COVID-

19 laws and their impact on state public health agencies

Sarah Stacki is a Consultant in BerryDunn’s Government Consulting Group with a primary focus on state government clients spanning the sectors of health and human services, justice and public safety, and finance and administration. Sarah provides project management and business analysis support for various client projects, including system planning and procurement, options analysis, and system IV&V Services.

Revolutionizing the way information is stored and received, blockchain is one of the most influential technologies of the past decade. Mostly known for its success with the digital payment system, Bitcoin, blockchain also has potential to transform the public sector, and further, the way citizens interact with government. Many states are considering this potential, but are stuck asking the most basic question: How can the public sector implement blockchain? The first step is to understand exactly what blockchain really is.

Blockchain—What is it?
At the highest level, blockchain is termed a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT): data within a blockchain is not controlled by a single, centralized entity, but rather, is held by millions of systems simultaneously. This “chain” of systems, or DLT, not only decentralizes data, but also ensures it is incorruptible, as each “block” of data in the DLT connects using highly advanced encryption technology. Further, you can share each “block” without exposing the entirety of the blockchain’s data, enabling data sharing without compromising sensitive information. Blockchain’s opportunity lies in the core of its model, as being able to securely share records (containing sensitive information such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, property deeds, professional licenses, etc.), could connect different government services and create more efficient processes.

States across the nation are intrigued by the potential of blockchain, but unsure of just how to implement it successfully. Illinois, through the Illinois Blockchain Initiative, has been a leader in exploring blockchain’s possibilities in government. Here is some of their first-hand insight and advice.

Blockchain in Government—Illinois’ Perspective
Sunil Thomas, Cluster CIO, State of Illinois, assisted in the creation of the Illinois Blockchain Initiative in 2016, and is now a leader in testing and implementing blockchain technology across state services. BerryDunn connected with Sunil in August 2018, and he provided unique advice for other states considering a blockchain initiative.

Specifically, Sunil broke down the processes the Initiative used to advance the technology within the state, and shared three key pieces of advice for successful blockchain implementation:

1. Host a statewide education campaign for blockchain to ensure all state leaders, including legislators, are equipped with a clear understanding of blockchain technology and its place in government. This education campaign may include extensive research into blockchain technology. Illinois, for instance, began their initiative by issuing a Request for Information (RFI) from vendors within the blockchain market. Additionally, Illinois collaborated with a local start-up that specializes in blockchain in order to gain subject matter expertise into blockchain development. 
2. Initiate organized pilot projects to guide the direction of blockchain in the state and select what use cases should go through the full implementation process. At first, you should use blockchain projects to complement current state services. This ensures continuation of services, and allows for comprehensive transition time. Additionally, states should ask the questions: Why shouldn’t this service be delivered using a traditional solution?, and further, Why do we specifically need blockchain for this solution?, before each pilot. This will help you leverage the right services, with the greatest potential, as pilot blockchain projects.
3. Create a statewide roadmap for blockchain to build an ecosystem that supports the technology. This “Blockchain Roadmap” should highlight a navigation plan for both state and federal regulations, and ensure that blockchain procurement strategies are understood. The roadmap can include a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis to determine a return on investment (ROI) for specific services considered for blockchain leverage. Overall, the roadmap will act as a guide throughout the entirety of the blockchain initiative, and will ensure the state’s vision for blockchain is achievable.

These key pieces of advice can provide a foundation for state’s looking to leverage blockchain to improve services; although each state should tailor blockchain technology to its specific needs. The Illinois Blockchain Initiative’s experience clearly demonstrates there is a way to navigate blockchain successfully in the public sector, and shows that the technology truly can assist in the transformation of government services moving forward.

Modernization means different things to different people—especially in the context of state government. For some, it is the cause of a messy chain reaction that ends (at best) in frustration and inefficiency. For others, it is the beneficial effect of a thoughtful and well-planned series of steps. The difference lies in the approach to transition - and states will soon discover this as they begin using the new Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS), a case management information system that helps them provide citizens with customized child welfare services.

