Foster Family Alliance: SUPER CUTE T-SHIRTS Available
The Foster Family Alliance is in the midst of a fundraising effort and has designed some SUPER CUTE t-shirts celebrating foster care!
We hope you will take a moment to check them out!
Benchmarks' Upcoming Webinars
Benchmarks' Friday Webinar
Dave Richard Joins Karen McLeod
Date: Friday, August 20, 2021
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar
Lisa Cauley Joins Karen McLeod
Date: Thursday, September 9, 2021
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
Benchmarks' Friday Webinar
Dave Richard Joins Karen McLeod
Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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Information about a month-long #ABLEtoSave Campaign happening in August
Having a disability is expensive and increases the likelihood of living in poverty.
The goal of #ABLEtoSave is to increase public awareness around the benefits of tax-advantaged ABLE savings and investment accounts to increase the financial well-being of people with disabilities. ABLE accounts offer eligible individuals a path to “Achieve a Better Life Experience (ABLE)” through the ABLE Act legislation of 2014. This includes a focus on the ways ABLE accounts can help address the needs of all individuals with disability, including Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) community members with disabilities, who are eligible for ABLE accounts.
Our #ABLEtoSave 2021 national campaign will include a diverse set of engaging activities, new resources and strategies in order to maximize reach. ABLE account owners, family members and ABLE subject matter experts will engage in live panel discussions, podcasts, blogs, American Sign Language (ASL) video blogs, and highlight the resources available on ABLE NRC’s comprehensive website. All live events will have CART captioning services and ASL interpreting provided.
Weekly themes during #ABLEtoSave Month:
- Week 1: Welcome to #ABLEtoSave Month
- Week 2: Opening an ABLE Account: Keys to Success
- Week 3: Best Practices for ABLE-eligible Individuals and Working-age Adults
- Week 4: Best Practices for ABLE Family Members and Circle of Support
- Week 5: ABLE Account Call to Action: Next Steps to Achieve a Better Life Experience
Participants will come away with a better understanding and confidence around ABLE accounts with helpful tools and best practices to put information into action. We will be sharing new tools such as ABLE Decision Guides that cover the interaction of ABLE accounts with public means-tested benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicaid, Housing and Food Assistance.
Please support us in spreading the word about #ABLEtoSave. Join us and share our one-page flyer on #ABLEtoSave across your networks
Additionally, here is a two-page outline providing additional details about the campaign for your information.
NC Medicaid is hosting an EVV Stakeholder Meeting and Technical Support Webinar on Aug. 25, 2021
To ensure all enrolled NC Medicaid providers subject to the EVV requirements are 100% compliant with this mandate, a technical support webinar will be held on Aug. 25, 2021, at 1-3 p.m. This technical support webinar is for all agencies, but most importantly for agencies that have not integrated with an EVV vendor, logged visits, or logged very few visits to capture the six required EVV data points specified in the 21st Century Cures Act.
To register for the stakeholder meeting and technical support webinar, please register.
Joint Communication Bulletin #398: Resuming Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and Tool for Measurement of Assertive Community Treatment (TMACT) Fidelity Evaluations
On April 23, 2020, Joint Communication Bulletin #J361 informed LME-MCOs that the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (DMH/DD/SAS) had
suspended in-person TMACT and IPS fidelity evaluations. On Oct. 2, 2020, Joint Communication Bulletin #J378 informed LME-MCOs of the Interim Evidence-Based Practice Quality Review Protocol while TMACT and IPS fidelity evaluations were suspended.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, DMH/DD/SAS will resume all in-person TMACT and IPS fidelity evaluations with the expectation that ACT and IPS teams have resumed providing services face-to-face in the
community.
Medicaid.
Prior Authorizations Covered When a Beneficiary Transitions to NC Medicaid Direct
When a beneficiary enrolled in NC Medicaid Managed Care becomes part of a population exempted or excluded from NC Medicaid Managed Care enrollment, the beneficiary will disenroll from the Standard Plan Prepaid Health Plan (PHP) and transition to NC Medicaid Direct. A list of exempted/carved out populations can be found here.
Consistent with the Department’s vision to ensure beneficiary continuity of care and minimize provider administrative burden through this transition process, the beneficiary’s PHP will transfer most prior authorizations (PAs) it authorized that extend beyond the beneficiary’s transition date to NCTracks.
Confirming Medicaid Coverage for Beneficiaries
NC Medicaid has received reports of confusion in the field by providers and pharmacies when members do not present an ID card or when presented with a Medicaid member ID card that differs from the data shown in the NCTracks system.
To mitigate any confusion associated with newly issued Medicaid Managed Care member ID cards, providers and pharmacies should always use NCTracks Recipient Eligibility Verification/Response to confirm eligibility and not rely solely on the information shown on a Member ID Card.
