STATE SUBMITS UPDATED TRANSITION PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE WITH HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES

NEW CASTLE (April 18, 2016) - The state has sent to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) its updated Statewide Transition Plan for complying with the federal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) final rule. The rule defines home and community-based settings for participants in Medicaid HCBS programs.

DHSS's Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance submitted the third version of the plan to CMS on March 30, 2016. The updated plan includes summaries of comments received at public hearings in February and March along with DHSSs responses.

CMS required all states to develop a Statewide Transition Plan to outline how they would come into compliance with the final rule by March 17, 2019. Delaware's latest version of the plan reflects feedback received by stakeholders across Delaware. The Statewide Transition Plan describes the activities Delaware will undertake to achieve full compliance with all federal requirements by the required date of March 17, 2019.

Specifically, the Transition Plan outlines the actions Delaware will take to:

• Engage stakeholders in all phases of the process.
• Assess relevant policies and regulations at all levels, as well as provider settings.
• Develop and implement strategies to remediate non-compliant situations.
• Demonstrate full compliance with the final rule by March 17, 2019.

The updated transition plan, public comments and DHSS's responses are available at www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dmma/hcbs_trans_plan.html.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.