Many Applicants Vie for VAP Funds

DOH has received 156 applications for the second round of  Vital Access Provider (VAP) funding, totaling $1.1 billion. The state approved 13 projects totaling $69 million over three years in the first round, including two nursing home projects that will receive $16.7 million over three years. Approximately $130 million is available for the first year of Round II projects with most projects expected to be funded over a three-year period. Of these funds, $30 million was transferred to the VAP program from the financially disadvantaged nursing home program and is earmarked for nursing home projects.

DOH has developed a VAP application scoring tool that includes measures such as operating margin, Medicaid payer mix, occupancy rate, cash on hand and debt. Other criteria include the entity’s financial viability, community needs, quality improvement and health equity. Applications from all provider types will be scored together, with the top scoring applications advancing to the negotiations stage where the applicant and DOH would develop metrics to measure the project’s progress and success. DOH is currently reviewing and scoring applications from organizations with negative operating margins, which include 45 hospital applications, 17 applications from nursing homes, four from CHHAs and 30 from clinics.

DOH may be contacting providers that submitted the “mini-application” during the solicitation timeframe for additional information. More information on the VAP program is available on the DOH Heal 21 Web page.

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