Nursing Home Minimum Wage Survey Due Dec. 29th
On Dec. 6th, the Department of Health (DOH) notified nursing home providers that it has activated the online minimum wage survey to collect the information needed to calculate 2024 rate year minimum wage add-ons to the Medicaid rate. The survey collects hours by wage band for the period April 1st through June 30, 2023. The Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) is available here.
As in prior years, the only hours that are eligible for minimum wage reimbursement are those that are paid in 2023 at a rate that is lower than the minimum wage going into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. For NYC, Long Island, and Westchester County, the wage increases from $15 to $16. In the rest of the state, the wage increases from $14.20 to $15. (Note that home care aide wages are subject to a different, higher minimum.)
Providers are required to submit an attestation validating the minimum wage data reported. A link to this attestation is provided within the survey. Since the attestation needs to be uploaded with the survey, DOH recommends that the facility’s CEO/CFO review the hourly data and sign the attestation prior to the data being entered online. Providers should upload the signed attestation as part of the last question on the survey. The survey will be deemed incomplete if the signed attestation document is not included. Note that you have the option to save a started survey to return to complete it at a later time. That process is described in the survey instructions, which are linked from the front page of the survey and are also accessible here.
Facilities that will not be impacted by the minimum wage increase because they already pay wages above the new minimum may opt out of completing the full survey. DOH requests that those opting out choose the opt-out selection on the survey, provide the facility’s general information, and upload a signed attestation. The online survey is available here and must be completed by Dec. 29th. A document with screenshots of the survey that may be helpful in compiling the data for online entry is available here.
Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841