Wage Parity and the Long Term Home Health Care Program

The Department of Health (DOH) posted a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) to the Health Commerce System (HCS) to inform Long Term Home Health Care Program (LTHHCP) providers that Medicaid fee-for-service rates will be adjusted to address the cost increase as a result of the wage parity law. This impacts only NYC LTHHCP providers. 

DOH has made a determination that adjusting the fee-for-service rate will establish a minimum rate for both home health aide and personal care aide to $20.95 per hour, retroactive to March 1, 2014. This follows an earlier DAL in the beginning of May on the NYC CHHA and LTHHCP Wage Parity reimbursement, which stated DOH was developing the NYC LTHHCP rate adjustments.

The revised rates have been transmitted to eMedNY payment system. According to the DAL, a copy of the revised Medicaid rate computation sheets of your bottom-line Medicaid home health aide and personal care aide rate(s) to $20.95 effective March 1, 2014 - Dec. 31, 2014 is available on the HCS website.

Questions relating to the methodology utilized in calculating your NYC wage parity Medicaid rate should be directed to Tim Casey at DOH at 518-473-4421.

Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871