equal-access-payment-practices

Reason(s) for non-compliance: • The Lead Agency does not pay all provider types prospectively or alternatively does not demonstrate that it is not a generally-accepted practice for all provider types, as required by 98.45(m)(1). (Plan Question 4.4.1a). Please note the Lead Agency has an approved waiver for this requirement through August 1, 2026. Overall Target Completion Date: 08/01/2026 Action Step Number Action Step Description Target Completion Date 1 Begin work with current and new payments systems vendor, on steps needed to transition systems to prospective payments 09/30/2024 2 Finalize work with new payments systems vendor to ensure that requirements of new system, to be launched in 2025, are fully set up to provide prospective payments and to do so according to our payment schedule 12/31/2024 3 Bring proposed policy change to Early Childhood Care and Education Advisory Council for endorsement and state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval 12/31/2024 4 Work with team managing current payment system to finalize and schedule a conversion period from payments after service provision to prospective payments 02/28/2025 5 Develop communications for the field, explaining the rollout of prospective payments, along with a timeline for various payments 03/31/2025 6 Policy change goes into final rule 04/30/2025 7 Test new payments system in development, to ensure payments continue prospectively 06/30/2025