STATE OF WASHINGTON



348615022860000STATE OF WASHINGTONDEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICESAging and Long-Term Support AdministrationHome and Community Services DivisionPO Box 45600, Olympia, WA 98504-560094996016065500H20-113– InformationDecember 29, 2020TO: Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Directors Home and Community Services (HCS) Division Regional AdministratorsDevelopmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) Regional Administrators3985260149860FROM:Bea Rector, Director, Home and Community Services Division3128010144780Debbie Roberts, Deputy Assist. Secretary on behalf of Shannon Manion4000020000Debbie Roberts, Deputy Assist. Secretary on behalf of Shannon ManionShannon Manion, Director, Field Services Division, Developmental Disabilities AdministrationChanh Ly, Director, Management Services DivisionSUBJECT: Home Care Agency Regular and COVID Vendor Rate and Training Class Time Rate Changes, AND New Billing Forms Purpose:To notify staff and providers:The finalized collective bargaining agreement (CBA) parity vendor rate for January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021 is $7.91/quarter hour or $31.64/hr.There is another temporary rate increase during the COVID-19 pandemic effective for service hours delivered January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. This will add $1.09/quarter hour or $4.36/hr. The total published quarter hour vendor rate for contracted home care agency services for Jan-March will be $9.00/quarter hour or $36.00/hr. It will revert to $7.91/quarter hour in April unless new COVID enhancements are approved. The home care agency caregiver training class time hourly rate with COVID enhancement will be $23.53 January 1 to March 31, 2021. It will revert to $20.56/hr in April unless new COVID enhancements are approved. Background:RCW 74.39A.310 requires the Department to create a formula that converts the cost of the change in wages and benefits negotiated and funded in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for Individual Providers (IPs) into a per-hour amount. That per-hour amount shall be added to the statewide home care agency vendor rate and used exclusively for improving the wages and benefits of home care agency workers who provide direct care. The formula also accounts for non-billable hours, such as travel time of direct service workers under the wage and hour laws and worker’s compensation changes. This rate applies to Home Care Agencies providing:Personal Care through Community First Choice (CFC), Medicaid Personal Care, New Freedom, and Tailored Supports for Older Adults (TSOA); Respite Care through Medicaid Alternative Care (MAC) and TSOA, and; Respite Care provided under contract with the Developmental Disabilities Administration. Personal care and respite enhancements were only extended to MAC/TSOA because they needed to be the same as CFC.? There is no Housework & Errands (H&E) equivalent in CFC that would lead to the enhanced rate for H&E in MAC/TSOA.? MAC/TSOA did not get enhanced FMAP because it is already 100% federal funding.Any rate changes for Family Caregiver Support Program respite, and personal care provided under contract with an Area Agency on Aging for non-Medicaid clients will be determined by each AAA for their contractors. Family Caregiver Support Program respite and other AAA non-Medicaid services are billed through the Area Agency on Aging, not ProviderOne. In 2020, Home Care Agencies have experienced a series of temporary rate enhancements funded by the Families First Corona Relief Act (FFCRA) documented in the following MBs:MB H20-037 Extraordinary Services $1/hrMB H20-047 May 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020MB H20-068 July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020MB H20-083 October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020What’s new, changed, orClarified Each January, the agency parity rate calculated from the CBA for Individual Providers is revised with new annual rates from L&I and the IRS Standard Mileage Reimbursement rate. In 2021, there was a slight increase in L&I and a slight decrease in IRS mileage, which basically canceled each other out. In addition, the Employment Security Department published a new State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) rate which increased the 2020 rate by 0.85%. The January 2021 CBA parity rate will increase $0.04/hr from the previously published estimate from MB H20-058 to be $31.64/hr. The Governor’s Office of Financial Management (OFM) approved continued COVID rate enhancements for providers as the Public Health Emergency continues into the first quarter of 2021. Home care agencies receive a rate enhancement based on parity to the Memorandum of Understanding negotiated with SEIU 775 for Individual Providers (IPs). The temporary