CHARLESTON, WV — Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS) announced today that providers have been notified that the Bureau for Medical Services (BMS) will increase provider exemption rates by 15% effective October 1, 2024. This is the amount recommended in the Service Costs and Rates Review conducted by Myers and Stauffer LC and published December 8, 2023.

The Governor discussed the expansion during its weekly management meeting.

There will also be an increase in the exemption rates for family support and personal care on October 1. In addition to the rate increases, BMS will remove an additional 50 members with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) from the waiting list. This is in addition to the 99 members removed from the waiting list on July 1, 2024. The total cost of removing 50 members from the waiting list is $3.9 million per year.

“Ensuring that our providers are fairly compensated and that more West Virginians have access to the services they need is a top priority,” said Cindy Beane, commissioner of the DoHS Bureau for Medical Services. “An October 1 start date will allow the Bureau for Medical Services to notify federal partners and make the necessary adjustments in our technology systems to ensure a smooth implementation of these important changes.”

In 2023, BMS engaged Myers and Stauffer LC to review service rates and make recommendations for rate changes under the intellectual/developmental disability (IDD) exemption under the guidelines of West Virginia Senate Bill (WV SB) 617. BMS expanded the review to include the intellectual/developmental disability (IDD) exemption… home and community services (HCBS) providers serving individuals with intellectual disabilities. The rate review and recommendation process included a provider cost survey, significant stakeholder engagement, geographic review, and peer state research.

Issues raised by waiver providers and state plans included staffing pressures, staff shortages, staff turnover, and reimbursement levels. Expanding this rate recalculation initiative to the AD and TBI waiver plans and the PC service gave BMS the opportunity to review rates for a larger group of beneficiaries, examine rate alignment for similar services across the waiver plans, and make consistent recommendations for rate changes that do not create an imbalance that could cause workers to choose employment in one service type over another based on the provider’s ability to fund wages.

BMS will monitor the impact of increased rates on members’ access to services and on worker wages and turnover rates to determine whether the increased rates have the desired impact on workforce availability and tenure.

To view and apply for career opportunities that support West Virginia families, visit dhhr.wv.gov/Pages/Career-Opportunities.aspx.