Work Begins on Nursing Home Budget Provisions

The Department of Health has begun work on several nursing home related items enacted in the recently passed 2015-16 State budget, including: 

• the Energy Efficiency/Disaster Preparedness Program, where DOH is reviewing the energy efficiency data compiled previously with the intent of identifying 20-25 homes for initial energy audits; 
• sharing refinancing savings with providers, a provision which requires a Medicaid State Plan Amendment that DOH is in the process of drafting;
• developing demonstration projects to serve individuals aging out of pediatric nursing homes where efforts to identify program outlines are underway; and,
• improving care opportunitities for individuals with neuro-degenerative diseases to ensure appropriate funding and care models into the future. Several workgroups have already begun meeting.   

Additionally, DOH is forming a workgroup to help design a streamlined capital rate setting process that would allow homes to provide and certify their own capital calculations subject to OMIG audit.  

DOH intends to develop work plans for all of the projects and most of the efforts will include input of workgroups with LeadingAge NY participation. Details of these and all provisions enacted in the 2015-16 State budget are available in the LeadingAge NY Comprehensive Budget Analysis. 

Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841