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Authors Posts by Melissa Dehoff

Melissa Dehoff

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Melissa Dehoff is responsible for all medical rehabilitation and brain injury service issues. Ms. Dehoff attends multiple state-level meetings to advocate on behalf of members on brain injury and rehabilitation issues and is a member of the Department of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their CMS Fast Facts resource document for 2022 – 2025. The document includes summary information on Medicare and Medicaid total program enrollment, utilization, and expenditures, as well as the total number of Medicare providers, including physicians by specialty area.

There are a number of new items provided in 2025:

  • Medicare Populations, Calendar Year (CY) 2024
  • Medicaid & Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Populations, CY 2024
  • Medicare Deductibles, Coinsurance, Premiums, CY 2025
  • Original Medicare Persons Served and Payments by Type of Service, CY 2023
  • Medicare Part D Utilization and Expenditures, CY 2023
  • Medicaid & CHIP Payments by Type of Service, FY 2023
  • Medicare Institutional Providers, CY 2023
  • Medicare Non-Institutional Providers by Specialty, CY 2023
  • Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Prosthetics, Orthotics & Supplies (DMEPOS) Providers by Specialty, CY 2023
  • Medicare Prepaid Contracts, February 2025
  • National Health Expenditures, CY 2023
  • CMS Financial Data, FY 2024

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The Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), Temple University, and the University of Kansas have established the PA Technology Accelerator, a series of activities intended to support PA in becoming the next Technology First State. As a Technology First State, programs and policies are modernized and harmonized to ensure seamless deployment and training on innovative technology solutions.

Providers play a critical role in achieving this goal and are invited to complete an online survey to inform technology resources and supports for providers across the state.

Providers are requested to complete one (1) survey per organization and submit responses by June 13, 2025. The survey should take less than one hour to complete. Responses will provide critical information to build and enhance programs to ensure providers have the necessary information and tools to advance access to technology solutions for their clients across the Commonwealth.

If you have questions or would like to preview the survey content before responding, please contact Kaley Day. For additional information, view the Provider Survey Recruitment Flyer.

Take the Survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Hoe5ZKZEClXU5E

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The Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting was recently held on May 7, 2025. During the meeting, a number of presentations were given. In addition to the presentations, the agenda and a document that provided follow-up items from the LTSS Subcommittee meeting on April 2, 2025, were provided.

Members should take time to review the PowerPoint presentations from the meeting below:

The next LTSS Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for June 4, 2025. The meeting will be held from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm in the Forest Room at the Commonwealth Keystone Building, which is located at 400 North Street in Harrisburg, PA. The option to participate virtually is also available.

If attending virtually, please register here. The option to call in is also available by dialing (415) 655-0052, access code 886-801-808#.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) is offering a webinar on the PA Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Savings Program on May 21, 2025, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. Register here.

A PA ABLE savings account gives individuals with qualified disabilities and their families and friends a tax-free way to save for a wide range of disability-related expenses while maintaining important benefits. The state and federal tax-free investment options are offered to encourage eligible individuals and their families to save private funds to support health, independence, and quality of life.

Some of the agenda topics will include eligibility requirements for opening a PA ABLE account, federal and state tax benefits of PA ABLE, and how a PA ABLE account interacts with current benefits.

OLTL Service Coordinators, Direct Service Providers, Community HealthChoices (CHC) Managed Care Organization (MCO) staff, and any individuals who work in employment supports are encouraged to participate in this webinar, as it will help them understand the PA ABLE Program and how it can benefit the OLTL participants they serve.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If you require accommodations to participate in this webinar, please contact OLTL via email.

Questions regarding this webinar should be directed to Randy Loss, OLTL.

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Novitas Solutions, Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Pennsylvania, will conduct a webinar that will focus on the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) coverage and documentation requirements. Representatives from Novitas will examine common errors identified by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program, and recent medical review activities, and outline resources and best practices to improve compliance with Medicare program requirements for IRF services. The webinar will be held from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm. Additional information, including registration, is available here.

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The Brain Injury Advisory Board, established under section 1252 of the Federal Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. § 300d-52), will hold their next public meeting on May 2, 2025, from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. The meeting will be held in person at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), 6340 Flank Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17112 in the Cumberland conference room.

Meeting materials will be sent out before the meeting and will also be available on the Board’s website as well as at the meeting location. Questions should be directed to Nicole Johnson electronically.

The Department of Health’s (DOH) Head Injury Program (HIP) strives to ensure that eligible individuals who have a traumatic brain injury receive high quality rehabilitative services aimed at reducing functional limitations and improving quality of life. The Board assists the Department in understanding and meeting the needs of persons living with acquired brain injuries, both traumatic and nontraumatic, and their families. This quarterly meeting will provide updates on a variety of topics, including the number of people served by HIP. In addition, meeting participants will discuss budgetary and programmatic issues, community programs relating to traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries, and available advocacy opportunities.

For additional information or for persons with a disability who wish to attend the meeting and require an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to do so, contact Nicole Johnson, Division of Community Systems Development and Outreach, via email or at (717) 772-2763. For individuals with speech and/or hearing-impairments, contact V/TT (717) 783-6514 or the Pennsylvania Hamilton Relay Service at (800) 654-5984.

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The agenda for the May 7, 2025, Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting has been released by the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL). The meeting will take place from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm in the Forest Room in the Commonwealth Keystone Building located at 400 North Street in Harrisburg. The option to participate via webinar and remote streaming is also available.

To participate in the meeting, please refer to the information below:

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Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule, as well as an accompanying fact sheet. The rule does not include proposed changes to the IRF coverage requirements. On the payment side, the rule would provide an overall 2.8% increase to estimated payments per discharge, compared to the 2.5% payment update that CMS finalized for FY 2025. The rule is more substantive with respect to the future Quality Reporting Program (QRP) changes. Specifically, the rule proposes to remove certain quality measures and standardized patient assessment data elements (SPADE) implemented in recent years relating to COVID-19 vaccination and social determinants of health (SDOH), and to modify the process for reconsideration of IRF QRP non-compliance penalties. Finally, the rule includes various requests for information (RFI), soliciting feedback on the IRF QRP and IRF-Patient Assessment Instrument (PAI).

The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on April 30, 2025. RCPA will provide a more detailed overview of the proposed rule following this date. Comments on the rule are due to CMS by June 10, 2025.

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Temple University Harrisburg recently released two different no-cost training options that have been approved to meet the Personal Care Home (PCH) and Assisted Living Residence (ALR) Administrator annual training requirements. Both programs are a part of the Spring 2025 training programs being offered. The training programs being offered are:

Registration information is included in the announcements, and participation is limited. If you register and later discover you are unable to participate, please cancel your registration to create space for other participants.

If you have any questions or if you require assistance with registration, please email Temple University.

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