Health plans are required to generate an identification card for each Member enrolled in their health plan that contains the Member’s North Carolina Medicaid or NC Health Choice Identification number. Some health plans also include their health plan member ID as well. However, member ID cards are not required to provide service, and this includes pharmacies as well. Therefore, members should not be turned away due to the lack of a Member ID card in their possession.
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Medicaid Bulletin Reminder: Expedited Hardship Advances for CDSA-Contracted Providers at Risk of Not Meeting Financial Obligations and New Bulletins Available
NC Medicaid is aware of system issues impeding the billing process for CDSA-Contracted Providers to NCTracks and we are troubleshooting with GDIT and NCTracks for a resolution. While NC Medicaid works to resolve these issues, providers who are at risk of not meeting financial obligations this month as a result of this delay may request a hardship advance to offset the business cost due to pended or denied claims. To request a hardship advance, send an email to [email protected]. In the body of the email, include:
- A sentence stating your request to receive a hardship advance
- The requested dollar amount of the hardship advance
- NPI number of the provider who will receive the advance
- A list of the unpaid CDSA-related NC Medicaid services that support the amount requested (e.g., a list of unpaid claims)
- Name, telephone number and email address of the provider’s contact person
NC Medicaid will respond to your completed request by sending you a Hardship Advance Agreement. Once NC Medicaid receives the executed Hardship Advance Agreement, advances will be issued in the next scheduled NCTracks checkwrite. Upon resolution of the system issues, NC Medicaid will notify providers of the need to submit claims and advances will be recouped from future payments.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to resolve system issues.
New Medicaid Bulletin Articles Available as of August 3
The NC Division of Health Benefits (DHB) has recently published new Medicaid Bulletin articles:
- NC Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Announcements
- Guidance for Providers Experiencing Payment Issues
Providers are encouraged to review this information. All bulletin articles, including those related to COVID-19, are available on DHB's Medicaid Bulletin webpage.
NCTracks Call Center & Checkwrite Information for Labor Day Holiday
The NCTracks Call Center will be closed Monday, Sept. 6, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. (The Pharmacy Prior Approval Unit will be open holiday hours from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)
In keeping with the published approved 2021 checkwrite schedule, because of the federal holiday, the checkwrite date the week of the holiday will be on Wednesday, Sept. 8. The posting and availability of funds to provider bank accounts will depend on the provider's financial institution. Bank of America customers should see their payments in their accounts on the day that the EFT is processed, which will be Thursday (Sept. 9). Providers who bank at other financial institutions should see payments the business day following the date that the EFT is processed, which will be Friday (Sept. 10) afternoon. (Some may post sooner.)
August 2021 Provider Training Now Available
Training Enrollment Instructions:
Providers can register for these courses in SkillPort, the NCTracks Learning Management System. Log onto the secure NCTracks Provider Portal and click Provider Training to access SkillPort. Open the folder labeled Provider Computer-Based Training (CBT) and Instructor Led Training (ILT). The courses can be found in the sub-folder labeled ILTs: Remote via WebEx (although this is the sub-folder name, please note that, as previously mentioned, courses will now be conducted via Zoom and not WebEx).
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HOPE Program now accepting tenant referrals from landlords, increasing assistance
More than $305.5 million in rent and utility assistance already awarded to help NC families
The Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program has announced program changes to accept referrals of tenants from landlords and increase financial awards to North Carolina households that apply for pandemic-related rent and utility assistance. The new guidelines aim to help even more renters get back on their feet while also assisting landlords that have lost income due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Since opening last fall, the HOPE Program has awarded more than $305.5 million to 81,039 households, with $219.2 million already paid to landlords and utility companies statewide.
“We established the HOPE Program to keep low income tenants hit hard by COVID-19 in their homes with the lights on,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “HOPE has already assisted more than 81,000 families, and these program changes will make sure even more people get the help they need while our state recovers.”
Landlords whose tenants are struggling to pay rent due to the pandemic can submit names and contact information using the HOPE Program website or by contacting the HOPE Call Center at 888-9ASK-HOPE (888-927-5467). A program specialist will then follow up with the tenant to help start the application process.
Additionally, starting Aug. 1, the HOPE Program monthly rent award limit will increase by 30%, which will allow the program to cover approximately 95% of all rent awards requested by tenants. Similarly, the utility award limit will increase by 100%, a change that will cover nearly 90% of all past-due amounts requested by program applicants. The new limits will apply to all new applications received, including applicants reapplying for assistance.
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CCHP Releases Telehealth & Medicaid Webinar Series Report; Registration for Fall Webinar Series Now Open!
