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Upcoming Benchmarks' Webinars
Please align your calendars with the dates below.
Tomorrow: Benchmarks' Membership Child Welfare Webinar
Lisa Cauley Joins Karen McLeod
Date: Thursday, March 11, 2021
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
Register Here
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Date: Friday, March 19, 2021
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar Dave Richard Joins Karen McLeod
Date: Friday, April 2, 2021
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
Benchmarks' Legislative Report
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Advanced Medical Homes Tier 3 "Glidepath" Payments Update
In February, NC Medicaid announced that effective April 1, 2021, NC Medicaid will offer time-limited payments to practices that have attested as an AMH Tier 3 provider as part of the transition to Medicaid Managed Care. We wanted to let stakeholders know the functionality to attest to an AMH Tier 3 provider is now live in NCTracks.
Providers must complete attestation by March 30, 2021 to be eligible for payments beginning in April. However, providers will have additional opportunities to complete attestation and receive payments for May and June. For more information, visit Advanced Medical Home Tier 3 Glidepath Payments Update.
SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #159: Update on Appendix K Flexibilities
NC Medicaid has updated its emergency planning document, referred to as Appendix K, to extend its flexibilities on how Medicaid providers and beneficiaries may access and receive home- and community-based services (HCBS) through the Community Alternatives Programs for Children and Disabled Adults (CAP/C and CAP/DA), and the NC Innovations waiver and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) waiver.
CAP/C, CAP/DA, NC Innovations and TBI waiver Appendix Ks have been updated to include an anticipated end date of "through six months following the end of the Public Health Emergency." The anticipated end date of the federal public health emergency is currently April 20, 2021.
As a result, NC Medicaid is moving forward with extending the Appendix Ks for CAP/C, CAP/DA, the NC Innovations waiver and TBI waiver to the new prospective end date of Oct. 20, 2021, while we await formal approval from CMS.
This Appendix K extension applies to all of the previously approved CAP/C, CAP/DA, NC Innovations and TBI waiver Appendix K flexibilities.
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Upcoming Medicaid Webinars and New Medicaid Bulletin Article Available
Upcoming Medicaid Webinars
Transition of Care at Managed Care Launch (Crossover)
Thursday, March 11 | 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. | Register
This session will review the information sharing processes established between the Health Plans and the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services (NC DHHS) to ensure member continuity of care at Medicaid Managed Care Launch.
Advanced Hot Topics in Medicaid Transformation
Thursday, March 18 | 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. | Register
This series is designed to support practice managers, quality improvement professionals, care coordinators and others within practices who are responsible for meeting the NC Medicaid AMH Tier 2 or 3 requirements. Topics include:
- Panel management
- Healthy Opportunities screenings
- Health Equity survey & payments
- Glidepath payments
- Network adequacy
- Meet & greet with Health Plans
- Q&A
Visit the AHEC Medicaid Managed Care webpage for additional information and registration for upcoming webinars, as well as recordings, slides and transcripts from previous webinars.
New Medicaid Bulletin Available as of March 9, 2021
The NC Division of Health Benefits (DHB) has recently published a new Medicaid Bulletin article, New and Amended Clinical Coverage Policies, which provides a list of recently updated or new policies that supersede previously published policies and procedures.
The following new or amended clinical coverage policies are available on the Clinical Coverage Policies web page on NC Medicaid's website:- 1A-22, Medically Necessary Circumcision - 1/1/2021
- 8C, Outpatient Behavioral Health Services Provided by Direct-Enrolled Providers - 1/1/2021
- 8J, Children's Developmental Service Agencies (CDSAs) - 1/1/2021
- 10B, Independent Practitioners (IP) - 1/1/2021
- 10C, Outpatient Specialized Therapies - Local Education Agencies (LEAs) - 1/1/2021
- 10D, Independent Practitioners Respiratory Therapy Services - 1/1/2021
- 1A-12, Breast Surgeries - 2/1/2021
- 1A-19, Transcranial Doppler Studies - 2/1/2021
- 1A-24, Diabetes Outpatient Self - Management Education - 2/15/2021
These policies supersede previously published policies and procedures.
Providers are encouraged to review this information. All bulletin articles, including those related to COVID-19, are available on DHB's Medicaid Bulletin webpage.
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Cardinal Innovations advocates for members and system stability, believes Commissioner vote doesn't consider ALL members (Press release)
Cardinal Innovations Healthcare - March 05, 2021
Cardinal Innovations voluntarily created a plan of action in response to county concerns and has been reporting progress on the plan since December of last year. Improvement includes revamping processes to ensure that members receive services faster, expanding the network that serves children involved with the foster care system, and offering three million dollars over the next two years - which Forsyth County declined - to serve as a bridge until the Department of Health and Human Services implements their new statewide foster care program.
SaySo Youth in Foster Care and Foster Care Alumni Receive State-Wide Recognition (Press release)
Children's Home Society of NC (CHS) - March 05, 2021
Children's Home Society of NC (CHS) and SaySo (Strong Able Youth Speaking Out) are pleased to announce recognition from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Child Welfare League of America. SaySo has been awarded $176,000 by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to convene youth in foster care in Forsyth County and key community stakeholder agencies to develop an understanding of the needs of youth in foster care related to post-secondary education, job training, and job seeking. The goal of this work is to highlight the voice of impacted youth in identifying needs and suggesting solutions for improving educational and employment outcomes.
