December 10, 2016
By Diane McComb posted yesterday
Lead Story: Virginia
The system of care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities continues to make progress, though not as promptly as first projected. Revamping the large system of services — which has meant moving towards the closure of training centers, merging services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities into one system of care, redefining Medicaid waiver slot assignment practices, overhauling the billing system and moving into a coordinated managed-care model beginning July 2017 — has created its share of confusion for consumers, families, service providers and case managers. Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services had projected that all individuals on the Individual and Family Developmental Disability Services (IFDDS) wavier (also known as the DD waiver) or DD waiver waiting list would experience changes due to the transition of case management to the Community Services Board (CSB) system. To adapt to the new single-point-of-entry approach, CSBs are becoming the responsible entities for case management services for all qualifying individuals with developmental disabilities. This transition has presented challenges, with the contracted DD case managers now required to develop fluency with the complex CSB system basics and the nuances resulting from Medicaid waiver redesign. Changes in the Medicaid waiver slot assignment process have resulted in some allocation delays as the system moves from a local to a regional assignment committee. This new process calls on CSBs to partner with neighboring CSBs to assign Medicaid waiver slots. The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is also required to send a representative to this meeting. Service providers continue to deal with changes that ultimately affect billing. The Waiver Authorization Management System has produced a new level of fatigue for providers and case managers attempting to secure service and billing approvals from the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. Complicating the system is a new kind of billing structure that continues to require fine tuning during this implementation phase. Against the backdrop of these swift changes, there are encouraging signs that Virginia is beginning to wake up to long-standing gaps in care. To read more –
http://www.dailyprogress.com/lifestyles/vital-signs-revamping-care-system-for-intellectual-disabilities-is-moving/article_0a40f84a-b7ff-11e6-8e96-d7643dac4825.html