NY State Senate Bill 2019-S1420

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to health
Jan 14, 2019	referred to health

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6768
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§3614 & 2807-v, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S8687, A10818
2021-2022: S3748, A1060
2023-2024: S9664, A313
2025-2026: S4924, A3268

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the commissioner of health to 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 and other entities for recruitment, training and retention of direct care workers for services in shortage areas and by shortage disciplines.

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1420

SPONSOR: SERINO
 
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.

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1420
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             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 ASSEM-
 BLY, 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  NINE-
 TEEN, AND FOR EACH ANNUAL PERIOD THEREAFTER, THE COMMISSIONER IS AUTHOR-
 IZED, 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 QUALIFY-
 ING 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  EFFEC-
 TIVENESS OF THE PROGRAM IN RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF DIRECT CARE HOME
 CARE  PERSONNEL, AND IN ADDRESSING COMMUNITY NEED, AND SHALL MAKE RECOM-
 MENDATIONS 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 CHAP-
 TER, WHICH SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT SPECIFIED IN SUCH SUBDIVISION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S1420

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

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2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Susan Serino

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Actions

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S1420 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments