January 20, 2019
So far the 2019 Session has lived up to the typical frantic pace of a short Session; to date our accomplishments are:
- Budget amendment requests for the DD Waivers Rates Refresh are in for both House and Senate;
- Budget amendment requests for the Outpatient Services Rate requests are also in for both House and Senate;
- We are actively working with Members and other Lobbyists on several issues relating to material which can be requested by Medicaid auditors about criminal background checks, increases in the personal needs allowances for individuals in ICF/IDDs and nursing homes, credentialing of LMHPs, registration of QMHP-E/Ts, and transparency in reference checks for staff and sponsored providers.
This was also the week for the VNPP Board meeting; most of the Board was able to spend time at the General Assembly Building and then we met to elect officers for 2019, approved a budget and make plans for the substantial projects for next year. More details about those projects a little later! Information about the Board and Officers is listed under “About VNPP” on the website.
Our next big projects:
- DLA-20 Train the Trainer is coming up in less than a month! We are particularly pleased that we will be able to help our Behavioral Health provider members (and some non-members) be on a far more competitive basis with the public sector when showing outcomes!
- Review of the DD Waivers Proposed Permanent Regulations – to be posted 4 February!