What's happening
This bill requires an independent review of New York's early intervention program, focusing on service delivery, reimbursement adequacy, and recommendations for improvement.
Why it matters
Thorough evaluation of funding and pay structure. The bill mandates an in-depth review of how New York pays for early intervention services, including how rates are set for different types of services and whether those rates actually cover provider costs. This could impact the program’s sustainability and the ability to recruit and retain qualified providers.
Focus on equity and access. By requiring analysis of racial, socioeconomic, geographic, and language disparities, as well as barriers like travel and technology costs, the bill aims to address longstanding gaps in who can access timely early intervention services—potentially leading to more equitable outcomes for children and families across the state.
Workforce and future planning. The bill requires forecasting the number of children likely to need these services over the next five years, and the workforce needed to serve them, broken down by county. This could help prevent service shortages and ensure better distribution of resources where they’re most needed.
Stakeholder engagement and transparency. The requirement for input from parents, caregivers, providers, and municipalities, and the public posting of findings, means changes to the program will be informed by those most affected and will be openly shared—potentially increasing trust and responsiveness in the system.
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Who cares
Early intervention providers and service coordinators
The study would examine reimbursement methods, provider costs and salary comparisons, and recommend whether payment methods and rates should change.
Parents and caregivers of children eligible for early intervention
They would have opportunities to weigh in on study design and rate methods as the review examines service access, delays and implementation of individualized family service plans.
Municipalities
They would have opportunities to provide input, and the study would project service demand and workforce needs by county over the next five years.
New York State Department of Health
The department would have to issue a request for proposals within 180 days, commission an independent review and deliver and publish a report within two years.
Headline styles
Review Early Intervention Payments
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
26 Co-sponsors
- Nader Sayegh
- Sam Berger
- Karen McMahon
- Nily Rozic
- Mary Beth Walsh
- Andrew Hevesi
- Jodi Giglio
- Angelo Santabarbara
- Stefani Zinerman
- Demond Meeks
- Jeffrey Dinowitz
- Judy Griffin
- Sarah Clark
- Rebecca Kassay
- Alex Bores
- Steven Otis
- Jo Anne Simon
- Brian Manktelow
- Carrie Woerner
- Jen Lunsford
- Jaime R. Williams
- Anna Kelles
- Catalina Cruz
- Brian Cunningham
- Dana Levenberg
- Amanda Septimo
History
- Referred to ways and means
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Print number 283a
- Amend and recommit 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.
Review Early Intervention Funding
In Senate Committee · Disabilities · Sponsor Gustavo Rivera
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
283--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SAYEGH, BERGER, McMAHON, ROZIC, WALSH, HEVESI, GIGLIO, SANTABARBARA, ZINERMAN, MEEKS, DINOWITZ, GRIFFIN, CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to a review and recommendations of reimbursement adequacy and other matters relating to early intervention
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 2557-a to read as follows:
§ 2557-a. Early intervention program review. 1. The commissioner shall contract with an independent entity to provide a comprehensive study and review of the early intervention program including the models of service delivery, modalities of service delivery such as in-person or telehealth, and the rates of reimbursement for each such service and model made through the early intervention program for efficacy, adequacy and effectiveness of service delivery and the full implementation of individualized family service plans. The review shall include:
(a) a comprehensive assessment of the existing methodology used to determine payment for early intervention screenings, evaluations, services and service coordination, including but not limited to:
(i) analysis of the state's early intervention rules, regulations, and policies, including program policies and processes, including family grievance procedures and revenue sources, and how such compare to other states;
(ii) analysis of costs to providers participating in the early intervention program, including time and cost of travel, service provision, and administrative activities; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00007-02-5
(iii) analysis by discipline and labor region of salary levels for individuals providing early intervention services compared to the salary levels for individuals in the same disciplines and labor regions providing services other than in the early intervention program;
(b) recommendations for improving the quality and efficiency of the program and maintaining or changing reimbursement methodologies. Recommendations under this paragraph shall be consistent with federal law and shall include recommendations for appropriate changes in state law and regulations. The recommendations shall consider appropriate payment methodologies and rates for in-person and telehealth early intervention evaluations and services, including enhanced rates or modifiers, to address barriers in timely service provision as well as racial and socioeconomic disparities in access, with consideration of factors including, but not limited to, payment for bilingual services, travel time, geographic variability, access to and cost of technology, cost of living, historically underserved areas and other barriers to timely service provision;
(c) the projected number of children who will need early intervention services in the next five years disaggregated by county;
(d) the workforce needed to provide services in the next five years to all children eligible for early intervention services, disaggregated by county; and
(e) opportunities for stakeholder input, including but not limited to parents, caregivers, providers and municipalities on current rate methodologies and study design.
2. Such review shall also include an assessment of the accessibility of the program and efficacy of program models for the provision of early intervention services, including, but not limited to group services, individual services, facility based services and home-based services and the configurations of such service models. Such review shall include a comprehensive assessment of the utilization of each model and configuration, including barriers to fuller utilizations, and utilization disaggregated by clinical service.
3. Within two years after the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall submit a report of the findings and recommendations under this section to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairs of the senate and assembly committees on health, and shall post the report on the department's website.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the department of health shall issue a request for proposals no later than one hundred eighty days after this act shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.