What's happening
This bill requires Medicaid insurers to pass through minimum wage funding to home and community-based long-term care service providers and fiscal intermediaries.
Why it matters
Ensures wage funding intended for direct care workers actually reaches those workers. by mandating that Medicaid insurers pass through state-appropriated minimum wage increases to home care providers and fiscal intermediaries, rather than keeping or redirecting those funds.
Protects existing service funding. by explicitly prohibiting insurers from using minimum wage funds to replace or reduce payments for other Medicaid services, which aims to prevent cuts to care quality or provider revenue.
Requires timely contract adjustments. so that providers and fiscal intermediaries receive additional wage funds before minimum wage increases take effect, potentially improving workforce stability and reducing service disruption.
Covers a broad range of managed care entities. (including both Medicaid managed care plans and managed long term care plans), ensuring uniform application and closing loopholes that could allow some insurers to avoid these requirements.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Home Care Workers’ Pay
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.308
- Print number 4972a
- Amend and recommit to health
- Referred to health
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to health
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
Show 3 earlier actions
- Ordered to third reading cal.1322
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- 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.
Protect Home Care Worker Wages
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Richard Gottfried
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4972--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 3, 2019
Introduced by Sen. RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to payments for home and community based long term care services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3614-f to read as follows:
§ 3614-f. Payments for home and community based long term care services. Contracts or agreements with insurers under the medical assistance program for home and community based long term care services provided under this article or by fiscal intermediaries operating pursuant to section three hundred sixty-five-f of the social services law shall provide terms and conditions for the pass-through of funds appropriated to compensate for minimum wage pursuant to section six hundred fifty-two of the labor law. If necessary in order to comply with this section, existing contracts with home and community based long term care services providers under this article and to fiscal intermediaries operating pursuant to section three hundred sixty-five-f of the social services law shall be amended at least ninety days prior to the effective date of any such law or regulation impacting wages. Insurers shall not use such funds to supplant payments for existing services under the Medicaid program. Such insurers shall include but not be limited to Medicaid managed care plans and Medicaid managed long term care plans.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03873-03-0
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 payments for home and community based long term care services
Purpose or general idea of bill
Use contractual mechanisms to assure that Medicaid managed care plans pass through in whole the money provided by the state to finance the incremental advancements in minimum wage.
Summary of specific provisions
The bill would add a new section 3614-f to the Public Health Law to require Medicaid managed care plans to amend contracts with home care providers(including consumer-directed personal assistance) 90 days prior to the effective date of minimum wage mandates, and prohibit the use of such funds to offset other debts owed to providers.
Justification
The 2018-19 enacted budget included $703 million to support the direct- care cost of minimum wage increases for Medicaid funded home care services. The state adds the minimum wage payments onto the capitated rates paid to managed care plans that are expected to pass the payment on to the home care providers with whom they contract.
The direct care workers are employed by home care providers under contract with the managed care plans, and so the statutory wage obli- gation rests with the home care providers - irrespective of a plan's diligence in distributing the funds as instructed by the Department of Health. Providers complain of being abused by plans who claim their payments are sufficient at current levels and should not have to increase.
Ensuring that all the funds appropriated by the State to support the direct care cost of minimum wage are distributed in a timely manner and in their entirety allows home care workers to receive their deserved increase in wages, while also protecting the viability of the home care industry.
Prior legislative history
2018: S. 8473A - Passed Senate 2019: S 4972 - Passed Senate
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.