choose to use your phone to call in, please use the numbers below:
Dial in: 415-930-5321
Access Code: 264854023#
Audio PIN: shown after joining the webinar

Information and registration for the August Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting was recently released by the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL). The meeting will be held on August 3, 2022, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Attendees can participate via webinar or in person at the PA Department of Education Building’s Honors Suite at 333 Market Street in Harrisburg.

To participate in the meeting via webinar, please register via the link below. Those participating by webinar are encouraged to register early. When registering, please verify that you entered your email address correctly. You will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar if you registered correctly.

Webinar Registration Link
If you have trouble accessing the webinar registration through the Internet Explorer or Safari web browsers, please try accessing it through a different web browser such as Chrome or Edge.

Dial In Number:
The dial-in number is: 
(415) 655-0052
Access Code: 205870515#

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the Office of Long-Term Living’s (OLTL) Community HealthChoices (CHC) Waiver amendment that transfers oversight of Financial Management Services (FMS) from an OLTL-held contract to an administrative function of the CHC-MCOs and revises waiver performance measure AA-5. The amendment became effective on July 1, 2022.

The current approved CHC 1915(c) Waiver document with the FMS amendment can be viewed here. The link can be found under the heading “Community HealthChoices 1915(b) Managed Care and 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Waivers.”

Questions about the CHC Waiver amendment should be sent via email.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) will be presenting a live, interactive webinar series on housing issues. This five-session series will be offered twice (see schedule below). The webinars will include targeted content, including question and answer (Q&A) sessions with housing experts and OLTL staff. Each session is scheduled for 90 minutes to allow for interaction and Q&A segments.

The webinar series targets Service Coordinators, Managed Care Organizations, and Service Coordination Entity support staff who assist program participants in securing and maintaining affordable, accessible housing. This series builds on information already provided in the Online Housing Training Modules and the Self-Determination Housing of Pennsylvania (SDHP)/Inglis’s Prepared Renter Program (PREP) curriculum.

This series of webinars is designed to be taken in order. The content in each session builds on prior content. Participants will get the most out of the program by taking all the sessions in order. Although individuals are not required to complete the sessions in order, to keep the sessions focused, the webinar leader may opt to table questions that were covered in prior sessions.

The series will be presented twice:

  • August 16 – September 13 (every Tuesday) from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
  • September 21 – October 19 (every Wednesday) from 9:00 am – 10:30 am

2022 OLTL Housing Series Curriculum

Webinar 1: Understanding and Navigating Housing Nuances

  • 10 Housing-Sector Nuances
  • 3 Main Pathways to Housing Resources

Webinar 2: Recommended Relationships and Resources in the Housing Sector

  • 5 Key Partnerships to Cultivate
  • Top 6 Housing Resources

Webinar 3: Funding Sources and Clarifying Affordability Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • 6 Kinds of Funding Sources
  • 3 Concepts to Understand About Affordability and Income-based Eligibility

Webinar 4: Legal Issues Related to Housing

  • Criminal Justice System Involvement
  • Fair Housing and Reasonable Accommodation

Webinar 5: Keeping Participants Housed and Landlord Engagement Techniques

  • 6 Key Concepts in Keeping Participants Housed
  • Landlord Engagement Techniques and Resources

To register for the Housing Webinar Series, please go to the OLTL Housing Webinars registration page.

The agenda for the June 1, 2022, Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting was recently released by the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL). The June meeting will continue to be offered via webinar and remote streaming. OLTL is planning to hold the July 6, 2022, MLTSS Subcommittee meeting in person with optional webinar and remote streaming.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced a funding opportunity under an approved Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) spending plan that will provide American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to HCBS providers. The purpose of the funding is for the implementation of quality improvement (QI) projects to improve the services available to HCBS participants through the Community HealthChoices (CHC) and OBRA 1915(c) waivers. This opportunity focuses on supplementing activities in a manner that improves and strengthens the quality of HCBS services. The use of the ARPA funding, however, is limited to those activities that supplement rather than supplant the existing services.

DHS will provide funding of up to $40,000 per approved request submission and approve funding on a one-time basis to each qualified provider. DHS will review and approve submissions in the order in which they are received until the total funding allocated has been exhausted. Members are encouraged to submit their requests as soon as possible.

