Indiana Division of Aging Announces Provider Training and Public Comment Session on HCBS Transition Plan

As reported last month Indiana’s Medicaid office, Division of Aging, and other divisions of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration are quickly preparing a transition plan that meets CMS’s new regulations for delivery of Home and Community Based Services in the Medicaid program.  The Division of Aging has announced its next Provider Training that will also include a formal Public Comment session on the proposed transition plan.  The formal Public Comment session is a requirement of CMS that states must meet in the development of the transition plan.

The training and comments session will take place on Nov. 10th from 9am-3pm at the Indiana Government Center, 402 West Washington Street in Indianapolis.  This session will be particularly important for providers of Assisted Living and Adult Family Care waiver services, or those who wish to provide such services in the future.  Anticipated topics for the day are:

•    HCBS Final Rule:  An overview of Indiana’s strategy to implement the new HCBS Final Rule and Public Comment session.  While all providers need to be aware of the new requirements, providers of Assisted Living and Adult Family Care will be the most impacted.

•    Fair Labor Standards Act (FLA):  The “Companionship Exemption” - widely used in home health services, is being cancelled for most situations January 2015.  This can substantially affect your business’ bottom line by requiring overtime and pay for travel between work sites.  While we cannot give legal advice, you need to be aware of the new requirements.

•    Billing: Avoiding Denials and Resolving Problems – This was our most popular session during the last training and it has been updated based on the feedback and experience gained from that session.

•    Incident Reporting: This session is required for new waiver providers and is a good refresher for existing providers.   The session will cover the basics of what is required to be reported, and how to file a report

•    Person-Centered Compliance Reviews – Policy - What to Expect when one of your consumers is selected to undergo a review.