Virginia Law

A. DMAS or its designee shall have the authority to approve modifications to an individual's ISP, based on the recommendations of the support coordinator.

B. The provider shall be responsible for modifying an individual's plan for supports, with the involvement of the individual enrolled in the waiver and the individual's family/caregiver, as appropriate, and submitting such revised plan for supports to the support coordinator any time there is a modification in the individual's condition or circumstances that may warrant a change in the amount or type of service rendered by the provider.

1. The support coordinator shall review the need for a modification and may recommend a modification to the plan for supports to DBHDS. If the support coordinator does not recommend a modification to the plan for supports and that results in the denial of the requested service, the support coordinator shall inform the individual of his right to appeal.

2. DBHDS shall approve, deny, or pend for additional information the provider's requested modification to the individual's plan for supports as recommended by the support coordinator. DBHDS shall communicate its determination to the support coordinator within 10 business days of receiving all supporting documentation regarding the request for modification or in the case of an emergency, within three business days of receipt of the request for modification.

3. The individual enrolled in the waiver and the individual's family/caregiver, as appropriate, shall be notified in writing by the support coordinator of his right to appeal, pursuant to DMAS client appeals regulations (12VAC30-110), all decisions to reduce, deny, or terminate services. The support coordinator shall submit this written notification to the individual enrolled in the waiver or the family/caregiver, as appropriate, within 10 business days of the decision. Once the individual or family/caregiver receives the written notification, the clock for filing an appeal, as set forth in the DMAS client appeals regulations, shall begin to run.

C. In an emergency situation when the health, safety, or welfare of the individual enrolled in the waiver, other individuals in that setting, or provider personnel are endangered, the support coordinator and DBHDS shall be notified by the provider prior to discontinuing services. The 10-business-day prior written notification period shall not be required. The local department of social services adult protective services unit or child protective services unit, as appropriate, and the DBHDS Offices of Licensing and Human Rights and DMAS shall be notified immediately of the emergency discontinuation of services by the support coordinator and the provider when the individual's health, safety, or welfare may be in danger.

D. In a nonemergency situation, when a provider determines that his provision of supports to an individual enrolled in the waiver will be discontinued, the provider shall give the individual and the individual's family/caregiver, as appropriate, and support coordinator written notification of the provider's intent to discontinue services. The notification letter shall provide the reasons for the planned discontinuation and the effective date the provider will be discontinuing services. The effective date of the service discontinuation shall be at least 10 business days after the date of the notification letter. The individual enrolled in the waiver may seek services from another enrolled provider. When an individual is transitioning to a different provider, the former provider that served the individual shall, at the request of the new provider, provide all medical records and documentation of services to the new provider (consistent with confidentiality requirements, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and 12VAC35-115, Regulations to Assure the Rights of Individuals Receiving Services from Providers Licensed, Funded, or Operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services) to ensure high quality continuity of care and service provision.

E. To discontinue services in both emergency and nonemergency situations, providers of group home residential services, supported living residential services, and sponsored residential services shall comply with the terms set forth in an individual's home and community-based settings residency or lease agreement as described in 42 CFR 441.301.

F. Support coordinators must inform DBHDS when an individual transitions from one of the DD Waivers to the Medicaid Works program. Such individuals may retain their DD Waiver slot for 180 days after the date of transition, although DD Waiver services must be closed. After the 150-day period, DBHDS will notify the support coordinator of the need to take action to terminate the slot. The support coordinator will notify the individual and family/caregiver, as appropriate, of this determination and the right to appeal, pursuant to 12VAC30-110, such termination in advance of the action.

G. The support coordinator shall have the responsibility to identify those individuals who no longer meet the level of functioning criteria (VIDES) or for whom home and community-based waiver services are no longer an appropriate alternative. In such situations, DMAS or its designee shall terminate such individuals from the waiver.

1. The support coordinator shall notify the individual and family/caregiver, as appropriate, of this determination and the right to appeal, pursuant to 12VAC30-110, such termination.

2. The individual shall be given the option to continue his waiver services pending the final outcome of his appeal. Should the outcome of the appeal confirm the determination by DMAS or its designee that the individual should be terminated from the waiver, the individual may be responsible for the costs of his waiver services incurred by DMAS during his appeal as required by 12VAC 30-110-100.