Important Minimum Wage Survey Due Aug. 29th
Last week, the Department of Health (DOH) issued an online survey to collect wage data that would help the state make necessary Medicaid rate adjustments to reflect increases in the minimum wage enacted in the most recent State Budget. Please note that the response time is short—surveys are due by 5 pm on Monday, Aug. 29th. Click here to access the survey form.
The survey is part of the state’s effort to estimate the impact of minimum wage increases on health care providers. The state intends to adjust Medicaid rates to cover wage increases, including the increased cost of wage-sensitive benefits, but only for those employees whose wages are below the minimum wage. Nursing home cost reports do not provide sufficient detail to identify the number of employees whose pay is below the minimum wage, and DOH has determined that collecting wage data through a provider survey is the only way to get the needed level of detail.
We urge members to review the instructions on the survey and provide the requested 2015 calendar year data without delay. Note that specialty unit and ADHC staff should be included. Please be sure to include all employee benefits that are sensitive to wage increases when reporting your fringe benefit percentage. Failure to complete the survey may result in rate adjustments that fail to cover Medicaid cost increases driven by the minimum wage change. The text of the DOH email announcing the survey is copied below.
Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841
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August 18, 2016
Subject: 2017 Minimum Wage Adjustment
Dear Administrator:
This letter is to request information from your facility regarding the State’s Minimum Wage increase for your residential health care facility beginning in 2017. The Minimum Wage Act (Article 19 of the New York State Labor Law) sets benchmarks for minimum wage through 2021. The Department is surveying health care providers to determine the financial impact of scheduled minimum wage increases in order to develop a reimbursement methodology which can account for the increases in the minimum wage over the coming years.
Please complete the attached survey using 12/31/2015 payroll registers from your facility. The survey categorizes employees into groups based on the average hours worked per week and will be examined as part of the methodology to arrive at an appropriate financial impact determination.
Surveys are due by 5:00 pm Monday, August 29, 2016. Please be aware that due to time constraints, no extension will be granted. Also, failure to complete this survey will result in default to wage data reported in the facility’s 2014 cost report. Facility owner/ operator/ or administrator will be required to attest to the validity of the information provided. All data is subject to audit.
The link to the minimum wage survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DR3B737
If you have any questions regarding the Minimum Wage Survey please send an email with the subject line Minimum Wage to NFRates@health.state.ny.us.