DOH Launches Regulatory Modernization Initiative with Post-Acute Work Group

The Department of Health (DOH) has kicked off its Regulatory Modernization Initiative with the creation of a Post-Acute Care Management Models Work Group. This Work Group is intended to address the regulatory oversight of in-home, post-acute care delivered by providers other than home care agencies and hospice programs. As a result of efforts to reduce avoidable readmissions, hospitals, physician practices, and other entities have created a variety of post-acute home visiting programs that in some respects overlap with services delivered by certified home health agencies (CHHAs), licensed home care services agencies (LHCSAs), and hospice programs. DOH has noted that emerging post-acute care management models involving services delivered by facilities licensed under Article 28 sometimes conflict with state home care licensure regulations.

The first meeting of the Work Group will take place on Aug. 9, 2017 in Meeting Room 6 of the Empire State Plaza in Albany from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. The meeting will cover the following questions:

• What are the current barriers to the provision of home care and other supports immediately following discharge from a hospital, nursing home, or other institution?
• Does the current NYS statutory and regulatory framework support the current policy direction to drive more care outside of institutional settings?
• What specific laws and regulations hinder flexibility in the provision of post-acute care in community-based settings?
• How can the state support sustainability for successful models, such as DSRIP and VBP demonstrations, that prevent inappropriate hospitalizations and re-admissions to inpatient settings?
• What is the impact of federal policy guidance such as the conditions of participation (COPs) and other federal policies?

Interested parties are welcome to attend the meeting and will have the opportunity to deliver brief remarks.  Onsite registration will be available.  In addition, stakeholders are encouraged to submit written comments here.  To view the webcast, click here.

This Work Group is the first of an anticipated eight groups to be convened on a variety of regulatory topics. DOH has stressed that it is striving to create an inclusive and transparent process for modernizing regulations. Moreover, DOH staff have emphasized the importance of placing patients and their informal caregivers at the center of all discussions concerning the appropriate regulatory framework for post-acute models. DOH expects to issue a report based on the deliberations of the Work Group by the end of the year and propose any needed statutory and regulatory changes in 2018.

LeadingAge NY is participating in this Work Group and welcomes member input on the issues under discussion. Please contact Karen Lipson or your Cabinet Liaison with any comments or recommendations.

Contact: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383 ext. 124