Action | Three Waivers (ID, DD, DS) Redesign |
Stage | Final |
Comment Period | Ended on 3/31/2021 |
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16 Hours of work & 8 Hours of equal work Should NOT pay the SAME
Regulatory reliance on “a day” as the sole reimbursement unit in group home and sponsored placement residential settings establishes this standard and will be significantly harmful to the fundamental principle of equity, individuals served in those settings and small businesses.
Clearly, from a residential provider perspective “a day” of support and services for an individual who chooses to be in a day/work support program and an individual who chooses not to is not equal; as the need for staffing, travel and support provision is significantly different.
Recommendation – the unit of service for residential programs should be bifurcated into 2 units of service each a per diem but with one representing individuals who choose to participate in a work/day support program outside the home and the other representing individuals who choose not to participate in a work/day program outside the home. Individuals who choose not to participate in a program outside the home should receive a higher reimbursement rate that would bring their reimbursement rate in line with the total daily funding of the other individuals who demonstrate the exact same level of need but do participate in outside work/day programs. This approach would retain all of the benefits claimed for the per diem by Burns and Associates while mitigating the harmful impacts. While logistics of working out an exact amount may be difficult due to the variables involved, the State seems to trust Burns and Associates and they are clearly capable given their past work of calculating the averages and variables and arriving at some defensible figure which even if it were not a direct one for one equalization in every individual case would at least mitigate the gross inequities, violation of individual rights and disadvantaging very small businesses that are occurring right now under this current structure.