Access To Disability Services And Stable Workforce

Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (department) to seek federal approval for a 6.5% increase in the reimbursement rate for certain services specified in the bill that are delivered through the home- and community-based services intellectual and developmental disabilities, supported living services, and children's extensive supports waivers. Service agencies shall use 100% of the increased funding resulting from the increase in the reimbursement rate for compensation, as defined in the bill, for direct support professionals, as defined in the bill. The bill requires service agencies to document the use of the increased funding for compensation using a reporting tool developed by the department and the service agencies, and to submit a report to the department for the 2018-19 through the 2020-21 fiscal years. The department has access to the supporting documentation and may determine that a service agency is not using the increased funding as required. The state department has ongoing discretion to request information from service agencies demonstrating how the agencies are maintaining the increases in compensation for direct support professionals beyond the 3-year reporting period. If the department determines that a service agency does not use 100% of the increased funding resulting from the increase in the reimbursement rate for compensation for direct support professionals, the service agency may take action within a specific time frame to contest the determination or submit a corrective action plan to the department. The department shall recoup from the service agency the amount of funding resulting from the reimbursement rate increase that is not used for compensation for direct support professionals. Once sufficient data is available to assess the impact and outcomes of the reimbursement rate increase on persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the department shall include the impact and outcome data, including staff stability survey data, in its annual report to the general assembly concerning the waiting list for intellectual and developmental disability services. The bill requires the department to initiate 300 nonemergency enrollments from the waiting list for the home- and community-based services developmental disabilities waiver in the 2018-19 state fiscal year. The medical services board (board) in the department shall promulgate rules establishing additional criteria for reserve capacity enrollments based on the age and capacity of a person's parent or caregiver. As part of the rule-making process, the board shall solicit stakeholder feedback from persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The department shall include in a monthly report the number of persons who were moved off the developmental disabilities waiting list for both nonemergency enrollments and reserve capacity enrollments. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More