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Tags Posts tagged with "COVID-19"

COVID-19

American Rescue Plan Act: One-Time Supplemental Payment to Address Recruitment, Retention, and COVID-19 Related Staff Expenses

ODP Announcement 21-086 is to provide guidance about the process to request one-time payments to cover COVID-19 related expenses for high staff vacancy. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides a temporary 10% increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid expenditures for home and community-based services (HCBS). The funding is to be used to enhance, expand, or strengthen HCBS beyond what is available under the Medicaid program as of April 1, 2021, and through March 31, 2024.

As part of the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) ARPA spending plan to strengthen HCBS, providers can receive a one-time supplemental payment to address recruitment, retention, and COVID-19 related staffing expenses for direct support professionals or supports coordinators to include funding for hazard pay, costs of recruitment efforts, sign-on bonuses, retention bonuses, and other incentive payments. Providers will be required to complete and submit the attached Provider Attestation Form for One-Time Supplemental Payment and submit it to ODP for consideration.

Providers will be subject to recoupment of funds if it is identified in a state or federal audit or any other authorized third-party review that the provider has inappropriately billed for services or received duplicative payments for services provided or if expenses were reimbursed by duplicative funding streams. No portion of the supplemental payment can be utilized to increase executive compensation.

Providers will be required to continue providing services from December 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, obtaining written consent from ODP for any discontinuation of a service line or closure of a service setting. Additionally, providers will comply with all reporting requirements related to the use of the supplemental payment.

Requests submitted by December 17, 2021, will be processed for payment prior to the end of December. Requests for supplemental payments may be submitted through January 31, 2022.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) shared information about a new program administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) as a resource for those who may benefit. This initiative, called the Student Loan Relief for Nurses (SLRN) Program, will benefit nurses who have worked and continue to work to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individuals eligible to participate in the SLRN Program are residents of the commonwealth and licensed by the PA Department of State to work as an eligible nurse at a qualified nursing facility within the commonwealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. More information about the SLRN Program is available on the PHEAA website.

RCPA invites members to join us for an informational webinar featuring QUALO Healthy Pathways. QUALO Healthy Pathways is a COVID-19 risk mitigation and compliance software designed in close collaboration with experts in the areas of occupational medicine, human resources, and business operations. The result is a distinctive combination of management strategies and reporting tools that promote workplace health, efficiency, and compliance:

  • Report and Track
    • Exposures
    • Trace Contacts
    • Vaccine Status and Results
    • Testing
    • Exemptions
  • Management Dashboards
  • Compliance and Tracking Reports

Join RCPA member Advanced Metrics’ team of professionals that developed QUALO Healthy Pathways for a demonstration of the software and a live Q&A session. The session will be held on Wednesday, December 1, from 2:00 pm–3:00 pm. 

Click here to register for this session.

Additional information about QUALO Healthy Pathways can be found on the Advanced Metrics website. If you are unable to attend one of these sessions, please feel free to reach out to Advanced Metrics to schedule a session directly.