12/18/2019

LeadingAge Ohio Provides Commentary to ODM on Proposed Rule under PASSPORT and Assisted Living Waivers

Last week, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) moved the much-anticipated waiver payment rule package into clearance for stakeholder review. The rule package reflects updates to Ohio’s Assisted Living Waiver, PASSPORT, as well as Ohio Home Care Waiver. 

As part of proposed revisions to rules 5160-1-06.5 and 5160-1-06.1, which set the reimbursement levels for providers participating in Ohio’s nursing home level of care waivers, PASSPORT and the Assisted Living Waiver, the Ohio Department of Aging shared that rates for PASSPORT personal care services and Ohio’s assisted living waiver would increased by 3.25%, far short of the originally-intended 5.1% increases. 

LeadingAge Ohio joined other long-term care associations in submitting a letter to the Directors of the Ohio Department of Medicaid and the Ohio Department of Aging, and also submitted comments to ODM’s Bureau of Long-Term Services and Supports HCBS Policy Section to express concern at this lowered rates and encourage ODM to recalculate the rate based on the curtailed timeframe. LeadingAge Ohio will keep members informed of any updates pertaining to the state budget and rate increases. 

For questions on this topic, please reach out to Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Susan Wallace at swallace@leadingeageohio.org.