Delay in Region II FIDA Roll Out

The announcements from last week’s Department of Health (DOH) Fully Integrated Duals Advantage call (FIDA) included a delay in the roll out for Region II. Below is a summary of the call:

• FIDA is up and running in Region I – NYC and Nassau county.
• The FIDA roll out for Region II, Westchester and Suffolk counties, is on hold (Sun., March 1 effective date is cancelled) due to the lack of network adequacy. There is no new target date.
• Plans are not to market or accept voluntary enrollments in Region II while the roll out is on hold.
• Plans should focus on marketing and provider education in Region I.
• DOH cited provider education as a major concern and stated that many providers still lack adequate knowledge/awareness of FIDA.
• DOH is seeking input from plans on how to improve FIDA education and outreach to providers.

Plans may recall that DOH cited CMS concern over network adequacy in Region II during the most recent Policy and Planning meeting. Although not mentioned during the call, the assumption is that Program Announcement letters are also on hold for Region II.

LeadingAge NY and its PACE/MLTC Cabinet have been raising concern over the provider education process, in particular is the concern regarding the lack of available resources and the difficult timeframes. LeadingAge NY is concerned in this regard from both the plan and provider perspective and will continue to advocate on this issue.

Contact: Patrick Cucinelli, pcucinelli@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8827