Virginia Law

A. Waiver services shall be reimbursed according to the agency fee schedule unless otherwise specified in this section. Units of service and service limits are set out in the section for each service. There shall be no designated formal schedule for annual cost of living or other adjustments and any adjustments to provider rates shall be subject to available funding and approval by the General Assembly. Rate methodologies shall also be subject to the approval of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.

1. Those services that have a Northern Virginia and Rest of State rate shall be paid based on the individual's place of residence.

2. The following services shall have variable rates based on size:

a. Group homes rates shall vary based on licensed bed size;

b. Group supported employment rates shall vary by group size; and

c. In-home residential rates shall vary by the number of individuals being served in the same home by one direct service professional.

3. There shall be up to four tiers of reimbursement for these services: community engagement, group day support, group home, independent living, sponsored residential support, and supported living residential. Four reimbursement tiers for providers shall be based on seven levels of support (as detailed in 12VAC30-122-200) from resultant scores of the SIS^®, the responses to the Virginia Supplemental Questions, and, as needed, a document review verification process. The DMAS designee shall verify the scores and levels of the individuals, as appropriate.

a. Levels of supports range from Level 1 to Level 7 based on the needs of the individuals.

b. Tiers of reimbursement:

(1) Tier 1 shall be used for individuals having Level 1 support needs.

(2) Tier 2 shall be used for individuals having Level 2 support needs.

(3) Tier 3 shall be used for individuals having either Level 3 or Level 4 support needs.

(4) Tier 4 shall be used for individuals having either Level 5, Level 6, or Level 7 support needs.

4. Individual-specific support needs, such as the intense and significant medical or behavioral supports needs, may warrant customized rates for additional supports as described in this section, in the following service settings: community coaching service, group day service, in-home support service, group home residential service, sponsored residential service, and supported living residential service.

a. In these cases, providers support coordinators shall submit to the DMAS designee a request for a customized reimbursement rate exceeding the reimbursement rate for the assessed level of support of the individual. The request shall include contact information and a detailed explanation of the basis for the request, such as the individual's support needs, increased staffing supports needed for the individual, the types of service for which the request is made, increased program oversight needed for the individual, the individual's behavior or medical support needs, or the individual's need for staff with certain qualifications.

b. The request shall be reviewed by a team of clinical and administrative personnel from the DMAS designee to determine that the documentation substantiates the intense needs of the individual, whether medical, behavioral, or both, and that the provider has employed staff with higher qualifications (e.g., direct support professionals with four-year degrees) or increased the ratio of staff-to-individual support of one staff person to one individual (1:1) or, in the case of services already required to be provided at a 1:1 ratio, a two staff persons to one individual (2:1) ratio.

c. The customized rate methodology shall modify the existing rate methodology assumptions for the following components in the existing rate methodologies: additional hours related to increased or specialized staffing supports and program costs.

d. Customized reimbursement rate determinations may be appealed pursuant to 12VAC30-20-500 et seq.

e. For those individuals approved for customized rates, providers shall submit to the DMAS designee at least annually a request if seeking continuation of the customized reimbursement rate. The request shall include the items specified in 12VAC30-122-210 A 4 a, as well as documentation of continued need for a reimbursement rate exceeding the reimbursement rate for the assessed level of support of the individual. The DMAS designee shall review the request in the manner specified in subdivision A 4 b of this section. After the review, adjustment determinations for the customized rate may be made. All such adjustment determinations may be appealed pursuant to 12VAC30-20-500 et seq.

B. Reimbursement rates for individual supported employment shall be the same as set by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services for each individual supported employment provider agency.

C. Reimbursement for assistive technology (AT) service (12VAC30-122-270), electronic home-based support service (12VAC30-122-360), environmental modifications (EM) service (12VAC30-122-370), individual and family/caregiver training service (12VAC30-122-430), and transition service (12VAC30-122-560) shall be reimbursed based on approved costs subject to the following limits:

1. AT and EM approved costs for items and labor shall be reimbursed up to a per individual, per service maximum of $5,000 per calendar year across all home and community-based waivers.

2. Transition services approved costs shall be reimbursed up to a per individual maximum of $5,000 per lifetime across all home and community-based waivers.

3. Electronic home-based support approved costs shall be reimbursed up to a per individual maximum of $5,000 per ISP year.

4. Individual and family/caregiver training approved costs shall be reimbursed up to a per individual maximum of $4,000 per ISP year.

D. Duplication of services.

1. DMAS shall not duplicate the reimbursement for services that are required as a reasonable accommodation as a part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 USC § 12131 through 42 USC § 12165), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC § 701 et seq.), the Virginians with Disabilities Act (Title 51.5 (§ 51.5-1 et seq.) of the Code of Virginia), or any other applicable statute.

2. Payment for services under individual ISPs shall not duplicate payments made to public agencies or private entities under other program authorities for this same purpose.

3. Payment for services under individual ISPs shall not be made for services that are duplicative of each other.

4. Payment for services shall only be provided for services as set out in an individual's ISP.

5. Payments that are determined to have been made contrary to these limitations shall be recovered by either DMAS or its designee.