Category Archives: opwdd
Deadline Extension for Submission of Comments on CCO Draft Application
PLEASE NOTE – The deadline for submission of comments on the Care Coordination Organization’s (CCO) Draft Application has been extended through Friday, August 11, 2017. Details of this submission are included on the below email from Acting Commissioner Delaney which was originally sent on June 30, 2017.
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
New York State can take pride in its transformation of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. By building and supporting a community-based system of care over the past 40 years, New York is a great example of what a State can do in partnership with providers, families, advocates and communities. Through this partnership, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) has been able to offer a wide range of residential and day supports.
However, as I travelled the State meeting with individuals, families and providers to assist in developing the recommendations of the Transformation Panel, it became clear that our system must evolve to meet the changing demands of today. Individuals and families want more flexibility and participation in program design and services and there is growing recognition of the need to offer a more seamless transition of school age children into the adult service system. In addition, as those we serve age, we must address their emerging needs. These challenges demand a more robust, integrated model of care; a model that not only includes the existing OPWDD services but brings together medical, behavioral health services and medication management in a single coordinated plan. Our system needs a model of care that offers more flexibility in how services are designed and delivered and rewards providers for achieving good outcomes for you and your family members.
I am very pleased to tell you about the next major step in the evolution of the OPWDD system to meet this need. We are prepared to begin a five-year effort that will start a new era of opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This new initiative, called People First Care Coordination, will enhance and expand service coordination for people currently supported by a Medicaid Service Coordinator (MSC) in preparation for our system’s move to fully integrated services in managed care.
People First Care Coordination will add the coordination of people’s health and wellness services to their current developmental disabilities Individualized Service Plan (ISP), which will be known as a Life Plan. Individuals currently enrolled in OPWDD services can have those services, plus those they receive from their dentists, physicians, behavioral health professionals and others, expertly combined into a single, integrated Life Plan which is overseen and monitored by their care manager.
The foundation of People First Care Coordination is Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs), authorized as Health Homes, which will be networks of existing OPWDD providers that will come together to provide integrated care coordination and work to transition MSCs into care manager roles. CCOs will offer a professional Care Manager and a specialized care coordination team to work directly with each individual served and his or her family to address all of his or her needs. The team and various service providers will be able to electronically share information and discuss an individual’s overall wellness and progress toward stated goals. CCOs and providers will report to OPWDD on the outcomes they are helping individuals achieve.
People First Care Coordination is not managed care, but over the next few years, CCOs will become or begin working with managed care organizations to further our system’s move to managed care. CCOs consisting of OPWDD providers will always be at the forefront in coordinating OPWDD services and supports.
In the coming weeks and months, we will be in further contact with you to explain People First Care Coordination, outline its timeline and respond to any of your questions. I would encourage you to read and submit comments related to the draft Application for entities who may be interested in becoming CCO’s. You can find a link to the Application on our website athttps://opwdd.ny.gov/opwdd_services_supports/care_coordination_organizations .
Thank you for your continued partnership as we transform our system of supports and services to enrich the lives of New Yorkers with developmental disabilities – today, tomorrow and well into the future.
Sincerely,
Kerry A. Delaney
Acting Commissioner
UPDATE People First Care Coordination Webinar for Individuals and Families
Last week, Acting Commissioner Delaney announced the availability of an online presentation on People First Care Coordination for individuals and families who receive services through the Office for People With Disabilities’ (OPWDD) service system. The presentation will describe plans for the move to enhanced care coordination, as well as provide the reasons for this shift and a timeline of anticipated next steps.
If you would like to attend this online presentation, please note that the online portion of the event which is viewable from your computer, is now full. However, you can still connect with just a telephone and listen to the presentation by following the instructions below:
Date: Monday, August 7
Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm
To listen to the presentation by phone:
Call 1-844-633-8697
When asked for your Access Code or Meeting Number enter 647572988#
If you are unable to listen to the event at that time, it will be recorded and posted at this link for viewing at any time.
In the meantime, if you would like more information, please visit the People First Care Coordination section of the OPWDD website and feel free to submit any feedback you have about People First Care Coordination to care.coordination@opwdd.ny.gov.
Message from Acting Commissioner Delaney Regarding People First Care Coordination and CCO Draft Application
Draft Application Announcement
June 30, 2017
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
As you may know, the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is embarking upon a new initiative aimed at enhancing care coordination for the people we serve. People First Care Coordination will retain the best of the current system of Medicaid Service Coordination, while building upon it to offer individuals and families a more comprehensive way of managing their services and supports.
Through People First Care Coordination, Care Coordination Organizations/Health Homes (CCOs/HHs) governed by OPWDD providers will oversee development of a Life Plan created for each individual. The Life Plan will include information not only about the services they receive from OPWDD, but also physical, behavioral health and other healthcare and wellness services. This initiative will be supported by improved information technology, allowing multiple providers to share important information related to a person’s Life Plan.
In partnership with the Department of Health, we are beginning the process of establishing the CCOs/HHs which will provide enhanced care coordination services. Organizations that are interested in operating as a CCO/HH will be required to complete an Application. At this time, we are posting a draft Application for stakeholder review and comment.
Information regarding People First Care Coordination and the draft Application can be found at https://opwdd.ny.gov/opwdd_services_supports/care_coordination_organizations. The draft Application and form for submitting your comments can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/program/medicaid_health_homes/idd/.
The draft Application lays out the qualifications and requirements that CCO/HH applicants must meet, while also defining the expectations of New York State regarding the operation of the CCO/HH. Key requirements of the Application include identifying a transition plan for current Medicaid Service Coordinators to move into care manager roles and ensuring cultural competence for serving a diverse population.
The Application is currently in draft form, and applications are not being accepted at this time. After public comment has been received over the next month, the Application will be revised and is anticipated to be issued in September 2017 in final form, for completion by CCO/HH applicants by November 2017.
We look forward to our continued collaboration with you, and view this draft Application process as the first step in establishing a person-centered, specialized system of care coordination leading to managed care designed for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With your support and insight, we can move into the future under a framework that offers more flexibility and choice and preserves the great gains made for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities over the past forty years.
Sincerely,
Kerry A. Delaney
Acting Commissioner
Politico Managed Care By Addy Baird May 25 2016
Managed Care Angst: NYC FAIR’s parent co-founders, Elly Rufer and Meri Krassner, were interviewed by Addy Baird of Politico for an article on some of the concerns families have about Managed Care.
HERE IS THE STORY: Politico Managed Care By Addy Baird May 25 2016