The benefits of CCWIS are numerous and impressive, raising the bar for child welfare and providing opportunities to advance through innovative technology that promotes interoperability, flexibility, improved management, mobility, and integration. However, taking advantage of these benefits will also present challenges. Gone are the days of the cookie-cutter, “one-size-fits-all” approach. Here are five facts to consider as you transition toward an effective modernization.

1. There are advantages and challenges to buying a system versus building a system internally. CCWIS transition may involve either purchasing a complete commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product that suits the state, or constructing a new system internally with the implementation of a few purchased modules. To decide which option is best, first assess your current systems and staff needs. Specifically, consider executing a cost-benefit analysis of options, taking into account internal resource capabilities, feasibility, flexibility, and time. This analysis will provide valuable data that help you assess the current environment and identify functional gaps. Equipped with this information, you should be ready to decide whether to invest in a COTS product, or an internally-built system that supports the state’s vision and complies with new CCWIS regulations.
    
2. Employ a modular approach to upgrading current systems or building new systems. The Children’s Bureau—an office of the Administration for Children & Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—defines “modularity” as the breaking down of complex functions into separate, manageable, and independent components. Using this modular approach, CCWIS will feature components that function independently, simplifying future upgrades or procurements because they can be completed on singular modules rather than the entire system. Modular systems create flexibility, and enable you to break down complex functions such as “Assessment and Intake,” “Case Management,” and “Claims and Payment” into modules during CCWIS transition. This facilitates the development of a sustainable system that is customized to the unique needs of your state, and easily allows for future augmentation.
    
3. Use Organizational Change Management (OCM) techniques to mitigate stakeholder resistance to change. People are notoriously resistant to change. This is especially true during a disruptive project that impacts day-to-day operations—such as building a new or transitional CCWIS system. Having a comprehensive OCM plan in place before your CCWIS implementation can help ensure that you assign an effective project sponsor, develop thorough project communications, and enact strong training methods. A clear OCM strategy should help mitigate employee resistance to change and can also support your organization in reaching CCWIS goals, due to early buy-in from stakeholders who are key to the project’s success.
    
4. Data governance policies can help ensure you standardize mandatory data sharing. For example, the Children’s Bureau notes that a Title IV-E agency with a CCWIS must support collaboration, interoperability, and data sharing by exchanging data with Child Support Systems?Title IV-D, Child Abuse/Neglect Systems, Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS), and many others as described by the Children’s Bureau.
   
   Security is a concern due to the large amount of data sharing involved with CCWIS systems. Specifically, if a Title IV-E agency with a CCWIS does not implement foundational data security measures across all jurisdictions, data could become vulnerable, rendering the system non-compliant. However, a data governance framework with standardized policies in place can protect data and surrounding processes.
    
5. Continuously refer to federal regulations and resources. With the change of systems comes changes in federal regulations. Fortunately, the Children’s Bureau provides guidance and toolkits to assist you in the planning, development, and implementation of CCWIS. Particularly useful documents include the “Child Welfare Policy Manual,” “Data Sharing for Courts and Child Welfare Agencies Toolkit,” and the “CCWIS Final Rule”. A comprehensive list of federal regulations and resources is located on the Children’s Bureau website.
   
   Additionally, the Children’s Bureau will assign an analyst to each state who can provide direction and counsel during the CCWIS transition. Continual use of these resources will help you reduce confusion, avoid obstacles, and ultimately achieve an efficient modernization program.

Modernization doesn’t have to be messy. Learn more about how OCM and data governance can benefit your agency or organization.

Read this if you or your government agency may be interested in project management or a project management office.

You may think that PMO stands for Project Management Office, Program Management Office, or Portfolio Management Office, and you would be correct. However, when establishing your PMO priorities, think:
1.    P – Planning and Processes
2.    M – Motivation
3.    O – Operations

Determining where your organization will focus your efforts is fundamental to the successful functioning of the PMO, whether the PMO is well established or just getting started. With multiple competing projects and initiatives, spending some time planning and developing your PMO priorities in the short term will save you time and effort moving forward. 

