Nursing Home Transportation Survey Due June 27

Pursuant to an administrative provision included in the State's 2016-17 spending plan, Department of Health (DOH) is seeking to remove medical transportation costs from the nursing home Medicaid rate to avoid double payments. For many fee-for-service Medicaid residents, medical transportation is arranged by the State's transportation brokers and paid directly to the transportation provider on a fee-for-service basis. For nursing home residents enrolled in a Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) Plan, it is the plan that arranges and pays for medical transportation.   

LeadingAge New York has pointed out that a number of homes provide transportation to their residents directly to maximize their quality of life and avoid potential delays, especially in rural areas of the state. The modest amount for transportation reimbursement contained in the Medicaid rate (approximately $0.50) does not cover these costs as is, and should not be removed from the rate for these providers. Additionally, non-medical transportation expenses, such as transport to and from activities, may also be included in the transportation cost center and should not be removed. To address this, DOH is seeking to identify costs included in the 2007 base year that may have been incurred for transporting residents to activities and other transportation costs not related to medical transportation and has developed a survey to collect this data. Members will recall that 2007 base year costs were used to develop the prices utilized in the current Medicaid reimbursement system.  

DOH has posted the nursing home transportation cost survey along with a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) providing guidance on completing and submitting the survey on the Health Commerce System. Click here to download the survey. To complete the survey, homes will need to access their 2007 submitted RHCF Medicaid cost report and possibly some supporting documentation. The purpose of the survey is to identify expenses reported in the transportation cost center that may represent costs other than medical transportation expenses.   

The survey form mimics Medicaid cost report schedule 8C. If more guidance is warranted, we will provide it by email to member nursing home CFOs. Please note that the due date for the survey, which must be returned in Excel format to nfrates@health.ny.gov with "Transportation" in the subject line, is June 27th.

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