LeadingAge NY Meets with DOH on Budget Implementation

Last week, LeadingAge NY met with key Department of Health (DOH) staff involved in the implementation of State Budget initiatives of interest to association members. DOH is in the early phases of developing policies and guidance for several new provisions while at the same time preparing a number of Medicaid State Plan Amendments to secure federal financial participation for the initiatives. We were able to ensure that DOH is aware of some of our members' key concerns and questions as they work on these issues and, importantly, were able to identify individuals within DOH who would serve as contacts for more detailed discussions on specific topics.

As members who are Medicaid providers should be aware, the 1.5 percent cut to payments that impacted almost all Medicaid programs was discontinued at the start of April. While the State was able to implement that without federal approval, the 1 percent increase in Medicaid rates does require federal approval, as does the provision that would provide funding to assist nursing homes that are compliant with 70/40 minimum spending thresholds in defraying the costs of complying with minimum staffing requirements. While work is underway to develop the processes and guidance for payment of worker bonuses, the Department indicated that the payments for the initial six-month vesting period would likely not be made until the fall of this year.

DOH staff is also putting together a process that would help providers navigate the Vital Access Provider (VAP) and Vital Access Provider Assurance Programs (VAPAP). While the VAP program designed to assist providers in transforming to achieve long-term viability continues at level funding and has been in place for a number of years, new this year is the inclusion of nursing homes in the VAPAP, which is more geared toward providers in more immediate financial distress. While DOH finalizes their processes, we encourage members in need of the type of support offered by these programs to contact us to discuss further. We will remain engaged with the Department as it works to implement the various initiatives and will keep members apprised of developments.

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