According to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) research, they reported that "aligning projects and strategic objectives has the greatest potential to add value to an organization.” 

The “value” here must be determined by each organization, but through establishing your PMO priorities early, you promote a culture of project management in order to gain greater experience in project management practices and personnel. This allows for more efficient processes, more focused and flexible project managers, greater scope, schedule, and budgetary control, and ultimately more successful projects implemented.

Planning and processes

The first step in establishing the priorities for your PMO requires planning and evaluating existing processes. Identifying all projects for the upcoming year is an excellent place to start. For each project or initiative, you will want to pull together information that will assist you in the prioritization process. This may include items such as type of project, expected outcomes, aligned strategic objective(s), targeted length of the project, targeted start date, funding sources, types of approvals needed, resource capacity, and risk versus reward analysis. Each organization can make the determination of what kind of information is necessary in this step to make prioritization more streamlined and specific to their current structure and processes.

As new team members enter and exit project work, there is a risk that knowledge transfer of the PMO processes get lost, or deviations in processes begin to occur. PMI notes “high-performing organizations succeed through a strategic focus on people, processes, and outcomes” and 74% of these high-performing organizations are supported by a PMO. Taking the opportunity for continuous process improvement―to review and share the PMO processes and templates with the organization on a reoccurring basis―helps to ensure consistency across programs within the organization. With consistency comes efficiency, allowing your project teams to focus on the work at hand, and not recreate processes. Consistency and efficiency will help streamline administrative activities, improve resource estimates, and increase the likelihood that projects will come in on time and on budget.

Motivation 

The second step in establishing PMO priorities is motivation. Having a working knowledge of your organization will help in this step―knowing what excites or drives them to succeed. Motivating factors may vary for different organizations. For example, if you’re a government entity, the deciding factor in priority may be a legislative mandate. Early identification of your organization’s motivating factors allows you to expedite the prioritization efforts and increase planning time for high-priority projects, including aligning resources sooner. Here are a few ideas to consider when thinking about finding what motivates people in your organization:

• Durations/meeting timeframes
• Legislation/mandates
• Strategic plans and goals
• Recognition
• Policy
• Outcomes/potential impacts
• Level of risk
• Return on Investment (ROI)

Operations

The third step in establishing PMO priorities is operations. By outlining operational aspects of the projects before establishing your PMO priorities, you can see the big picture and organizational strategy. Per PMI, organizations which “align their PMO to strategy report 38% more projects meet the original goals and business intent, while 33% fewer projects are deemed as failures.” This allows you to understand dependencies between projects, identify possible duplication or gaps, and plan for resources earlier. Below are a few examples to consider with this step:

• High-level strategy (will the work be delivered in phases or at the end of the project)
• Approximate Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) required
• Skill level needed for the resources
• Organizational charts and reporting relationships
• Approximate cost for the project/initiative

Now that you are aware of the three steps―planning and processes, motivation, and operations, you are ready to begin establishing your PMO priorities. Evaluating all three steps helps ensure you’ve considered everything before prioritizing the work, although some items may clearly have more weight than others. There is no magic formula for establishing PMO priorities, and given the same projects, different organizations would have different priorities. One organization may define and identify project work as high, medium, or low, while another PMO may number projects, with number one being the first project to start. Either way is right. 

The important take-away is for your PMO to develop a consistent methodology as you are establishing priorities now and in the future. 

Does your organization need help establishing your PMO processes, prioritizing, or developing strategic plans? Contact our Medicaid Consulting team for more information on how we can help.

