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Public Notice: District of Columbia Plan to Comply with Federal Home and Community Based Services Requirements

Friday, February 19, 2016
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule effective March 17, 2014, that contains a new, outcome-oriented definition of home and community-based services (HCBS) settings. The purpose of the federal regulation, in part, is to ensure that people receive Medicaid HCBS in settings that are integrated in and support full access to the greater community. This includes opportunities to seek employment and work in competitive and integrated settings, engage in community life, control personal resources and receive services in the community to the same degree as people who do not receive HCBS. CMS expected that all states develop an HCBS statewide transition plan that provided a comprehensive assessment of potential gaps in compliance with the new regulation, as well as strategies, timelines and milestones for becoming compliant with the rule’s requirements. 
 
On March 17, 2015, the District submitted its Statewide Transition Plan for HCBS waiver services to CMS for review and approval, subsequent to development of the plan with a HCBS Stakeholder Subgroup: Transition Plan, a thirty-day public comment period, and a public forum at which time DHCF explained the transition plan and received oral or written comments.  You can learn more about this submission at http://dhcf.dc.gov/release/announcement-submitted-cms-district-columbia-plan-comply-new-federal-home-and-community.
 
The District maintains two HCBS waiver programs: the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (EPD) Waiver, run by the District’s Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF), and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) waiver, run by the District’s Department of Disability Services (DDS). The EPD waiver program is for the elderly and individuals with physical disabilities who are able to safely receive supportive services in a home and community-based setting. The IDD waiver program provides residential, day/vocational and other support services in the community for District residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 
 
CMS requires that states resubmit a revised Statewide Transition Plan a year after original submission, and further requires that states seek input from the public in the development of this transition plan.  Below is the District of Columbia’s updated Statewide Transition Plan for the HCBS waiver services, including the IDD Waiver-specific details, and attachments. The plan is posted in its entirety on the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) website at www.dhcf.dc.gov and on the Department of Disability Services (DDS) website at http://dds.dc.gov/page/waiver-amendment-information
 
DHCF and DDS encourage public input and comments on the plan, and will have a thirty (30) day public comment period that closes March 21, 2016.  DHCF and DDS will review all comments, incorporate appropriate suggestions and summarize the changes made to the transition plan in response to the public comment. DHCF and DDS will also post a summary of public comments and responses on their websites.
 
DHCF and DDS will hold two public forums to explain the proposed revisions to the Statewide Transition Plan, and receive written and oral comments.  The first public forum will be held at the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center at 2730 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., SE Washington, DC 20032 (St. Elizabeths East Campus) on March 1, 2016 from 3 - 5 pm in the Conference Room.  The second public forum will be held at the DC Department of Health Care Finance at 441 4th St, NW, Washington DC, 20001 on March 3, 2016 from 10 am - 12 pm in the Old Council Chambers (South Building). Notice of the update to the Statewide Transition Plan and public forums was posted in the DC Register on February 12, 2016, and is being disseminated via email to individuals and stakeholder organizations. 
 
Written comments on this transition plan may be submitted to Claudia Schlosberg, Medicaid Director, DC Department of Health Care Finance, 441 4th St, NW, 9th Floor, Washington DC 20001, or by e-mail at [email protected], during the thirty (30) day public comment period closing Monday, March 21, 2016, at 5 pm EST.
 
You can learn about the new HCBS settings rule at www.hcbsadvocacy.org. The website includes links to the CMS rule, webinars, and guidance; information on other states’ transition plans; advocacy materials and more.