DOH Requests Nursing Homes to Submit 2020 Data
(July 30, 2024) On July 29th, the Department of Health (DOH) sent an email notification requesting that nursing homes complete an online survey related to the distribution of staffing funding. The survey collects 2020 financial information – specifically, revenue that could/should be excluded when minimum spending percentages are calculated. While the survey may look extensive, for many facilities the only relevant section will be the first section, Schedule A, which requests federal COVID relief funding amounts. Schedule B collects information on revenue received and expense incurred IF the facility experienced a federal, state, or local declaration of an emergency due to a natural disaster in 2020, and Schedule C focuses on extraordinary, non-recurring revenue (e.g., insurance or legal settlement) that the facility may have received in 2020.
The Department is circulating this survey to ensure that their calculations of 40/70 spending thresholds are compliant with the approved Medicaid State Plan Amendment (SPA) when it comes to determining eligibility for staffing funding. The SPA, as well as the minimum spending legislation, requires DOH to exclude certain revenue when calculating the percentages of total revenue that facilities spend on direct care and resident-facing staff. This survey will provide them with the information needed to do this, thereby paving the way for the distribution of the remaining (federal share) of $93 million in “safe staffing” funding. The funding was appropriated in the State budget adopted in 2022, with the initial $93 million in State share funding distributed previously.
The associated Dear Operator/Administrator Letter is here; a preview copy of the survey (which must be completed online) is here. While the print version of the survey contains all of the questions, note that the online version of the survey is dynamic, meaning that the user will only see the additional questions if answering “yes” to the initial question of each of the three sections.
Four important things to note:
- If your facility was eligible and received a State share distribution of staffing funding, the incorporation of these exclusions should not impact your eligibility. If your facility did not receive funding because it did not meet the 70/40 percent thresholds based on DOH initial analysis of 2020 cost report data, the incorporation of these exclusions may make it eligible for funding.
- The survey is due by Aug. 20th.
- While the facility’s Administrator may enter data, the Operator of the nursing home, or an executive officer with the authority to certify on behalf of the facility and Operator, must review the data, complete the certification statement, and submit the completed survey.
- If additional homes are deemed eligible for the funding as a result of this survey data, the distribution amounts of the federal funding may be smaller than the State share distributions made previously.
Please note that the Aug. 20th due date is adjacent to the 2023 Medicaid cost report due date of Aug. 19th. Members who may need to rely on external certified public accountant (CPA) firms to complete the survey might want to reach out without delay. DOH is fielding questions at NHSafeStaffing@health.ny.gov, but please let us know if you encounter difficulties with the survey or have questions with which we can assist. The link to the online survey is here.
Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841