RFI Medicaid Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Assistance

Agency:	State of Vermont
State:	Vermont
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
Posted Date:	Feb 29, 2024
Due Date:	Mar 29, 2024
Bid Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

Attachment Preview

Agency of Human Services / Central Office

Waterbury State Office Complex | 280 State Drive | Waterbury, VT 05671-1000

802-585-5125 phone

https://humanservices.vermont.gov/

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Medicaid Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Assistance

ISSUE DATE

QUESTIONS DUE:

RFI RESPONSES DUE BY

February 29, 2024

March 13, 2024 – 4:30 PM (EST)

March 29, 2024 – 4:30 PM (EST)

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL NOTIFICATIONS, RELEASES, AND ADDENDUMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS

RFI WILL BE POSTED AT:

http://www.bgs.state.vt.us/pca/bids/bids.php

THE STATE WILL MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO CONTACT INTERESTED PARTIES WITH UPDATED INFORMATION.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH BIDDER TO PERIODICALLY CHECK THE ABOVE WEBPAGE FOR ANY

AND ALL NOTIFICATIONS, RELEASES AND ADDENDUMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RFI.

STATE CONTACT:

E-MAIL:

Diane Irish

ahs.contracts@vermont.gov

Page 1 of 13

Issued Feb 2024

Contents

1 PURPOSE........................................................................................................................................................3

1.1 LIABILITY .................................................................................................................................................3

1.2 CONFIDENTIALITY ...................................................................................................................................3

2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION.......................................................................................................................3

3 RFI DESCRIPTION ...........................................................................................................................................4

4 CURRENT STATE.............................................................................................................................................5

5 RFI Respondent..............................................................................................................................................6

6 REQUESTED INFORMATION.........................................................................................................................12

6.1 COVER PAGE .........................................................................................................................................12

6.2 VENDOR QUESTIONNAIRE ....................................................................................................................12

6.3 CONTACT INFORMATION .....................................................................................................................12

6.4 EXPLANATION OF EVENTS ....................................................................................................................13

7. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ............................................................................................................................13

Page 2 of 13

Issued Feb 2024

1 PURPOSE

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for the Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS) to gather

input and obtain information to inform the design and implementation of a Medicaid/AHS Permanent

Supportive Housing (PSH) Assistance benefit as authorized by Vermont’s Global Commitment to Health

1115 Demonstration Waiver. Responses to this RFI will be utilized to assist with the following program

design tasks:

• Determine the linkage between entry points to the service via the Medicaid/AHS PSH Assistance

provider, Conflict-Free Case Management, and Coordinated Entry System;

• Determine the eligibility criteria for enrolling as a Medicaid/AHS PSH Assistance provider

agency, as well as the qualifications such agencies must meet to deliver Medicaid/AHS PSH

Assistance services; and

• Determine the plan for rolling out the Medicaid/AHS PSH Assistance benefit statewide.

AHS intends to make use of the submissions by respondents to test assumptions, explore alternative

approaches, and help finalize program implementation details. AHS shall not be held liable for any costs

incurred by respondents in the preparation of their submissions to this RFI.

1.1 LIABILITY

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning

purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future.

This RFI does not commit the State to contract for any materials or service whatsoever. Further, the state is

not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that

the State will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs

associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to

this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If an RFP is released, it will be

posted on the BGS bid opportunities web site: http://www.bgs.state.vt.us/pca/bids/bids.php. It is the

responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information.

1.2 CONFIDENTIALITY

AHS retains the right to promote transparency and to place this RFI into the public domain, and to make a

copy of the RFI available as a provision of the Vermont access to public records laws. Please do not include

any information in your RFI response that is confidential or proprietary, as AHS assumes no responsibility

for excluding information in response to records requests. Any request for information made by a third

party will be examined in light of the exemptions provided in the Vermont access to public records laws.

The solicitation of this RFI does not commit AHS or the State of Vermont to award a contract. This RFI is

for information gathering purposes only and no vendor will be selected, pre-qualified, or exempted based

upon their RFI participation.

2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

According to a 2019 legislative report, the Specialized Housing Vouchers Working Group estimated that

roughly 55% of Vermont households eligible for Continuum of Care (CoC) Shelter + Care (S+C) or Rapid

Rehousing (RRH) assistance cannot be served due to a lack of service capacity or of subsidies in the

communities where they are needed. In 2018, a report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness

found that Black Vermonters were 5.4 times more likely to experience homelessness than white

Vermonters. Improving access to PSH is an important strategy for promoting equity and reducing racial

Page 3 of 13

Issued Feb 2024

disparities in homelessness in Vermont. In the past 15 years of the Global Commitment demonstration,

Vermont has made significant progress in allowing Medicaid enrollees to obtain care in their homes and

communities if they so choose. In 2022, Vermont received approval for its 1115 demonstration waiver to

implement a Permanent Supportive Housing Pilot. Medicaid enrollees ages 18 and older who are eligible for

full Medicaid State Plan benefits and who meet specific health- and risk-based criteria as outlined in the

demonstration renewal application will be provided access to pre-tenancy supports, tenancy sustaining

services, and community transition services. The goal is to enroll approximately 100 individuals in the first

year and seek funding for additional capacity in future years with the aim to eventually having capacity to

serve 350 individuals. Individuals who are eligible for full State Plan benefits and are enrolled in one of

Vermont’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS)-like programs (CFC, CRT, Developmental

Disabilities Services, Brain Injury Program, or Mental Health under 22 for SMI/SED) will be eligible for the

Pilot; however, these individuals cannot obtain any services or supports from the Pilot that duplicate

benefits already available to them.

