July 1 Deadline for CDPAP RFO Contract Awards Arrives without Answers. 

According to the Department of Health (DOH/the Department) website and in recent conversations with HCP, today is the day that the long-awaited CDPAP RFO contracts are “anticipated” to be announced.  

In very recent discussions HCP had with the Department they indicated that they are limited in what it can say about the CDPAP RFO due to communication restrictions pursuant to the State’s procurement law. However, DOH did tell HCP that the current deadline for awarding CDPAP contracts continues to be “anticipated” to be July 1, 2020. 

It is expected that any such CDPAP RFO information will be posted on the DOH CDPAP RFO website. HCP continues its inquiries of DOH, as well as continuing to monitor the website for updated information.

In recent conversations HCP urged DOH that whenever contracts are awarded care must be taken to ensure a smooth and orderly transition in the program. With respect to transitions in the program DOH reiterated that the current policy and process for transitions remains in place.  

DOH Posts CDPAP Proposed Regulatory Amendments

While no decision had been announced on the CDPAP RFO, in the early afternoon of July 1, the Department posted proposed regulatory amendments for CDPAP to implement the most recent budget policies.  

HCP is reviewing these proposed regulations to prepare and submit comments concerning their impact on the industry.

Proposed Regulatory Amendments Notice from DOH:

The New York State Department of Health has posted proposed regulatory amendments to implement provisions of the State Fiscal Year 2020-21 Enacted Budget, which resulted from specific MRT II recommendations.  The Summary of Express Terms for Proposed Amended Regulations regarding Personal Care Services and Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program Services (18 NYCRR §§ 505.14 & 505.28) can be found on the Medicaid Redesign II website. These proposed regulations will also be published in the New York State Register on July 15, 2020.  

HHS Medicaid CARES Act Allocation - Application Deadline July 20!

See Update Below

As HCP has reported, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the availability of $15 billion in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to high Medicaid providers.  

Last week HHS held webinars to educate providers on the application process, discuss eligibility and answer questions submitted by providers.  These HHS webinars were recorded and can be accessed below.

Tuesday June 23 HHS Webinar 

Thursday June 25 HHS Webinar

To be eligible for this funding, health care providers must not have received payments from the $50 billion Provider Relief Fund General Distribution and either have directly billed their state Medicaid/CHIP programs or Medicaid managed care plans for healthcare-related services between January 1, 2018 to May 31, 2020. 

HHS gives as an example of providers that might qualify for the $15 billion allocation home and community based services providers.

The application portal is OPEN. 

HHS expects to distribute $15 billion to eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers. The payment to each provider will be at least 2 percent of reported gross revenue from patient care; the final amount each provider receives will be determined after the data is submitted, including information about the number of Medicaid patients providers serve.

The deadline to submit an application for the Medicaid Targeted Distribution is Monday, July 20, 2020. Funds are limited and will be disbursed on a rolling basis, as information is validated. HHS may seek additional information from providers as necessary to complete its review.

Update
In speaking with some HCP members who have submitted an application, HCP has learned that upon successful submission of the application providers will receive a confirmation email.  However, the application status reflected in the application portal may appear as if it was not submitted.  HHS is aware of this issue and is working to find a solution.

Use caution not to submit a second application, because it may negatively impact upon the application that was submitted with email confirmed receipt.  

In addition, providers should routinely review the HHS FAQs which are regularly updated.  

To all employees:

By order of the Governor, anyone traveling to a state (after June 25th) with positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10% test positivity rate, over a seven day rolling average, and which the commissioner of the department of health has designated as meeting these conditions is required to quarantine for 14 days. On Friday, the Governor issued an Executive Order clarifying that employees who travel voluntarily to any of these states shall not be eligible for benefits under the New York State emergency paid sick leave law. Employees should be aware that voluntary travel to any of these states could result in loss of pay during the required quarantine.

The list of impacted states will be updated frequently and can be found on the Department of Health website.

HCP to hold Webinar on New Paid Sick Leave Developments

This webinar will address the guidance recently released by the NYS DOH concerning the use of sick leave by Health Care Employees as well as recently issued Executive Orders and guidance regarding COVID related travel restrictions. The program will explain the guidance as well as answer employer questions. It will also cover need to know scenarios for home care providers with staff returning from an increasing number of hot spot states. 

Registration Opening Soon