Complete Story
10/02/2019
ODA, ODM Announce PASSPORT, Assisted Living Waiver Rates
On a September 24 conference call, Ohio Director of Aging Ursel McElroy and Director of Medicaid Maureen Corcoran announced their intent to increase rates for Ohio’s Assisted Living Waiver (ALW) and PASSPORT personal care services rates by 3.25%. The increase falls short of the 5.1% that was included in the budget, and then vetoed. According to officials from ODA and ODM, the lower percentage is due to the General Assembly not accounting for the corresponding increase to the PMPM paid to MyCare Ohio plans, since those rates are re-adjusted each time rates are adjusted. ODA and ODM arrived at the figure by taking the total appropriations intended for PASSPORT and ALW, and then “backing into” the rate, seeking to mirror the General Assembly’s parity between the two programs.
LeadingAge Ohio, in cooperation with other long-term care associations, continues to seek clarity on the assumptions used by the Departments to arrive at the figure.
According to ODA and ODM, the Governor is considering implementing the increases via emergency rule, in an effort to meet the original timeline for increases, should the vetoed language have been retained. LeadingAge Ohio anticipates having clarity on the timeline for rate increases within the next week.
Questions regarding these rate increases may be directed to Susan Wallace, Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs, at swallace@leadingageohio.org.