Studies conducted across the United States have shown that PSH programs are effective not only in reducing

homelessness, but also in preventing emergency department use and hospitalization, and in reducing

overall health care costs for high-need individuals. While Vermont has access to supportive housing

vouchers through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the state has been unable to

use all the vouchers in recent years due to lack of available support services.

3 RFI DESCRIPTION

AHS is seeking information to help determine the structure and staffing, prioritization criteria, and statewide

rollout approach for the new Medicaid/AHS Permanent Supportive Housing Assistance benefit, which is

intended to help reduce homelessness and health care costs for high-need individuals in Vermont. It is

critical that this benefit complement and align with the state’s existing PSH models and other housing

programs so as to effectively leverage limited resources and provide high-quality services for individuals

with complex needs.

The RFI has four (4) key objectives:

• Gather information and feedback to inform the design and implementation of Conflict-Free Case

Management overseen by the State of Vermont.

• Obtain insights and information to develop the prioritization criteria for receiving Medicaid/AHS

PSH Assistance services.

• Collect information to help shape the development of the eligibility criteria and qualifications for

enrolling as a Medicaid/AHS PSH Assistance provider agency.

• Gather feedback and insights needed to implement the benefit’s statewide rollout.

AHS is seeking feedback in the above areas and will consider any information, including partial responses,

received in response to this RFI. If AHS moves forward in the development of an RFP, the RFP process will

be open to all respondents regardless of whether or not they participated in this RFI.

Who should complete this RFI?

Nonprofits, government entities, faith-based organizations, and others who serve those at risk of, or

currently experiencing homelessness. This includes established and emerging organizations and those who

wish to expand their programs and services to provide new supports or resources to those at risk of, or

currently experiencing homelessness.

Page 4 of 13

Issued Feb 2024

Those interested in providing Medicaid/AHS pre-tenancy and tenancy sustaining services to individuals

currently experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

4 CURRENT STATE

Vermont currently funds a variety of programs that offer housing services and supports to help certain

target populations maintain housing stability or transition into permanent housing options. All of these

programs include at least some components of an evidence-based PSH model.

The Department of Mental Health (DMH) oversees Community Rehabilitation and Treatment Services (CRT),

which is a Medicaid program for individuals with serious mental illness that provides a variety of services

including care coordination; clinical services including therapy and medication management; community

supports; and crisis care for people with serious mental illness. This can include some housing supports for

people experiencing homelessness. CRT must be provided by a Designated Agency (DA) or Specialized

Services Agency (SSA). DMH provides housing vouchers for a subset of CRT clients to support their transition

out of hospital and residential settings. Individuals who are eligible for the Medicaid CRT program or Adult

Outpatient Services and are experiencing homelessness may choose to receive services from Pathways

Vermont, a Specialized Services Agency that uses a Housing First approach.

The Department for Children and Families (DCF) Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) provides the Family

Supportive Housing (FSH) program, which is funded through a combination of Medicaid Targeted Case

Management and General Fund dollars. FSH offers intensive case management, transition services, and

housing tenancy sustaining services to families with minor children who are experiencing homelessness,

want to participate in the program, and are willing to engage with offered services. FSH prioritizes families

that have had multiple episodes of homelessness, have an active case with DCF Family Services, and include

at least one child under the age of six. Each criterion is weighted equally, and families meeting multiple

criteria are prioritized above families meeting only one.

The Vermont State Housing Authority’s (VSHA) A Way Home is a HUD CoC-funded program through the

Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness that follows the coordinated entry (CE) PSH prioritization of

individuals and families who meet the chronically homeless definition (disabling condition + long-term literal

homelessness) or other Dedicated Plus criteria. The program provides housing case management as well as

security deposits, property damages, and vacancy costs, and is delivered by specific providers in certain

geographic areas. VSHA also provides Shelter + Care serving households that meet the chronic homelessness

definition with long-term rental assistance and robust services from local providers in all counties except

Chittenden.

The Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living (DAIL) provides both Support and Services at

Home (SASH) and SASH for All in Vermont. SASH is part of the Vermont All-Payer Accountable Care

Organization alternative payment model which is a state-federal partnership with the Center for Medicare

and Medicaid Innovation that enables Medicare financial support for the program. SASH focuses on older

adults and people with disabilities and serves any Medicare beneficiary who lives in a SASH Hub (affordable

housing sites across the state used as the locus of coordination), as well as Medicare beneficiaries living in

a community setting near the SASH Hub, by offering a variety of individualized, on-site wellness supports.

SASH for All is a pilot in one area of the state funded through a federal grant targeting low-income families

and children living at affordable family housing sites. It offers individualized support and service planning

(care coordination, peer support, health coaching, and motivational interviewing) based on a multifaceted

Page 5 of 13

Issued Feb 2024

TITLE	QUESTIONS DUE	ANSWERS POSTED	DUE DATE	NO POSTING AFTER
RFI Medicaid Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Assistance	03/13/2024 04:30PM		03/29/2024 04:30PM

RFI Medicaid Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Assistance

Attachment Preview

Sign-up for a Free Trial, Government Bid Alerts

See Also