Resources cited

Project Management Institute. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession: The High Cost of Low Performance. PMI.org. Accessed July 8, 2020. https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2014.pdf?v=eb9b1ac0-8cad-457f-81ec-b09dbb969a38 
Project Management Institute. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession – 9th Global Project Management Survey: Success Rates Rise – Transforming the High Cost of Low Performance. PMI.org. Accessed July 8, 2020. https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2017.pdf 

Read this if you use, manage, or procure public safety and corrections technology.

Recently we discussed the benefits of developing a strong, succinct Request for Proposal (RFP) that attracts Offender Management Systems (OMS) vendors through a competitive solicitation. Conversely, we explored the advantages and disadvantages of leading a non-competitive solicitation. Industry standards and best practices serve as the common thread between competitive and non-competitive solicitations for standard implementations. So, how does an agency prepare to navigate the nuances and avoid the “gotchas” of a non-standard implementation in the corrections realm?

Functional areas in the corrections industry exist in an ever-evolving state. The ongoing functional area refinements serve to overcome potential gaps between standardizing organizations (e.g., CTA, APPA) and your agency’s operations. For example, CTA does not distinguish incidents from disciplines as distinct functional areas. While merging workflows for incidents and disciplines may align with one agency’s practice, your agency may not always correlate the two functions (e.g., disciplinary action might not always result from an incident). Moreover, your agency may not have a need for every functional area, such as community corrections, depending on the scale of your operation.

Your agency should view the industry standards as a guide rather than the source of truth, which helps you cultivate a less parochial approach driven solely by standards and follow instead a more pragmatic plan, comprised of your unique operations and best practices. CTA and APPA specifications alone will result in comprehensive solicitation. For that reason, agencies can enhance an OMS modernization initiative by enhancing solicitation requirements to include jurisdictional specifications resulting from interviews with end-users and policy research. 

Upcoming OMS webinar

On Thursday, November 5, our consulting team will host a webinar on navigating a solicitation for a new OMS. During the webinar, our team will revisit the benefits of an independent third-party on your solicitation and review industry standards, and will discuss:

1. Crafting requirements that address common OMS functions, as well as jurisdiction-specific functions (i.e., those that address the unique statutes of the state). Crafting requirements helps your agency to ensure a replacement system addresses core business functions, provides a modern technical infrastructure, and complies with local, state, and federal regulations.
2. Thriving with a collaborative approach when acquiring and implementing an OMS system, helping to ensure all stakeholders not only participate in the project but also buy into the critical success factors.

If you have questions about your specific situation with OMS implementations, or would like to receive more information about the webinar, please contact one of our public safety consultants.
 

Read this if you are a state Medicaid agency, state managed care office, or managed care organization (MCO). 

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn has led to increased Medicaid member enrollment and has placed a strain on state budgets to support Medicaid and other health and human services programs. It has also impacted traditional Medicaid utilization patterns and has challenged provider reimbursement models, forcing managed care programs and supporting MCOs to:

• rethink the control of program costs, 
• seek MCO program flexibilities to expand coverage such as telehealth, and 
• make operational changes to support their growing member populations.

Managed care opportunities

While COVID-19 has created many challenges, at the same time it has given managed care programs the opportunity to restructure their delivery of services not only during the public health emergency, but for the longer term. Flexibilities sought this year from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) put in place through waivers and state plan amendments have helped expand services in areas such as the delivery of COVID-19 testing, medical supplies, and behavioral health services via telehealth. 

These flexibilities have relieved the administrative burden on Medicaid programs, such as performance and reporting requirements outlined under federal law and 42 CFR §438. Although these flexibilities have helped managed care programs expand services during the pandemic, the benefits are temporary and will require MCOs to make programmatic changes to meet the demands of its population during and after the public health emergency.

A recent study by Families USA cited 38 states reporting 7% growth in member enrollment since February. As the Medicaid population continues to grow in 2020 and beyond, managed care programs have numerous opportunities to consider: 

Managing care coordination and establishing efficiencies with home- and community-based services (HCBS)

The increased risk of adverse health outcomes from COVID-19 due to older age and chronic illness, and the demands on providers and medical supplies, has forced Medicaid programs to seek waiver flexibilities to expand HCBS. As part of HCBS delivery, MCOs may focus on the sickest and most costly of their member populations to control costs and preserve quality. 