Funding will only be provided for the following improvement projects:

  • Supplemental activities to address the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). For example, SDOH activities may include:
    • Activities to address affordable and accessible housing (rent, room, and board are not allowable expenditures under this funding opportunity);
    • Activities to improve access to competitive integrated employment for participants. This may include access to benefits counseling or remote technology to support employment;
    • Activities to improve or enhance transportation for CHC and OBRA participants; and
    • Activities to alleviate food insecurities for participants.
  • Purchase of remote support technology by providers. This can include provider technology initiatives that improve service transparency and quality assurance, such as providing direct care workers with access to tablets and software that support in-home documentation of participant conditions and other related care needs.
  • Payment for the development and implementation of enhanced training for direct care workers, Medical Assistance (MA) providers, or both. This may include enhanced training on infection control practices, such as the development of videos and online modules to address best practices in infection control. This may also include training for professional development. For example, this funding may be used to promote training or coursework related to the professional advancement or development for direct care workers.
  • Purchase and implementation of new software and technology for electronic health records or quality/risk management functions. This includes funding for providers to contract with a Health Information Organization. Having access to electronic health care records enables HCBS providers to connect with local hospitals and physicians and ensure real-time communication between the HCBS provider and the participant’s medical providers.

Additional information, including the HCBS Quality Incentive Funding Request Form, is available on the DHS Long-Term Care Providers web page. Questions should be sent via email to OLTL.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced the next Financial Management Services (FMS) Stakeholder meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 3, 2022, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm. This public meeting will be held to discuss upcoming changes for the administration of FMS under the Community HealthChoices (CHC), OBRA Waiver, and Act 150 Programs. Representatives from OLTL and CHC Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be in attendance to discuss upcoming changes.

In order to participate, registration is required. Please register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you choose to use your phone to call in, please use the numbers below:

Dial in: 562-247-8422
Access Code: 268096146#
Audio PIN: shown after joining the webinar

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) collected public comments on the Agency With Choice (AWC) Request for Information (RFI) from March 11, 2022, through March 25, 2022. After numerous requests from providers and associations (RCPA included), the public comments were posted on the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Long-Term Care providers web page under the heading “Agency With Choice – Public Input.”

Due to feedback shared with the Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding the importance of providing behavioral health services in nursing facilities and making sure nursing facilities know how to access these services, DHS has developed a webinar entitled “Behavioral Health Services for the Nursing Facility Population.” The webinars, which all contain the same material being presented, is a joint effort with the DHS’ Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), the Behavioral Health (BH) Managed Care Organizations (MCO), and the Community HealthChoices (CHC) MCOs, and it is being hosted by the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA). Other collaborative partners include the PA Department of Health and LeadingAge PA.

The webinars are as follows:

Tuesday, April 26, 2022
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
1.5 CEUs for SNF
Please register using this registration link.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
1.5 CEUs for SNF
Please register using this registration link.

The first webinar was conducted on April 12, 2022. The webinars will be interactive and are meant for nursing facilities to have the opportunity to ask questions and begin dialogue on how to improve behavioral health services in their facilities. The webinars will also allow the BH-MCOs, the CHC-MCOs, and the nursing facilities to further collaborate on this issue. The webinars will be recorded.

Webinar Presenters:

  • Jamie Buchenauer, Deputy Secretary, OLTL, DHS
  • Kristen Houser, Deputy Secretary, OMHSAS, DHS (April 12 and April 26)
  • Adair, Medical Director/Chief Psychiatric Officer, OMHSAS, DHS (May 3)
  • Kellie Mainzer, Director Western Operations, Bureau of Community and Hospital Operations, OMHSAS, DHS
  • Marjorie Faish, Program Analyst 3, Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management, OLTL, DHS
  • Duncan Bruce, Director of MCO Integration, Community Care Behavioral Health
  • Rachel Lee-Price, Manager, Behavioral Health Clinical Services, Beacon Health Options of Pennsylvania, Inc.
  • Joe DiMeo, Jr., Behavioral Health Coordinator for Community HealthChoices, Community Behavioral Health
  • Lauren Keane, Magellan Behavioral Health
  • Dan Eisenhauer, Director of Operations, PerformCARE (April 26 and May 3)
  • Brian Gannon, Manager Behavioral Health Programs, PerformCARE (April 12)
  • John McFarland, Director, MCO Integration, Relations & Policy, UPMC CHC
  • Heather Clarke, Director Care Management, Complex Needs and Behavioral Health, PA Health & Wellness (April 12 and May 3)
  • Oliva Martin, Director of LTSS, PA Health & Wellness (April 26)
  • Sara Reitenauer, Manager of LTSS Behavioral Health and Collaborative Services, Community HealthChoices, AmeriHealth Caritas CHC/Keystone First CHC
  • Dyann M. Roth, President and CEO, Inglis
  • Tara Winter, Nursing Home Administrator, Former Senior Center Executive Director, Chapel Manor Genesis HealthCare®
  • Jessica Peacock, Director of Recovery and Community Outreach, Peerstar, LLC
  • Stacy Williams, Social Service Supervisor, Kane Regional-Scott

Questions should be directed to Marjorie Faish, OLTL.