2023 Rhode Island General Laws › Title 40 - Human Services › Chapter 40-8.15 - Individual Providers of Direct-Support Services › Section 40-8.15-16. - Implementation.

§ 40-8.15-16. Implementation.
(a)
For purposes of this section, the independent provider (IP) program and the personal choice program shall have the meanings that were set forth in 210-RICR-50-10-2.2(A)(1) and (A)(2) as of the effective date of the personal choice in self-directed personal care services act of 2023.
(b)
The secretary shall merge the independent provider program into the personal choice program, so that as of the date of implementation the independent provider program will cease operations. All new Medicaid LTSS participants seeking self-directed personal care services in a program included under this act will be enrolled in the personal choice program if all necessary requirements are met. The secretary shall transition independent provider participants opting to continue self-direction into the personal choice program no later than the date of their annual reassessment.
(1)
The secretary shall make all changes to regulations and practices as needed to implement this merger.
(2)
The secretary within one hundred twenty (120) days of the effective date of this act shall apply for any necessary federal approvals, including the submission of any necessary Medicaid state plan amendments to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
(c)
Once the secretary has implemented the merger of the programs, and no later than one hundred twenty (120) days after any necessary federal approvals are obtained, the secretary shall certify that the personal choice self-directed personal care services act of 2023 has been implemented. The date of that certification shall be the “date of implementation” for all provisions of this chapter.
(d)
Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of the personal choice self-directed personal care services act of 2023, any provider organization that has previously been certified to serve as the provider representative of any individual providers pursuant to § 40-8.15-7 shall be furnished by the secretary with contact information for every person providing self-directed personal care services under the personal choice program. The secretary shall provide any such provider organization with updated contact information every sixty (60) days thereafter.
(e)
Any provider organization that has previously been certified to serve as the provider representative of any individual providers pursuant to § 40-8.15-7 may, prior to the date of implementation, petition to be certified as the provider representative of the bargaining unit that will be comprised of all the individual providers in the personal choice program after the date of implementation. The secretary shall hold an election to determine whether such a provider organization shall be certified as the provider representative for that bargaining unit upon a ten percent (10%) showing of interest. All persons who are providing self-directed services under the personal choice program shall be considered part of the bargaining unit for purposes of the showing of interest and shall be eligible to vote in the certification election. If a majority of those casting ballots vote to be represented by that provider organization, then the provider organization shall be certified as the provider representative to negotiate with the state over the terms and conditions of individual providers’ participation in providing self-directed personal care services for all individual providers in the state as of the date of implementation. The provisions of this chapter shall otherwise apply.
(f)
Nothing in this act shall be construed to alter or limit the rights of participants and their representative to select, direct, and terminate the services of individual providers or to determine individual providers’ wages within a range set by the secretary, or to alter or limit the secretary’s authority to administer the personal choice program including to adopt rules and operate the program, to determine participant budgets, to determine eligibility, or to authorize services, except as specifically set forth in this chapter.
(g)
Nothing in this act shall be construed to affect the administration or delivery of self-directed programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
(h)
No provision of any agreement or award resulting from collective bargaining and negotiations under this act shall provide for a reduction in Medicaid federal financial participation under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq., nor shall any provision of any agreement or award provide for a reduction in the self-directed personal care services for eligible personal choice program Medicaid LTSS participants. Any provision in any agreement or award that would require an additional appropriation in order to maintain the levels of services provided by existing appropriations shall be subject to the annual budget process.
History of Section.
P.L. 2023, ch. 235, § 4, effective June 23, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 236, § 4, effective June 23, 2023.