NRCPDS

At the beginning of 2013, 16 states had Medicaid managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) plans, with mandatory or voluntary enrollment. Target populations varied by state. In 13 states, MLTSS plan members were afforded the choice to participant-direct (PD) at least some HCBS services. Based on 5 in-depth state case studies expectations regarding availability and take-up of PD services in MLTSS varied as did methods of communicating expectations. PD varied from 1.2% in AZ to 24% in NM.

HCBS.org News CLIPS highlights the important work related to Real Choice Systems Change Grantees. In each issue, we examine a topic related to home and community-based care by providing an overview of recent papers and publications. The Spring issues provides an overview of the reports available on consumer direction and Cash & Counseling. Models of self-directed personal assistance services have been researched, reviewed and evaluated by many sources. Review the many resources available.

An FMS Membership Issue Brief Summary, this issue brief presents existing fraud detection and prevention methods that directly address a selection of the recommendations offered in the 2012 report Personal Care Services: Trends, Vulnerabilities, and Recommendations for Improvement released by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG).

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires large employers to provide affordable healthcare coverage to full-time workers as of January 1, 2014. In preparation for the implementation of the the ACA, the NRCPDS looked into how participant direction will be impacted by the new legislation. As a consequence, in the context of participant direction, the employer mandate is likely to apply to certain Financial Management Services (FMS) providers.

This scan was designed to understand facilitators and barriers to self-direction in behavioral health, ascertain interest among stakeholders, adapt the model and outcome measures to better fit the needs of behavioral health consumers, and develop recommendations to inform next steps. The scan was a joint effort conducted over 18 months (Sept 2011-Feb 2013) by researchers from the National Center for Participant-Directed Services, Human Services Research Institute, and University of Maryland.

What They Did. Did It Work? How They Did It and Adoption Considerations. These are all the questions that the Policy Innovations Profile will answer about Cash & Counseling. As a voluntary alternative to traditional agency-delivered home care, a joint public-private program gives Medicaid enrollees a monthly allowance for home care and related services that they can spend at their own discretion. Review the evidence. tools and resources and otherimplementation tips.

Review this one-stop resource created by a team of agencies to help providers better understand, develop, and sustain participant-directed programs. The information is applicable whether funded by the Older Americans Act, Veterans Health Administration, State funds or other. The toolkit has two parts: one devoted to designing, managing and evaluating programs; the second on Financial Management Services (FMS). Resources include articles, forms, webinar recordings, state examples and charts.

Agency with Choice (AwC) is a model of Financial Management Services (FMS) in which an agency and a participant are joint employers of workers who provide service to the participant. This paper presents the benefits, challenges, and risks of AwC FMS and puts forth the National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services (NRCPDS)’s list of key components for AwC FMS to be considered participant-directed, providing a model for consistency in future implementation of AwC FMS.