rate enhancement for January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021 is $1.09/quarter hour or $4.36/hr. The total temporary rate effective January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2021 is $36.00 per hour. This is based on the published rate of $9.00 per quarter hour. See attachment for rate change detail. Elements which changed related to both CBA and COVID:Base Wages (including Overtime), Paid Time Off and timesheet administrationRelated employer taxes (SUTA) and non-billable timeElements which changed only related to the CBA:2021 L&I rate average of contracted agencies in group 6011 increased slightly 2021 IRS mileage rate decreased from $.575 per mile to $.56 causing a slight decrease in the hourly formula Elements which changed only related to COVID:N95 PPEs and Fit TestingVendor Rate AdministrationAll increases related to wages and benefits from the list above must be applied to caregiver compensation. How that portion of the change is distributed is up to the individual home care agency, but must average across all direct home care workers and be related directly to compensation, and may include employer taxes. The enhanced COVID vendor rate will revert to the CBA-only rate on April 1, 2021, unless continued COVID rate enhancement is approved by OFM. That rate would be effective until June 30, 2021.Effective Date Jan. 1, 2021April 1, 2021Hourly Vendor Rate$36.00$31.64Quarter Hour Rate$9.00$7.91Training Hourly Rate$23.53$20.56Home Care Agency Training Class Time Wages The agency class time hourly rate will be $23.53 January through March 31, 2021, based off the attachment below. It will revert to $20.56/hr on April 1, 2021 unless COVID enhancements are extended. The training wage is calculated using a weighted average of entry level wage of Individual Providers for basic training and a mid-point of the wage steps for CE, plus paid time off determined by the CBA and a calculation for employer taxes and premiums. See attached worksheet for detail. Training class time continues to be billed by A-19 through AAAs or ALTSA Headquarters for Basic Training, Orientation/Safety, Continuing Education, and Nurse Delegation for Nursing Assistants Training. A revised billing (BARS) form for AAA home care agency caregiver training class time is available at and attached below.Respite and other non-core servicesFamily Caregiver Support Respite and other non-Medicaid services have historically used the published home care agency vendor rate, but these programs’ rates are not automatically increased for COVID. During the COVID temporary increase, the Family Caregiver Support Program respite rate for home care agencies will be determined by the AAA authorizing the service. AWHI and Training Tuition are billed to ALTSA separately so they do not impact FCSP/OAA budgets. The COVID enhancement portion does not change these rates. The AWHI rate is at $3.54 per hour and Training Tuition is $.42 per hour. The current billing form is attached to this MB for convenience and can also be found at . Home Care Agencies providing respite services through Medicaid Alternative Care (MAC) or Tailored Supports for Older Adults (TSOA) are authorized the published home care agency vendor rate through ProviderOne.For DDA clients receiving respite services through vendors contracted with DDA to provide DDA Agency Respite, use the same ProviderOne home care agency vendor rate described above.ACTION:ProviderOne will update rates to ensure it pays the published Home Care Agency vendor rates above for personal care and respite service hours effective January 1, 2021 on all valid authorizations. The authorization adjustment may be retroactive, depending on when ProviderOne can schedule the job to run. Unless there is further notification of another extension of COVID rates, the rate will revert to the published CBA rate April 1, 2021.AAAs must begin using the updated BARS forms for Caregiver Training Class Time and the BARS form for AWHI and CGT Tuition for Respite and Non-Core Service Hours effective with January 1, 2021 billings.Related REFERENCES:RCW 74.39A.310 “Parity Statute”ATTACHMENT(S):HCA Vendor Rate DetailTraining Class Time Hourly Rate Caregiver Training Billing FormAWHI & Caregiver Tuition Billing Form CONTACT(S):Paula Renz, Program ManagerState Unit on Aging(360) 725-2560Paula.Renz@dshs. Jaime Bond, State Plan Services Unit ManagerDevelopmental Disabilities Administration(360) 407-1567Jaime.Bond@dshs. For fiscal questions, contact:Anna Glaas, AAA Grants Supervisor(360) 725-2374Anna.Glaas@dshs. For FCSP Respite questions, contact:Dana Allard-Webb, Program Manager, State Unit on Aging(360) 725-2552 Allardr@dshs. For MAC and TSOA questions, contact:Debbie Johnson, MTD Program Manager, HCS(360) 725-2531Debbie.Johnson2@dshs. ................
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