ARRM's Daily Dispatch

245d License Fees

Providers have started to receive invoices for their 2017 245D license fees. Remember that effective with the 2017 fees the license fees follow the schedule established in statute 245A.10 Subd. 4(b)(1). All 245D providers will follow this schedule, which is based on revenue.

If you believe you have been billed incorrectly you can contact DHS licensing at 651-431-6500 to discuss the issue.

Analysis of Mental Health Care Impact

There is a lack of understanding around the services ARRM members provide to people with mental health issues and the challenges they face.

Minnesotans have growing concern about the vitality of the mental health care network, including shortages of providers, treatment locations, supportive housing and overall resources. As an example, a recent study found that approximately one in five patients admitted to hospitals for mental health issues are forced to remain there well beyond the time when they are stable for discharge because the necessary care facilities were not available.

This happens in our industry, too, and it creates yet another pressure on providers. It is commonly reported that providers of residential services continue to care for people whose mental health condition deteriorates to the point where they need a more intensive care setting well after the required 60-day notice transition period. Similar to hospitals, this is because the necessary facilities do not have space and there is nowhere else for that person to go.

ARRM is collecting information from members to quantify this situation and provide education and guidance to the Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health. A three-question survey was sent to leading contacts at all ARRM Organizational Members on October 20. It’s essential that we collect as much information as possible to present a clear picture.

The questions are:

• How many 60-day notices of discharge have you provided to individuals in 2016?
• Of those, how many were still in the home 61 days or more after the notice?
• Of those, how many days each individual was in the home after the targeted discharge date?

If you are the person in your organization best equipped to provide information in this area, please make sure your organization completes the survey by October 28 (next Friday).

Contact Luana Slayton (lslayton@arrm.org) if you have questions or information to provide.

Comment on New HCBS Transition Plan

Significant changes have been made to the Minnesota Department of Human Service’s original home and community-based services (HCBS) settings rule statewide transition plan (STP) that was submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) back in January 2015.

Based on additional CMS guidance, DHS made amendments to the STP to address gaps in the initial plan, specifically in the areas of site-specific assessment, validation and remediation.

The new plan includes the following three documents:

1. Revised HCBS settings rule statewide transition plan (PDF)
2. Systemic assessment crosswalk for disability waivers (PDF)
3. Systemic assessment crosswalk for elderly waiver (EW) and alternative care (AC) (PDF)

Representatives from DHS are attending the October 13 Service Innovations Committee meeting from 9:30-10:30 a.m. to provide details on the updated plan and hear comments from members. Non-committee members are invited to attend via phone or in-person during that time, although note that space is limited.

Final comments are due to DHS by November 3. ARRM staff will work with Service Innovations Committee members to submit comments from an industry-wide perspective. Members are strongly encouraged to also submit comments to ensure a diverse array of commentary is gathered by DHS.

Submit your comments to HCBS.Settings@state.mn.us by 4 p.m. on November 3, 2016.

If you have questions about the revised plan, contact Barb Turner (bturner@arrm.org). 

Coleman Institute/ANCOR Technology Conference Report

Barb Turner, along with a number of ARRM members, attended the Coleman Institute and ANCOR Technology Conference in Broomfield, CO last week.  Like ARRM, ANCOR has decided that this will be the last year that they will hold a separate Technology Conference.  In the future they will incorporate technology in to the other conferences they hold each year.

The conference was full of new ideas as well as reinforcement of the success of the use of technology in many settings and with people with a wide variety of strengths and needs. ARRM will be working to see how we can best expand the use of technology in providing person-centered services and will continue with discussions with DHS regarding how they can support providers in this area.

 

Registration for the 2016 ARRM Technology Conference & Showcase is now open! Register now to learn about actual implementations of technology by ARRM providers all across Minnesota.

ARRM 2016 Legislative Survey Final Report Now Posted

ARRM has completed the final report from the 2016 Legislative Survey.

The 2016 Legislative Survey was sent to members in July, and had a strong response with 58 percent of members responding. This year’s report has information on DSP and front line supervisor wages, staff vacancies, staff turnover, overtime costs related to staffing shortages and other pertinent data. Utilizing information from previous ARRM surveys, the report shows trends of much of the data from 2013 and forward.

Some of the key findings from member responses include:

• The average DSP wage across ARRM members is $12.32, which is a 12 percent increase from 2013
• Average turnover rate of all employees for ARRM members is 44 percent, a rate which increases for those employed less than one year

Download the full report for additional detail and more findings

ARRM thanks its members for completing this survey. The report is strong support for the providers’ story of increasing challenges in staff and costs.  

Please contact Luana Slayton (lslayton@arrm.org) with any questions.

Download the full report here