Pennsylvania ODP-Administered HCBS Proposed Rate Revisions
Pennsylvania ODP-Administered HCBS Proposed Rate Revisions: Impact Analysis
MARK DAVIS
President
CHRISELLIOTT
Business Analyst
ILANA GRUBER
Research Analyst
SCOTT SPREAT
Research Director
Intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) providers in Pennsylvania have been struggling for years.
Surveys have shown turnover rates and vacant position rates of an unstable system. Stagnant
provider rates have supported poverty-level wages and challenges with recruitment and retention
of direct support professionals (DSPs). The last adjustment to provider rates was in 2017 (inflated
forward to June 2018) and reduced reimbursement for some services. Providers have not been
able to serve people with ID/A coming off of Pennsylvania?s waiting list, resulting in 12,224 people
waiting for services as of November 30, 2021. When the pandemic hit, the Pennsylvania ID/A
system was ill-prepared. Providers were experiencing 31% turnover, 18% vacant positions and had
an average of 2.9 days cash on hand. Heroic efforts of DSPs and other staff, coupled with Federal
and state relief funding, has enabled the ID/A system to stay afloat.