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DSP Turnover Negatively Impacts the Health and Safety of People with IDD
Direct support professionals (DSPs) provide individualized personal assistance to people with disabilities and older adults. They not only provide a wide range of services, but must often balance a complex set of competencies to do so. While DSPs help facilitate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities' (IDD's) quality of life, turnover can hinder people with IDD's quality of life significantly.
The aim of this study conducted by CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership was to explore how DSP turnover impacts the health and safety of people with IDD, particularly their emergency department utilization, incidents of abuse and neglect, and injuries.
In This Article:
- New peer-reviewed research about DSP turnover and emergency department visits, abuse and neglect, and injuries
- Analysis of the impact of DSP turnover on quality of life
- Link to full research study
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What Would Redefining Metro Counties Mean for Rural America? It's Complicated
Counties affected by the proposed change worry about the possible impact on federal funding. The bottom line is extremely hard to measure.
A proposal to change how the federal government classifies metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties could have big implications for rural America.
So big, in fact, that not even the Congressional Research Service - an agency with 600 staff and an annual budget of more than $100 million - can easily quantify the impact.
In January the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed change in how it defines metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Federal agencies, researchers, and publications like the Daily Yonder frequently use the nonmetropolitan definition as a basis for determining which counties are rural.
The proposed revision in the OMB system would move 255 counties from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan status, enlarging nonmetropolitan America by 18 million residents. The new definition would require counties to have a city of at least 100,000 residents to qualify as a core metropolitan county. The current threshold is 50,000 residents. (See related story.)OMB is accepting comments on the proposed change through Friday, March 19. About 70 comments have been filed so far, and most express concern about how the change might affect federal funding for local governments.
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, March 10, 2021
NC Medicaid Transition to Managed Care for Community Partners - the Beneficiary Experience
Time: 3:00 pm thru 4:00 pm
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Tomorrow: Thursday, March 11, 2021
Benchmarks' Membership Child Welfare Webinar
Lisa Cauley Joins Karen McLeod
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
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Thursday, March 11, 2021
NCDHHS Transition of Care Policy
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
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New: Thursday, March 11, 2021
Transition of Care at Managed Care Launch
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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New: Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Workplace Violence: Protecting Health Care Workers
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
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New: Thursday, March 18, 2021
Advanced Hot Topics in Medicaid Transformation
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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Friday, March 19, 2021
NC Medicaid's Move to Managed Care: What Health Care Advocates Need to Know
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:30 pm
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New: Friday, March 19, 2021
State-funded Community Living and Support I/DD and TBI
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm
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Monday, March 22, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:30 pm
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New: Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Virtual Career Fair for Individuals with Disabilities
Time: 9:00 am thru 4:00 pm
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Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Labor Trafficking in the US
Time: 10:00 am thru 12:00 pm
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Thursday, March 23, 2021
IDD and Me, Understanding and Supporting Individuals with IDD
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm
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Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Are You Ready For Value-Based Reimbursement? An Executive Guide For Assessing Readiness In A Value-Based Market
Time: 10:00 am thru 11:15 am
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Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Partners Community Cafe' Occurs Monthly, Fourth Wednesday of the Month
This Month's Topic: Medicaid Transformation-An Introductory Discussion
Time: 10:00 am thru 11:00 am
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New: Wednesday, March 24, 2021
It's OK Not to Be OK: Physician Burnout and Mental Health
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm
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New: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Federal Panel Discussion on Rural Health
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:30 pm
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Friday, March 26, 2021
NC DHHS Supported Living Level 2 &3
STAKEHOLDERS MEETING
Time: 2:30 pm thru 4:30 pm
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Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Rehabilitative or Habilitative:
What is the Difference and How Does it Affect Services
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
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Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Police Interactions and Creating Positive Outcomes
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm
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Friday, April 2, 2021
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Dave Richard Joins Karen McLeod
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Identifying Bias and Addressing Stigma in the Clinical Setting
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
These sessions are approved for continuing education credits for doctors, nurses, and social workers (live attendance only). The University of Vermont designates each session of this internet live activity for a maximum of:
- 1 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)TM: each physician should claim only those credits commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity;
- up to 1 Nursing Contact Hours; and
- 1 general continuing education credits for social workers completing this course
- 1 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) Credit
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Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Bridging The Gap From Data To Data-Driven Performance
Time: 10:00 am thru 11:15 am
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April 28, 2021
The Ethics of Feedback within the Therapeutic Milieu
Time: 9:30 am thru 11:45 am
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Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Understanding the Harm Reduction Approach:
Principles and Practice
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
These sessions are approved for continuing education credits for doctors, nurses, and social workers (live attendance only). The University of Vermont designates each session of this internet live activity for a maximum of:
- 1 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)TM: each physician should claim only those credits commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity;
- up to 1 Nursing Contact Hours; and
- 1 general continuing education credits for social workers completing this course
- 1 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) Credit
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Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Developing New VBP Services That Increase Quality & Decrease Service Costs
Time: 10:00 am thru 11:15 am
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Important: Please click on each of the following links to view details and announcements for providers sent out from each LME/MCO.
Benchmarks' wants to be sure to make the following list handy for our members to visit and suggests a peek at least once per week to find information that may be pertinent to your agency and contracts.
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