From April 30 – May 21, 2021, the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) held its second Telehealth & Medicaid webinar series with nearly 1,000 attendees across the four webinars. With nine Medicaid programs participating, the purpose of the Spring Series was to examine specific areas of telehealth policy and their impacts on particular patient populations. Participating in the series were representatives from Medicaid programs in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Texas, and Washington. Each of the four spring webinars were recorded and can be viewed by clicking the links below:
- Access and Equity in Medicaid Telehealth Policy
- Medicaid Telehealth Policies for Children and Youth
- Medicaid Telehealth Policies for Seniors
- Telemental Health & State Medicaid Policies
Speakers discussed the policies they have instituted during the pandemic that impacted the aforementioned areas and what temporary policies they will, or are considering, retaining. For some of the programs, their general telehealth policies applied to all populations, but a few did note that some services may have been more difficult to deliver via technology depending on age. For example, very young children may have been more difficult to examine via technology than an older child who may have been more willing to sit still during a telehealth encounter. As with other Medicaid programs, many of the speakers noted the significant use of telehealth to deliver mental and behavioral health services.
Feedback for the Spring Webinar Series showed a continued interest in these educational webinars and elicited several suggestions for future sessions. CCHP has issued a summary report of the Spring series that can be found on CCHP’s website.
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It’s summertime and, thanks to the gift of COVID-19 vaccines, many folks are getting the chance to take a break. So, I think it’s also time that my blog readers finally get a break from what’s been nearly 18 months of non-stop coverage of COVID-19 research. And I can’t think of...
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Monday, August 9, 2021
Improving Health Care Outcomes & Supporting Providers in Value-Based Care
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
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New: Thursday, August 10, 2021
The Critical Role of Monoclonal Antibodies as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continues
In the continued fight against COVID-19, we have seen how important monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutics are in helping prevent serious illness. As viral variants arise and spread, it is increasingly critical that health care providers have the latest treatment information at their fingertips. Dr. Anderson will share updates on available COVID-19 therapeutics including medication efficacy, new administration routes and novel treatments in the pipeline, fee reimbursement resources, and provider and patient tools and fact sheets. Dr. Anderson and HRSA representatives will also be available for a Q&A to answer providers’ questions about these important COVID-19 therapies.
Time: 4:00 pm thru 5:00 pm
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
NC HealthConnex August Teletown Hall – Controlled Substance Reporting Program
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
NC Medicaid Managed Care Goes Live-What Advocates Need to Know
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:30 pm
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Thursday, August 12, 2021
Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar
Lisa Cauley Joins Karen McLeod
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
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Thursday, August 12, 2021
The ROI of Robust Process Improvement
Time: 12:00 am thru 1:00 am
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New: Thursday, August 19, 2021
Benefits Planning and Creating an ABLE Account
Time: 9:30 am thru 12:30 pm
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Friday, August 20, 2021
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Dave Richard Joins Karen McLeod
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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Friday, August 20, 2021
NC Medicaid Managed Care Update
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
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New: Wednesday, August 25, 2021
NC Medicaid EVV Stakeholder Meeting and Technical Support Webinar
Time: 1:00 pm thru 3:00 pm
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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Fostering School Success: How Caregivers and Social Workers Can Support the Educational Needs of Children
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar
Lisa Cauley Joins Karen McLeod
Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am
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New: Monday, September 13, 2021
FFTA Family Search & Engagement Training 4-Parts
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:30 pm
Free for FFTA members
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Friday, September 17, 2021
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Dave Richard Joins Karen McLeod
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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New: Monday, September 20, 2021
FFTA Family Search & Engagement Training 4-Parts
Session 2: Identifying Critical Family Relationships
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:30 pm
Free for FFTA members
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New: Monday, September 27, 2021
FFTA Family Search & Engagement Training 4-Parts
Session 3: Outreach is Key!
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:30 pm
Free for FFTA members
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New: Monday, October 4, 2021
FFTA Family Search & Engagement Training 4-Parts
Session 4: Focusing on Engagement in FSE
Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:30 pm
Free for FFTA members
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Tuesday, October 5, 2021
NC Children with Complex Needs Training Series
Evidence-Based and Promising Practices to Support the Workforce and Partners Serving Individuals with Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Session 2: Adaptation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Work with Autistic Youth: 1.5 Contact Hours
Time: 10:00 thru 11:30 am
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Tuesday, November 2, 2021
NC Children with Complex Needs Training Series
Evidence-Based and Promising Practices to Support the Workforce and Partners Serving Individuals with Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Session 3: Psychopharmacology for Children with Complex Needs: 1.5 Contact Hours
Time: 10:00 thru 11:30 am
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