LeadingAge NY Comments on Medicaid Waiver Extension
On July 12th, the Department of Health (DOH) hosted the second of two public hearings to gather input on the state’s Section 1115 Medicaid waiver authority. The 1115 waiver authorizes the state to utilize a managed care system to deliver benefits to Medicaid recipients, create efficiencies in the Medicaid program, extend coverage to certain individuals who would otherwise be without health insurance, and restructure the health care delivery system through the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program.
LeadingAge NY provided a written statement on the 1115 waiver authority. Our comments stressed that DSRIP and Medicaid value-based payment (VBP) initiatives – as currently structured – are unlikely to drive needed investments in long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) services. We spotlighted two critically important areas for LTPAC services, specifically the need for health information technology funding and Medicare-Medicaid aligned approaches to VBP to ensure that managed long-term care plans and LTPAC providers can realize and share savings from reducing avoidable hospital use and otherwise improving care outcomes.
DOH has posted information on the 1115 waiver, including a recording of the July 12th hearing, here.
Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866