The below email was originally sent on 12/23/2015, however it has come to our attention that some people may not have received it. We will offer webinars in January to help explain the Waiver Renewal updates for anyone interested in participating.

From: opwdd.sm.commissioners.correspondence.unit
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 4:55 PM
Subject: HCBS Waiver Renewal Public Comment Period Announced

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities is pleased to announce the opportunity for public comment on the 1915 (c) Comprehensive Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver Renewal. The public comment period will be open from December 23, 2015 through January 25, 2016.  Based upon its review of public comment, New York State will then submit the Renewal Application to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval.  Further information regarding the public comment process is available on the OPWDD website at http://www.opwdd.ny.gov/node/6345.
 
The Waiver Renewal is retroactive to October 1, 2014 and will span over the course of a five year period through September 30, 2019.  This five year agreement will fund Home and Community-Based Services for over 80,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  The Renewal continues the previous financial reforms implemented in prior agreements.

The Renewal includes updated information about the HCBS Settings Transition Plan and identifies that, beginning in 2016, some people enrolled in the OPWDD Comprehensive HCBS Waiver may choose to enroll in a voluntary Managed Care program called the FIDA-IDD (Fully Integrated Duals Advantage for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities).

Other changes in the Renewal include a request that CMS approve a new way to fund people who are new to Residential and Day Habilitation Services and who need extra support from staff until the provider agency’s costs can be included in the agency’s existing funding.  The Renewal also requests a multi-year phase-in to a new Respite fee methodology.  During the comment period, OPWDD and the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) will continue to work with stakeholders regarding the implementation of the new Respite methodology.

We welcome and request your comments and thank you for your continued advocacy for New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Sincerely,

Kerry A. Delaney
Acting Commissioner

Commissioner Delaney and Director Helgerson-

OPWDD officially opened the 30-day comment period on the HCBS Waiver on December 23, 2015.  Unfortunately that opening was marred by a technical glitch and by inadequate briefing documents.  See details below. (NOTE: An email was sent on December 31st, 2015 with this explanation: “The below email was originally sent on 12/23/2015, however it has come to our attention that some people may not have received it. We will offer webinars in January to help explain the Waiver Renewal updates for anyone interested in participating.” READ ANNOUNCEMENT HERE)

I urge you to call an immediate halt, correct both issues, and then re-start the 30-day comment period in mid-January. Given recent feedback to the State from Ralph Lollar at CMS regarding public comment on the STP, I believe it would be in New York’s best interest to put in the extra effort to create a truly accessible set of communications around this HCBS Waiver–and all future public comment periods.

Please reply at your earliest convenience.

Respectfully yours,

Jim Karpe

516-655-2713

Father to two young adults with developmental disabilities
Member, NYC FAIR
Head Coach, West Side Soccer League special needs division
Risk Manager, JPMC
DETAILS- Technical Glitch

An email announcement went out to a subset of stakeholders at 4:55 PM on Wednesday December 23rd.  Unfortunately, apparently due to a technical problem with OPWDD systems, that email was not sent to all who had signed up to get alerts and information from OPWDD.

I am fortunately tied into a strong network of stakeholders, and so received a third-hand copy of the email notification.  However, there are many interested parents across the state who depend upon direct notification by OPWDD.  The comment period cannot be said to have started, until the technical issues have been overcome and an email notification sent out to all stakeholders.

The most recent email that I personally have received from OPWDD was the December 7th newsletter sent to STAKEHOLDERS@listserv.opwdd.ny.gov from opwdd.sm.commissioners.correspondence.unit (commissioners.correspondence.unit@opwdd.ny.gov)

DETAILS-  Inadequate guidance

OPWDD has posted the indigestible 487-page draft of the Renewal Application and a one-page public notice inviting comment .  The Commissioner’s announcement has four sentences of explanation, which is a good start.  Missing are a set of documents that explain exactly what changes have been made that are not already in the 467-page waiver amendment that was approved September 2015,

At the very least, there needs to be a three to five page explanatory summary of the changes and including reference to the section of the 487-page draft which implement each change.  Ideally, for those who have the time to delve deeper, there would also be a more detailed explanation of all substantive changes.

Creating these “briefing” or “guidance” documents could take a week or two of OPWDD staff time, and thus delay the start of the public comment period.  However, without such guidance, the call for public comment will be a sterile exercise, equivalent to OPWDD saying to parents and self-advocates: There is a needle or two somewhere in this 487-page haystack.

Given recent feedback to the State from Ralph Lollar at CMS regarding public comment on the STP, I believe it would be in New York’s best interest to put in the extra effort to create a truly accessible set of communications around this HCBS Waiver–and all future public comment periods.