What's happening
This bill allows rate adjustments and funding for home care and hospice agencies to address worker shortages and support recruitment and retention.
Why it matters
Empowers the health commissioner to adjust payment rates. for home care and hospice agencies, specifically targeting areas and disciplines with workforce shortages, which could help stabilize care for vulnerable populations in those regions.
Allows funding to be used for a broad range of worker supports and incentives. including transportation, education, training, child care, career advancement, and peer support—addressing the root causes of recruitment and retention issues and potentially improving job quality for direct care workers.
Enables flexible and immediate use of unspent funds. from existing allocations to support these rate adjustments, which means agencies could see faster relief rather than waiting for new appropriations.
Requires public reporting and stakeholder input on program effectiveness. , ensuring ongoing oversight and the opportunity for future policy improvements based on real-world outcomes and feedback from providers, workers, and consumers.
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Who cares
Home care agencies, hospices and managed long term care plans
The bill would authorize Medicaid rate adjustments to recruit, train and retain direct care workers in shortage areas and disciplines, subject to federal funding availability and state budget approval.
- Likely support
Nurses, therapists, social workers, home health aides and personal care aides
Pilot funding could support transportation, education, training, child care, career ladders and peer support to improve recruitment and retention.
Home care consumers and their representatives
The health commissioner would seek their input when evaluating whether the program addresses community needs.
State health commissioner and budget director
They would oversee rate adjustments and funding approvals, with the commissioner required to report on effectiveness and recommend continuation or changes.
Headline styles
Support Home Care Workers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Boost Home Care Staffing
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Harry B. Bronson
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1420
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to home care and hospice worker shortage areas and disciplines
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 3614 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 9-a to read as follows:
9-a. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this section, effective for annual periods beginning April first, two thousand nineteen, and for each annual period thereafter, the commissioner is authorized, subject to the availability of federal financial participation and upon approval of the state director of the budget, to further adjust medical assistance rates of payment for certified home health agencies, managed long term care plans, hospices, long term home health care programs, licensed home care services agencies providing services under contract with such agencies and plans, and such other entities qualifying under subdivision nine of this section, targeted for recruitment, training and retention of direct care workers for services in shortage areas and by shortage disciplines which may include nurses, therapists, social workers, home health aides and personal care aides.
The commissioner is further authorized to provide such adjustments to pilot test the impact on recruitment and retention of allowing funds to be used for critical supports and incentives for direct care personnel, including transportation, education, training, child day care, career ladder, peer support, and other supports which the commissioner may determine.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section twenty-eight hundred seven-v of this chapter, funds for such adjustments may be made available, upon the approval of the state budget director, from any unexpended funds and balances available under such section, and in annu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07311-01-9
S. 1420 2
al amounts of up to thirty percent of the aggregate level specified for adjustments under subdivision nine of this section.
On or before April first, two thousand twenty-one, the commissioner shall submit information to the governor and legislature on the effectiveness of the program in recruitment and retention of direct care home care personnel, and in addressing community need, and shall make recommendations for the continuation or modification of the program. The commissioner shall seek the input of representatives of the providers, plans, consumers and workers in examining and reporting on the program.
§ 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2807-v of the public health law is amended by adding a new paragraph (jjj) to read as follows:
(jjj) Funds may be made available, from any unexpended funds and balances under this section, for rate adjustments authorized under subdivision nine-a of section thirty-six hundred fourteen of this chapter, which shall not exceed the amount specified in such subdivision.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to home care and hospice worker shortage areas and disciplines
Purpose or general idea of bill
To authorize the state commissioner of health to include among rate adjustments for health personnel recruitment, training and retention, an adjustment targeted specifically to geographic shortage areas and short- age disciplines and to allow the commissioner to pilot test the effec- tiveness of various approaches in support of this objective.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1: Amends § 3614 of the public health law to add a new subdivi- sion 9-a to authorize the state commissioner of health to include among the existing recruitment, training and retention rate adjustments for home care, hospice and managed long term care plans, an additional adjustment targeted specifically to geographic shortage areas and short- age disciplines.
The amendment would further allow the commissioner to pilot test the impact on recruitment and retention of allowing the rate adjustment funds to be used for critical supports and incentives for direct care personnel. These could include, but are not limited to, transportation, education, training, child day care, career ladder, peer support, and other that the commissioner may determine.
Section 2: Amends § 2807-v of the public health law, the HCRA tobacco control and health initiatives financing pool, to authorize the commis- sioner to be able to utilize from this pool unexpended funds and balances that may accumulate and to direct these to fund the state and local share of the new personnel/geographic shortage rate adjustments.
Section 3: Establishes the effective date.
Justification
There are major geographic and discipline shortages around the state that impair citizen access to vital home care and hospice services. The shortage's impacts reverberate across individuals, families and the health care system overall, as the dependence upon home care increases exponentially with demographic changes, changes in state of the art medical practice, and major changes in hospital and institutional care use prompted by state and federal health care reforms.
In 2002 and 2006, the state created adjustments to assist overall with recruitment, training and retention of health care workers across the continuum, including in home care, hospice and managed long term care. As major gaps in sufficient direct care resources have opened up across the state (both geographic and discipline-specific) in home and communi- ty based care, and with no other external sources of working capital or adjustment to operating revenue to support targeted intervention, this legislation is desperately needed to address citizen and community needs. The legislation will ultimately be cost-effective because the access and care gaps created by these shortages only yields higher cost service use in the absence of home care and hospice.
Prior legislative history
2018: S.8687 Referred to Health
Fiscal implications
Supported by existing unexpended and balance funds accumulating in the HCRA pool.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.