msu_finance ~ Home Health & Personal Care Services Rate Study – Delaware Health and Social Services – State of Delaware

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HCBS Home Health & Personal Care Services Rate Study December 10, 2024

DMMA, with support from Mercer, conducted a review of payment rates for the following Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) — Attendant Care, Companion, Homemaker, Home Health Aide, Respite, and Chore. The aim of this project was to conduct a study of reimbursement to direct support professionals (DSPs) who serve DMMA’s Medicaid populations, primarily through the managed care program.

To evaluate the reasonableness of current reimbursement rates for services available to non-I/DD populations, Mercer reviewed current Medicaid payment levels in managed care, gathered input from stakeholders, and conducted analyses of publicly available data related to providers’ costs for service delivery. Many providers helpfully and critically participated in making the study a success.

On October 30, 2024, Mercer and DMMA hosted a Town Hall to review the findings and learn about the results of this rate study. A recording of the Town Hall can be found below and a copy of the slide deck reviewed can be found attached.

Click to view the final rate study here

Home Health & Personal Care Services Rate Study Town Hall April 11, 2024

With the help of several key community leaders and feedback from the provider community, DMMA and Mercer have made adjustments and improvements to the survey. On April 11, 2024, with the support of DMMA and Mercer, DAHCC hosted a provider meeting to launch the survey which can be found here: HCBS Launch meeting Recording 4-11-24

As mentioned in the meeting, we are sharing both a PDF version and the link to the live survey.

Live Survey Link: https://forms.office.com/r/F7LZp1U2Ej

PDF Link Delaware HCBS  Home Health  Personal Care Services Provider Rate Survey

We recommend that you download and gather the information asked for in the PDF before clicking on the link to complete the survey. We ask that only one survey be filed out and submitted per Delaware organization. Please submit the survey no later than Friday, May 24, 2024. If there are any questions regarding the survey, please reach out to DMMA-DSPRateStudy@Mercer.com

Home Health & Personal Care Services Rate Study

The Division of Medicaid & Medical Assistance (DMMA), with support from Mercer, is conducting a review of payment rates for the following Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) — Attendant Care, Companion, Homemaker, Home Health Aide, Respite, and Chore. The relevant codes for these services are: S5152, S5130 U2, S5120, S5135, S5130, G0156, G0156 U2, S5150, S5150 U2, T1005, T1005 U1, T1005 U2, T1005 PC. This study does not include the payments for services delivered under the Delaware Division of Developmental Disability Services (DDDS) Lifespan Waiver for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities or services delivered under Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD). Ultimately, DMMA will use the results of this study to identify any gaps between reimbursement levels and service delivery costs for these services.

 

As part of this effort, DMMA and Mercer are conducting a provider cost survey to better understand the current provider costs to render the targeted services listed above. This survey is one component of this targeted Rate Review with DMMA, intended to collect current provider cost data and general feedback on the challenges of providing these services. We will use the information collected in this survey along with DMMA claims data, reflecting recent legislative policies and department expectations, and other data obtained from publicly available sources to serve as a benchmark with which to evaluate current payment rates. On February 15, 2024 DMMA and Mercer hosted a Town Hall to discuss the study and kick off the provider rate survey process: Delaware Rate Study for HCBS — Home Health & Personal Care Services

As noted in the Town Hall, the provider survey is only one piece of the overall project. However, provider participation in this rate study is extremely important in helping to collect and understand on-the-ground information, directly from providers, related to staff, current service delivery costs and challenges regarding the six Home Health and Personal Care services under review. We would like to encourage any provider that renders these services, regardless of the division they provide services under, to participate in this study as the outcomes could also potentially be used to inform future policy decisions for other divisions. In addition to the survey information collected, Mercer is analyzing other data sources and developing a range of benchmark rates for comparison.
(Updated 3/5/2024)