Rate Increase for DDD Waiver Funded Programs

Purpose:

This Information Bulletin serves as notice of a rate increase to align employee wages pursuant to Public Act 101-0001.

Background:

IDHS Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) has received approval from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) for our Home & Community Services Waiver amendment to increase the hourly wage for frontline staff by $0.58 per hour wage in Chicago and $0.62 per hour wage for the rest of Illinois. The effective date of the amendment is January 1, 2020.

The intent of the wage increase is to assist agencies to meet area minimum wage pressures and to address the DSP and frontline staff workforce crisis. It is the agency's discretion on how to implement and appropriate any change to their agency's wage structure.

Rate Calculations and Grant Amendments:

The programs impacted by the wage increase are depicted on the table below. The Division will recalculate rates for all individuals in those programs who use individual rates and all facilities for those programs that use provider rates. Because of the timing of the approval of this wage increase and implementation of temporary rates for the COVID19 pandemic, new rate sheets will NOT be generated for this rate change. Grant agreements will be amended, if necessary, for all applicable grant programs. The rate recalculation and grant amendment process will take approximately 60 days to complete; however, the increase is effective January 1, 2020. Although general percentage increases are displayed below to estimate overall impact and explain calculations used by the Division, providers should look to their actual grant agreements for actual funding expectations.

Overall Program Calculations:

The Division will increase rates and funding to allow for the impact of the wage increase to fringe benefits. The financial impact of the wage adjustment, plus the fringe, was converted into a percentage for all programs. The percentage increase varies among the programs due to the different fringe percentages included in the rate methodologies.

Wage Increase Effect on Home Based Services/Purchase of Services:

Standard statewide rates used within the Home-Based Services and Support (HBS) Program, e.g., rates for Community Day Services, Supported Employment and Self-Directed Assistance (SDA), will be impacted by this increase. The monthly allocation for HBS, however, is not changed by this action since HBS increases are enacted in January of each year, when applicable, in accordance with federal Supplemental Security Income changes.

All individuals and families who purchase services and supports through Home-Based funding need to revise their HBS Service Agreement to accommodate any new rates. Any individual or family who need or want additional help adjusting their HBS Service Agreement should contact and hire a Self-Directed Assistance Agency. An SDA agency will help ensure any needed modifications are made to the individual's HBS Service Agreement, so the increased rates are accommodated within the individual's monthly HBS allocation. Copies of the revised HBS Service Agreement need to be given or mailed to each service provider. If the HBS individual uses ACES$ as their Financial Intermediary, a copy of the revised HBS Service Agreement must be provided to ACES$. Please remember these changes are implemented as of January 1, 2020. All HBS Service Agreements need to be revised immediately to reflect any recent service changes with the COVID-19 pandemic closure of Community Day Services (CDS) or immediately to reflect program rate changes. Previously paid billing for people in HBS will only be adjusted retroactively as the person had available funding for the month in which previous services were purchased, billed and paid.

Implementation:

It is the agency's discretion on how to implement and appropriate any change to their agency's wage structure. Employees with any question regarding their wages or any wage increase should direct their inquiries to their employer.

Increase by Program

	Adult Residential	Statewide
60D	CILA	4.3348%
41D	SHP	4.1614%
42D	SLC	4.1614%
65H	CILA Hourly	4.1614%
67D	CLF - Waiver	4.1614%
67E	CLF - Non-Waiver	4.1614%
73D	Related Support	4.1614%

	Children's Residential
17D	Child Group Home	4.1614%

	Therapy/Counseling
56U	Behavioral Therapy	4.1614%
58U	Therapy Individual	4.1614%
58G	Therapy Group	4.1614%
57U	Counseling Individual	4.1614%
57G	Counseling Group	4.1614%

	Day Programs & Non-Residential	Statewide
53R	Add Staff CILA	*$0.62
53D	Add Staff CDS	*$0.62
30U	CDS - Other	4.1614%
31S **	SODC CDS	4.1961%
31C	CDS - Off-Site	4.1614%
31U	CDS - Site Based	4.1614%
37U	At Home Day Services	4.1614%
87D	Respite	4.1614%
89D	Respite	4.1614%
781 Grant	Bogard	4.1614%

*The average 53R/53D increase is $ 0.60. This adjustment will eliminate the Chicago differential.

Staff Training Reimbursement
Community Programs	4.1614%

• Notes to Table:
• The following programs are not included in the wage increase:
• 19D - CCI Rates are set by Illinois Purchase of Care Review Board.
• 67O - CLF Out-of-State Rates are set by the respective state.
• 52O, 52P, 52S - Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapy rates are tied to State Medicaid Rates.
• 35U - Senior Day Services rate is tied to Department on Aging rate formula.
• 55D - Personal Support Worker rates are set by the individual consumer.
• 
  Program Fringe Rates:
• CILA & Community Programs Staff Training Fringe Benefits Calculated at 25%
• POS & Day Programs Fringe Benefits Calculated at 20%

The Division will be posting an updated "DDD Current Rate Table" for new rates effective January 1, 2020, on the DDD Website in the near future.

The link for the updated Rate Table can be found at: https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=123893

The information contained herein should not be considered a substitute for the appropriate official statutes, rules, regulations, or the advice of legal counsel.

Effective Date:

This rate change is effective January 1, 2020 for CILA, Grant, and POS services.