On Wednesday, the NYS DOH hosted a webinar related to the Executive’s proposed budget. The DOH stated that there are two proposals affecting fiscal intermediaries, both designed to “realize administrative efficiencies.” First, the DOH plans to change the fiscal intermediary (“FI”) reimbursement method to a per member per month (“PMPM”) methodology, explaining that this would be suitable for the administrative services performed by FIs (payroll, wage withholding, benefit administration). Per DOH, the current reimbursement “varies with the cost of the care delivered despite FI administrative costs being largely fixed.” Second, in order to realize economies of scale, the DOH intends to contract with Centers for Independent Living and entities that have experience providing services to persons with disabilities, and to select one or more additional organizations to perform FI administrative services. The DOH noted that there are currently more than 600 fiscal intermediaries in the State, and that the DOH would begin the process of consolidating FIs in January of 2020 should the Executive budget proposal pass as currently proposed. The DOH confirmed that, should the proposal pass, there would be no reductions to eligibility for CDPAP or to the hours of care provided to consumers. Also, according to the DOH, the State would realize savings of $150 million should these measures be adopted.
As the 2019-2020 legislative session heats up, here are some deadlines to keep in mind:
- February 2 and February 14, 2019: The Governor’s 21-day and 30-day budget amendments are due, respectively. Any feedback provided by lobbying and interest groups to the proposed executive budget will be considered and amendments may be made.
- Sometime in early March: Preparation and passage of budget positions by the Senate and Assembly.
- Sometime in mid-March: The joint Senate and Assembly conference committees will be established and convened to reconcile budgetary positions between the proposals advanced by the Executive and the Legislative branches.
- Mid to late March: Final budget negotiations between the Legislature and Executive Branches, and any interest groups, will be conducted.
- April 1, 2019: The deadline for the budget to be passed, although the budget could be passed earlier.