MCOs will most likely monitor cost drivers such as chronic conditions, catastrophic health events, and frequent visits to primary care providers and hospitals. MCOs have the opportunity to establish efficiencies and improve transitions across different providers and multiple conditions to better manage the over-utilization of services for members in skilled nursing facilities, and for those who receive HCBS and outpatient services.

Adjusting and monitoring Value-Based Payment (VBP) models

With the continued transition to VBP models, Medicaid programs face the challenge of added costs and adapting plan operations and services to address pandemic-related needs, chronic conditions, and comorbidities. 

Building on the latest guidance to state Medicaid directors from CMS on value-based care, Medicaid programs can look at COVID-19 impacts on provider reimbursement prior to the rollout of VBP models. Medicaid programs can continue establishing payment models that improve health outcomes, quality, and member experience. States can adjust contracts and adherence to local and state public health priorities and national quality measures to advance their VBP strategy. Managed care programs may need to consider a phased rollout of their VBP models to build buy-in from providers transitioning from traditional fee-for-services payment models, and to allow for refinements to current VBP models.

Continued stratification and the assessment of risk

By analyzing COVID-19’s impact on the quality of care and member experience, improved outcomes, and member and program costs, managed care programs can improve their population stratification methodologies factoring as population demographic analysis, social determinants of health, and health status. Adjustments to risk stratification during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will inform the development of provider networks, provider payment models, and services. Taking into account new patterns of utilization across its member population, managed care programs may need to refine their risk adjustment models to determine the sickest and most costly of their populations to project costs and improve the delivery of services and coordination of care for Medicaid members.

Telehealth

As providers transition back to their traditional structures, MCOs can continue to expand telehealth to improve service delivery and to control costs. Part of this expansion will require MCOs to balance the mentioned benefits of the telehealth model with the risk of over-utilization of telehealth services that can lead to inefficiencies and increased managed care program costs. In addition, because of the loosening of federal restrictions on telehealth, managed care programs will most likely want to update program integrity safeguards to reduce the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse in areas such as provider credentialing, personal identifiable information (PII), privacy and security protocols, member consent, patient examinations, and remote prescriptions. 

Continued focus on data improvement and encounter data quality

Encounter data quality and data improvement initiatives will be critical to successfully administer a managed care program. As encounter data drives capitation rates for MCOs, a continued focus on encounter data quality will likely enable Medicaid programs to better leverage actuarial services to establish sound and adequate managed care program rates, better aligning financial incentives and payments to their MCOs. 

States have pursued a number of flexibilities to establish a short-term framework to support their managed care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the current expansion of services and the need for MCOs to rapidly identify additional areas for operational improvements during the pandemic have allowed Medicaid programs to further analyze longer-term needs of the populations they serve. These developments have also helped programs increase their range of services, to expand and manage their provider networks, and to mature their provider payment models. 

If you would like more information or have questions about opportunities for adjustments to your managed care program, please contact MedicaidConsulting@BerryDunn.com. We’re here to help.
 

Read this if you are a member of a State Medicaid Agency’s leadership team or Program Integrity (PI) unit. 

In March 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended PERM cycle activities in response to Secretary Azar’s public health emergency (PHE) declaration. The suspension of the PERM cycle activities provided states with an opportunity to direct resources to the state’s PHE response. In August 2020, CMS released the suspension of PERM cycle activities to allow CMS and states to complete the PERM cycles that were either in progress or in the process of starting up.

While the PERM cycle suspension was in place, CMS released an updated PERM Manual in May 2020. You can access the updated PERM Manual here. The update primarily consists of the addition of guidelines related to the return of the eligibility reviews to the PERM cycle, as defined in the PERM Final Rule published by CMS in July 2017. The manual updates include adding regulation on the CMS Eligibility Review Contractor (ERC) to perform the eligibility reviews. 

