Court Grants Preliminary Injunction on Retroactive Changes to CMI
On Nov. 7th, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Kimberly O’Connor issued an order preventing the Department of Health (DOH) from implementing the nursing home case-mix cut. The order reads that "pending a final determination of this proceeding and action, [DOH is] enjoined from implementing the new case mix adjustment methodology [it] adopted effective July 1, 2019, and [is] directed to continue to use the method for calculating petitioners-plaintiffs' Medicaid reimbursement rates that was in effect as of June 30, 2019."
Members will recall that LeadingAge NY, as part of a coalition of health care associations, filed litigation challenging the cut last month (more information is available here). In a hearing held on Nov. 1st, attorneys for our coalition asked the Court to not only permanently invalidate this damaging cut, but to also grant a temporary injunction so that the cut would be delayed until the Court was able to rule on the merits of the case.
In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge O’Connor determined that the merits of the case were sound and that residents, workers, and facilities were facing significant immediate harm. Although the ultimate impact of the cut will hinge on the outcome of the litigation, the injunction is a positive indicator and may offer providers facing drastic funding cuts some breathing room.
Although it is not yet clear how soon the ruling will be reflected in payments, it is an important victory in the first phase of litigation on this issue. We are very grateful to the members who agreed to participate as named plaintiffs as well as to those who worked diligently to advocate against the cut with policymakers and help publicize the matter in the press. It is also a great lesson in advocacy, as the Court’s decision cites the letters that Senate and Assembly leadership sent to the Executive and DOH as evidence of the merits of our case. Thank you for your continued advocacy and efforts to bring this issue front and center for state agencies and lawmakers.
We will continue to keep members informed of next steps and any additional implications of the Court’s decision as we learn them. In the meantime, it is important that we thank those lawmakers that advocated against the cut and wrote letters to the Executive and DOH expressing their concerns.
Please take a moment to review our list of lawmakers that sent letters of opposition on the case-mix cut. If your Assemblymember and/or Senator is included on this list, please take a moment to call their office or send a tweet thanking them for their support!
Contact: Sarah Daly, sdaly@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8845