ARRM's Daily Dispatch

7% Cut Impact: Member Information Needed

One of the most important roles an association plays on behalf of its members is to gather, synthesize, and present member data and information to positively represent its members and achieve their advocacy goals. A benefit of association membership is to contribute your organization’s data, along with your fellow members, and receive a value-added resource.

Our field is in a moment where this is more important than ever

7% Impact Report

ARRM is seeking to collect all manner of information from its members on the state of their organizations and the overall system management in the aftermath of the 7 percent cuts. This information will be critical to help develop a narrative describing and showcasing the harm caused to the home and community based service systems and those people who it is the mission of the system to support.

ARRM’s goal, on behalf of its members, is not only work to roll back the 7% cuts, but to do that and add additional investments and policies to combat the workforce shortage and continue progress towards greater independence for people. To do that, we need to be able to demonstrate in a specific and evidence-backed way that the 7 percent cuts threw an already unstable and strained system into a dangerous level of chaos.

Show, Not Tell

Because we live it every day, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that the majority of Minnesotans don’t have any perspective of the issues providers face, and even more so why it impacts people with disabilities in a negative. If we’re being brutally honest, the phrase “7 percent cut” doesn’t mean anything to most people; the phrase “people with disabilities will lose services” doesn’t resonate with most people; even the phrase “9,000 open direct care positions” means little for people with no context for what it means. This includes the vast majority of legislators.

However, when we can show the negative impacts, we know we get results. In the most recent example, when one ARRM member opened their doors and laid out to State Sen. Mark Koran the dire situation the 7 percent cuts put their organization, pushing it over the edge on top of an existing staffing crisis, Sen. Koran launched into action. When faced with the clear risk of nearly a dozen high-needs people being left with no viable option for supportive services short of hospitalization or incarceration, Sen. Koran listened and started acting to address the situation with not just passion, but understanding.

Help ARRM Build More Champions

By the start of the 2019 Legislative Session, we need every state legislator to get to Sen. Koran level, and we need to do the same thing with the broader public. To do that, ARRM needs members to track and share specific and demonstrable impacts since the implementation of the 7 percent cuts.

We have been engaging in ongoing conversations with Legislators and their staff who are continually asking for stories. Please send in your information as soon as possible.

It’s not just financial information or workforce information we want to report. We know there are already negative impacts in the following categories:

• Financial loss
• Workforce impacts (from lost staff to delayed raises)
• Forced service changes, cuts, denials, or outright closures and discharges
• Other negative impacts, such as bogged down case managers

ARRM is engaging in this work with the strong encouragement of the ARRM Board of Directors and Committees because we know it is a critical moment. Please work with your association staff to ensure your story is told and contributes to a better future for providers and the people of Minnesota we support.

You can submit any of this information to ARRM with this simple form. Please don’t hesitate to contact ARRM staff for questions or assistance.

--Sue Schettle, CEO

Important Updates for New IHS Service Enrollment

By Barb Turner

An exciting new service, Individualized Home Supports, was approved for implementation effective July 1, 2018. Unfortunately all of the on-line information has not been completed at this time. This includes the hyperlink to the Provider Manual as well as the assurance form that must be completed as part of the enrollment process.

Steps to Enroll in IHS Currently

If you are interested in providing this service you must submit form DHS-6638 which is available on-line. Unfortunately, the applicant assurance statement, which also must be submitted, is not currently in EDoc, therefore there is no hyperlink on the form to get you the assurance statement. It is unclear when this work will be completed as it has been submitted to the DHS MNITs team, but has not reached the priority for completion yet.

ARRM gathered the following information to pass along to our members who are interested in enrolling for this new service:

• You must contact the provider enrollment help desk at 651-431-2700 or 800-366-5411
• The help desk staff will FAX the form to you
• If you do not have a FAX a form can be mailed to you
• If you submit DHS-6638 without the assurance form you will be contacted by provider enrollment and they will work with you to expedite the process and get the form to you and process it

Feel free to contact me at bturner@arrm.org with any questions or concerns.

EVV Delayed At Federal Level

On Monday, President Trump signed a bill delaying the implementation of new Electronic Visit Verification requirements for the states by one year. The national association ANCOR worked to build a bi-partisan coalition of Senators and Representatives to draft and pass the legislation out of congress.

What does the EVV delay entail?

From the ANCOR statement announcing the signed bill:

"States now have until January 1, 2020, to begin compliance with the EVV law. States can also apply for a good-faith extension that would extend the deadline until January 1, 2021. In addition, the legislation signed into law this week mandates that input from the public is solicited to help ensure the thoughtful implementation of the EVV requirement."

What does this mean for Minnesota and ARRM Members?

While delayed, states are continuing to push forward with EVV implementation to avoid potential issues with falling out of compliance, although now have additional time to seek input from the public, and providers, care staff and importantly, people receiving services. The immediate reaction from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is to take a step back and reassess its approach and timelines.

On the advocacy side, many organizations have been looking at legislation to give specific direction to DHS to ensure providers aren't harmed by the eventual implementation of EVV. This includes a bill introduced during the 2018 Legislative Session which defined what EVV is, what services it would apply to, and required the Commissioner to ensure that there is at least one system available for providers to use that would not be an additional cost to them.

As ARRM has previously reported, while the EVV requirement legislation was originally created specifically with addressing perceived issues in PCA and home health aid services in mind, the rumblings from federal and state regulators was that a form of requirements would likely be extended to most or all HCBS waiver services.