Another topic receiving significant updates in the manual was the sample guidelines. Some of the updates included:

• Sampling units related to Third-Party Liability (TPL)
• CMS and its contractors must be granted systems access for the review process
• Sampling timeframes updated for each cycle

There are more updates in the manual, which states will not want to miss. BerryDunn has prepared a summary of the updates included in CMS’ May 2020 release of the PERM manual. View the summary.

While state resources are busy addressing the current PHE, the states should be tracking and documenting waiver activity, as many of the flexibilities provided by waivers will expire at the end of the PHE or soon after. Provider claims for services rendered during the PHE are eligible for the PERM cycle review, and states will need to give the PERM reviewers the flexibilities honored by the state. 

For questions or to find out more information about the PERM Cycle, contact Dawn Webb. 

Read this if you use, manage, or procure public safety and corrections technology. 

In our previous post, we discussed the link between developing a technology RFP with meaning, structure, and clarity to enhance the competitive nature of the solicitation. In this article, we ask: How can your agency synthesize and unify existing business processes with industry standards to attract modern OMS providers? The answer? Your agency crosswalks. 

Industry standards, such as those set by the Corrections Technology Association (CTA) and American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), establish the benchmark for modern operations. However, legacy correction software limitations often blur the one-to-one relationship with industry standards. For that reason, crosswalk tools help agencies map current process into industry-wide standards.

CTA Functional Areas

Agencies crosswalk in preparation for a corrections technology procurement to help align system requirements with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) corrections management systems. In revisiting the topics of clarity, meaning, and structure, the crosswalk helps technology vendors understand your current operations, the tools your currently use to support the operations, and the way in which those operations relate to industry functional areas.

In an iterative fashion, the CTA crosswalk first helps you understand your agency’s technology and operational structure, and then communicates system requirements to correction technology providers in an industry-led framework. The approach helps you transition from your legacy processes to your new operational environment.

Although your agency can engage the market with a meaningful, structured, and clear RFP, prequalification and contract vehicles provide a viable alternative of enhancement to procuring a new offender management system. The following advantages and disadvantages can inform your agency’s decision to use a prequalification vehicle.

Advantages:

1. Non-competitive procurement can often be accomplished more quickly given the absence of the timeframe usually dedicated to the development of the RFP, posting to potential vendors, and evaluation of proposals.
2. Reduced uncertainties in terms of what a vendor is able to provide since an open dialog starts immediately.
3. Competitive procurement (secondary competition) under a contract vehicle is limited to the vendors who proposed and were awarded. Only higher performing vendors are likely to be able to respond, particularly if only certain vendors are selected from the list.
4. Potentially better pricing as a vendor can eliminate unknowns through open communication, so less risk is priced into the proposal.
5. A better environment around requested changes, as a vendor that has maintained a certain margin in their pricing may be more amenable to no-cost change orders.

Disadvantages:

1. The agency loses some negotiating advantage when a vendor knows they are the only ones in the procurement conversation. 
2. A vendor may have less incentive to “put their best foot forward” and offer higher levels of service and functionality.
3. Competitive cost may not be obtained because the vendor doesn’t have to worry about beating a competitor.
4. Secondary competition may take a somewhat similar timeframe because the solicitation, evaluation, and award processes take a similar amount of time to an RFP for larger projects.

The trajectory to develop an RFP for new corrections management software spans assessing existing operations and technology to including mapping current operations into industry standards clarity. At the same time your agency should consider the driving and constraining factors for using a prequalification or contract vehicle.

BerryDunn has experience with cross-walking agencies into industry-leading practices, and we also understand the need for non-standard RFPs that extend beyond CTA and APPA guidelines. Reach out to our public safety consultants if you have questions, or look out for our next blog providing insight on adapting to and overlapping challenges in non-standard corrections technology procurements.