Recording and Registration: March 7 NYC DSRIP Program
On Feb. 24, LeadingAge New York, in conjunction with our colleagues at other associations held a forum on the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. The joint effort included Healthcare Association of NY State, Home Care Association of NY State, Community Health Care Association of NY State, Mental Health Association in NY State and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Providers of NY State. Members can click here to view the presentation and access slides. We are convening an additional program on Fri., March 7 in New York City, along with the aforementioned partners and the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition. Unfortunately, the program has reached capacity, but we are accepting registration now to view the program by webcast. To register, click here, and select the green ‘register’ button. The program is designed for providers and is free.
Any member who is considering participating in a DSRIP project is encouraged to view the Feb. 24 program, even if planning to attend the March 7 event. In addition, DOH has developed a DSRIP website, which can be accessed here. The site has data to assist in developing projects, as well as general information about the initiative.
During the Feb. 24 presentation, the Department of Health’s (DOH) Greg Allen provided some clarifications that we think are important to note:
While final details of the waiver remain under discussion at the time of this writing, the timeframes for DSRIP are aggressive. It is important to note, however, that the initial application for DSRIP will be a planning application, and the first quarters of DSRIP year one will be a planning period, with initial incentive based on process. Over time, the incentives change and increasingly become focused on outcome measures. Performance on various metrics will be measured against a geographic baseline (i.e. the Medicaid and possibly uninsured population in the project’s service area) or based on an attributed population (i.e., the Medicaid and possibly uninsured population that has utilized the participating providers’ services in a prior period).
DOH does not intend to fund an application from a single provider acting alone, even if that provider is an integrated system of care. DOH envisions a few large networks of providers in each region, as was done with health homes. To that end, a DSRIP application can, and probably should, include more than one project. Allen also suggested that any project include the managed care provider(s) that have a presence in the region. He also discussed future plans to marry payment reforms under managed care (e.g., risk-based, performance-based payments) to DSRIP objectives. Collaboration is key, and members should be having conversations now about potential partnerships and projects in order to be ready once the DSRIP application is available.
At the same time, such large networks may raise antitrust concerns, and it was suggested that the State Accountable Care Organization (ACO) legislation be reviewed, as it could help to create the underlying model for DSRIP networks.
Allen made it clear that providers can use incentive payments in whatever way they need to. DSRIP is not a grant program, so as long as providers meet the objectives of DSRIP, they may use the subsequent payments to make investments that are most meaningful to the organization, including investment in information technology.
DOH is willing to explore regulatory relief when current regulations present a barrier to collaboration. We recommend that members let us know of specific regulations that may impede your progress regarding DSRIP objectives, so that we may bring it to the Department’s attention.
Allen also talked about how workforce retraining and investment will be part of DSRIP; however the details are still being developed.
LeadingAge New York continues to follow the DSRIP closely and will continue to keep members informed of developments. You may submit questions regarding New York's DSRIP Program to: MRTwaiver@health.state.ny.us. We encourage you to copy us on your questions so we can help ensure they are answered.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828