Delay Sought in Wage Parity Implementation

In a Feb. 25th letter from LeadingAge New York President/CEO James W. Clyne Jr., the Department of Health (DOH) is asked to “delay the March 1st deadline for plans and providers to submit their certification forms until such time as the level of funding is agreed to and actually reflected in managed care premium and FFS payments, or at least advise plans and providers that they may execute the certification forms with language conditioning performance on the actual receipt of the requisite funding.”

While supporting the concept of a living wage for home care workers, LeadingAge New York has opposed the wage parity law in its current form as an unfunded mandate that threatens to disrupt continuity of care for consumers and to create an unsustainable financial hardship for both providers and managed care plans. As is made clear in the letter, the concerns include the disruption of current contract arrangements, the disruption of cash flow and the very real possibility that providers and plans, already operating under very tenuous financial circumstances, will be unable to continue to provide care and service to their clients.

A major thrust of our current advocacy on the State budget is in fact ensuring adequacy in managed care rates to support the wage parity mandate. To ensure wage parity is properly funded, contact your lawmakers today.

The March 1st deadline is a critical issue that we are carefully monitoring and will immediately alert members of any new developments.

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