Senate Bill S6829

                                BILL NUMBER:S6829

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
the payment of the total average hourly worker cost to home care
services agencies

PURPOSE:

To ensure that entities who elect to provide home care aide services
through licensed home care services agencies reimburse those providers
for mandated wages, fringe and other benefit requirements, and
administrative costs.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 7 of section 3614-C of the
public health law to require those who elect to provide home care aide
services through contracts with licensed home care services agencies
(LHCSA) or other third parties to reimburse the LHCSA the total
average hourly worker cost, including the current total compensation
mandated and additional fringe and other statutory and benefit
requirements, and an administrative and general cost factor that is no
less than allowed pursuant to subdivision 6 of section 3612 of the
public health law.

Section 2 would make the bill effective immediately.
              

JUSTIFICATION:

Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2011 established a minimum wage for home
care workers who perform Medicaid reimbursed work for certified home
health agencies (CHHAs), Long Term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs)
and managed care organizations (MCOs) within New York City and within
the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. MCOs include
mainstream plans, as well as all forms of managed long term care plans
(MLTCs). The goal of the wage parity law is to retain a qualified long
term care work force and improve the quality of care for patients in
the State's Medicaid Long Term Care Program. This legislation ensures
that home care agencies such as licensed home care services agencies
(LHCSAs) are provided sufficient payments by managed care entities,
CHHAs and LTHHCPs to meet the obligations and intent of the law.

In counties subject to the wage parity law, agencies seeking to pay
rising wage parity rates must be assured reimbursement that will
permit them to cover the increased costs. The costs to employ home
care workers includes expenses that go far beyond the hourly wage that
is paid to an aide and it is critical that reimbursement rates reflect
the additional costs that agencies are subject to. Agencies incur
ongoing expenses related to worker recruitment and hiring, payroll
costs, worker retention, coordination of quality patient care, and
costs to comply with mounting unfunded mandates, regulations and
policies at both the State and Federal level. Worker wages make up a
high proportion of the cost of providing long term care, and the rate
of pay an agency is able to provide its workers is largely dependent
on the agency's reimbursement rate. Agencies are working under
increasingly limited resources and, in order to accommodate increased


wages for workers, there must be commensurate increases in
reimbursement.

Currently, agencies seeking to pay wage parity rates are not
guaranteed the proper payment amounts by managed long term care
entities, certified home health agencies or long term home health care
programs. This legislation works to ensure worker's wages under the
wage parity law are supported in payments to home health care agencies
by these entities. Specifically, the legislation requires that
reimbursement to licensed home care services agencies reflect the
total average hourly worker cost, including the current total
compensation mandated and additional fringe and other statutory and
benefit requirements, and an adequate administrative and general cost
factor. This legislation is critical to ensure the ability of agencies
to meet the increased wage and benefit mandates set forth by the wage
parity law, the stability of the home and community-based care
industry in wage parity regions, and consumer continuity and access to
high quality home care services.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.