Provider Update: June 29, 2018

​Important CD-PASS Communication

Priority: High(Please disseminate this information upon receipt of this bulletin). 

Benjamin Franklin (n.d.) is quoted as saying, "When you're finished changing, you're finished". MSU-AA is constantly seeking opportunities to improve Member outcomes and we are "not finished". The purpose of this bulletin is to announce up-coming positive changes that will occur affecting the CD-PASS service option.

CD-PASS Topic I. Transition to a new Fiscal Reporting Agent (FRA):Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL) has provided Fiscal Reporting Agent (FRA) services for CD-PASS Members since 2009; however the contract with this provider terminated June 30, 2018.   The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) posted a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a FRA on May 24, 2018, and we are pleased to announce that ACES$ Financial Management Services was awarded the contract.

ACES$ is a division of the Northeast Pennsylvania Center for Independent Living, and is the largest non-profit Home and Community-Based Services FMS provider in the United States.  As a Center for Independent Living (CIL) the provider has decades of experience serving people with disabilities, and they are committed to providing quality service and exceptional customer service to our Members.  To help ensure success, ACES$ will be opening a satellite office in the Tulsa area. 

Transition timeline:ACES$will be fully transitioned as the new FRA provider within the next 90 days.  They will assume complete payroll responsibilities mid-September 2018, although implementation began on 06/19/2018. 

Please alert your Members that they will begin to see correspondence from ACES$ within the first few weeks of July.  Ultimately, they will receive a Welcome Letter, contacts list and enrollment materials from the provider.  Opportunities for Members to receive training will be offered in the upcoming weeks in a variety of different formats.  Details regarding training opportunities will be announced within the upcoming weeks.  It is imperative that CD-PASS Members respond when contacted by this provider.  There is a considerable amount of work that will go into making this transition successful and time is of the essence in order for us to insure a seamless transition for the Member.    

CD-PASS Topic II. Reintegrating the CD-PASS Member group in using the EVV system:During our annual Regional Provider training that was held in May, MSU staff announced that CD-PASS Members will once again use the EVV system for tracking and billing services delivered.  This change was prompted by the 21^st Century Cures Act, which is a Federal initiative implemented to increase quality and access to services.  The mandate will be enforced by reducing Federal funding to States where those providing in-home services fail to use an EVV system.

The Members CDA/CM will be responsible for training the Member in using the EVV system.  MSU-AA will be sending a form that will be completed by the CDA/CM and Member.  The form outlines the responsibility of the Member as the Employer of Record to ensure their staff uses the system, and provides detailed instruction on how they are to engage the system.  The form must be signed by the Member and the CDA/CM.  A copy must be retained by the Member because it will list requisite information the Member needs to know in order to properly use the system.  The CDA/CM must also submit a signed copy to MSU-AA for record keeping. 

Difficulties and problems the Member might encounter in using the system must be thoroughly documented and the CDA/CM must work with MSU-AA staff to immediately report and work toward a resolution in resolving the issue.  MSU is required to use an EVV system or lose Federal funding for the program. More information will follow regarding this topic.

If you have any questions regarding the information provided above, please feel free to contact us via SmarterMail at:  aauproviderquestion@aau.okdhs.org

Benjamin Franklin. (n.d.). Great-Quotes.com. Retrieved Tue Jun 26 11:09:04 2018, from Great-Quotes.com Web site: http://www.great-quotes.com/quote/