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OLTL

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced that they will be holding a webinar on November 20, 2020 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am to provide information on the Act 24 Cost Reports. The webinar is specifically for non-nursing facility providers, such as personal assistance agencies, residential habilitation providers, adult day care centers, personal care homes, and assisted living residences. Time will be allotted for questions and answers. The due date for the final report is December 21, 2020. No interim report is due for non-nursing facility providers.

To participate in this webinar, registration is required. There is a maximum capacity of 500 participants per webinar, so providers are encouraged to register early. Attendance is limited to no more than two individuals per organization or agency. The session will be recorded and made available for viewing. OLTL has made the Excel reporting templates for Personal Assistance Services and Home Health Agencies and Residential Habilitation Service Providers available.

Questions regarding Act 24 reporting can be sent here.

On October 27, 2020, the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) notified all providers that interim reporting of COVID-19 related costs under Act 24 would be due on November 6, 2020. Because of unforeseen delays in web portal user provisioning for OLTL providers and recognition that this delay may not allow enough time for providers to gather and report their data, OLTL has changed its reporting requirements. There will be no interim report required of non-nursing facility providers. In preparation for final reporting on the use of Act 24 funding, now due December 21, 2020, OLTL recommends that providers begin to populate the applicable Excel reporting template now.

OLTL will offer a webinar to give non-nursing facility providers a chance to ask questions about reporting COVID-19 related costs under Act 24. Information about the webinar, including date and time, will be issued in the near future.

As a reminder, providers are advised to review the guidance for eligible COVID-19 costs in DHS’s Frequently Asked Questions and on the following US Department of Treasury websites: Coronavirus-Relief-Fund-Guidance and Coronavirus-Relief-Fund-Frequently-Asked-Questions. These documents outline the conditions and acceptable uses of Cares Act and Act 24 funding. Most importantly, the deadline by which costs must be incurred to be eligible under Act 24 is November 30, 2020.

Any provider who does not expect to use all or part of the Act 24 funding may return the funds to OLTL at:

PA Department of Human Services
Office of Long-Term Living

PO Box 8025

Harrisburg, PA 17105-8025

Please send any remaining questions about OLTL Act 24 reporting here.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) issued an updated guidance and tool that was previously issued on October 13, 2020 regarding the temporary closure and re-opening of settings. This guidance and tool were issued to support providers in their efforts to protect against community spread of COVID-19. The Community Spread Thresholds document has been updated on page two to show that the “Thresholds for Community Spread” section is not applicable to Structured Day Programs. Members should disregard the previous communication.

 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the Office of Long-Term Living’s (OLTL) Community HealthChoices (CHC) Waiver renewal. The renewal became effective on January 1, 2020.

Key changes in the approved waiver include:

  • Revised 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 a minimum of 8 hours.
  • To the service definitions of Job Finding, Job Coaching, Employment Skills Development, Career Assessment and Benefits Counseling, added language that Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) services are considered to not be available if OVR has not made an eligibility determination within 120 days; and added language to address when employment services through the CHC waiver can be provided should OVR close the order of selection, thereby creating a waiting list for OVR services.
  • Modified the qualifications for Service Coordinators and Service Coordinator supervisors.
  • Clarified that if a CHC Managed Care Organization (MCO) identifies that a participant has not been receiving services for 5 or more days, and if the suspension of services was not pre-planned, then the CHC-MCO must communicate with the participant to determine the reason for the service suspension within 24 hours. If the participant’s health status or needs have changed, the CHC-MCO must conduct a comprehensive needs reassessment of the participant’s needs within fourteen (14) days of identifying the issue.
  • Added that an emergency back-up plan must be included in the Person-Centered Service Plan.
  • Modified language to reflect that the CHC waiver will be fully operational statewide as of January 1, 2020.
  • Updated language to reflect that the Department utilizes IDEMIA as the data system to process fingerprint-based Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal record checks.
  • Updated the OLTL bureau names and responsibilities.

Questions surrounding the CHC Waiver Renewal should be directed to the OLTL Bureau of Policy Development and Communications Management at 717-857-3280.

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.

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.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) will conduct the next Community HealthChoices (CHC) Third Thursday webinar on September 19, 2019 at 1:30 pm. During this webinar, OLTL’s Deputy Secretary, Kevin Hancock, will provide updates on the CHC program. Registration is required to participate in the webinar. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Reminder: All CHC related information can be found here. Comments can be submitted electronically via email. 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) 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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On July 20, 2019, the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) will begin implementing changes to the Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) system. The changes include adding additional screens and information surrounding deaths and greater detail in the review of incidents. An overview of all of the changes and additions, which includes screenshots and explanations of each change, is available here.

Questions regarding these changes should be directed to the OLTL EIM resource account.