S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  6981--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 27, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  WEBB  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed  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 state aid for home
   health care to meet community need

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.   Legislative intent. The legislature  finds  and  declares
 this  necessity  to  act to further support the state's home health care
 policy and goals as set forth in public health  law  section  thirty-six
 hundred, current public health law sections thirty-six hundred seven and
 thirty-six hundred fifteen providing a mechanism for annual state aid to
 certified  home  health agencies and supplemental to the rate structure,
 to meet state and regional home health community services need.
   The legislature finds that the changes in the state's aging demograph-
 ics, the rising public and medical care system demand for in-home  care,
 the  increasingly  complex  medical conditions dependent upon such care,
 and the associated delivery costs of  such  services,  necessitates  the
 updating  and  commensurate  funding  of  the section thirty-six hundred
 fifteen state aid mechanism to ensure its intended purpose. Accordingly,
 the legislature seeks the amendments provided for in this act to address
 home health community need,  with  targeted  assistance  to  underserved
 areas  and  populations,  home  health nursing and related staffing, and
 requisite technology-supports for service capability, access, and  effi-
 ciency.
   §  2. Section 3615 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 884
 of the laws of 1990, subdivision 10 as amended by section 30 of  part  A
 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   §  3615.  State  aid  to  certified home health agencies. 1. State aid
 shall be provided to certified home health agencies to assist in  devel-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01893-06-5
              

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 oping and ensuring their capacity to meet community need. Funds for such
 aid shall be made available each year in [an amount equal to twenty-five
 cents  per  capita  of  the population within each health systems agency
 region,  as established pursuant to article twenty-nine of this chapter,
 or two hundred thousand dollars, whichever is greater. Two million  five
 hundred  thousand  dollars  shall  be  for the state's share of payments
 provided pursuant to subdivision  five  of  section  thirty-six  hundred
 fourteen  of this article. The remaining amount shall be for purposes of
 providing grants  pursuant  to  this  section  and  sections  thirty-six
 hundred  seven  and  thirty-six hundred nine of this article] AMOUNTS AS
 MAY BE APPROPRIATED AND MADE  AVAILABLE  THEREFOR,  AND  DISTRIBUTED  TO
 AGENCIES IN THE FORM OF INCREASED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE RATES AND/OR DIRECT
 PAYMENTS OR GRANTS TO SUCH AGENCIES, AS BEST MAXIMIZES AN AGENCY'S ABIL-
 ITY  TO  RECEIVE  AND UTILIZE FUNDS FOR THE PURPOSES UNDER THIS SECTION,
 AND AS MAXIMIZES, WHERE APPLICABLE, FEDERAL MEDICAL  ASSISTANCE  PARTIC-
 IPATION.
   2.  [For  the  purpose  funding grants pursuant to sections thirty-six
 hundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine of  this  article  and  grants
 pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall allocate the proportion
 of  funds among the health systems agency regions using the last preced-
 ing federal census or other census data approved by the comptroller] THE
 COMMISSIONER SHALL ANNUALLY ALLOCATE FUNDS FOR THE PURPOSES OF  SUPPORT-
 ING  AND/OR  EXPANDING  ACCESS  TO  CERTIFIED  HOME  HEALTH  CARE AGENCY
 SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
   A. AS PROVIDED FOR IN PARAGRAPHS A, B, C, D, E, AND F  OF  SUBDIVISION
 ONE OF SECTION THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED SEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE;
   B. FOR SERVICES FOR HIGH-COST OR HIGH-NEED POPULATIONS, POPULATIONS IN
 REMOTE OR UNDERSERVED  REGIONS,  DIVERSE AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, OR
 POPULATIONS WITH SPECIAL CARE NEEDS;
   C. FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RECRUITMENT, SPECIALIZED TRAINING, AND RETENTION
 INITIATIVES  FOR HOME HEALTH NURSES, THERAPISTS, SOCIAL WORKERS AND AIDE
 PERSONNEL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLINICAL PRECEPTORSHIP  SUPPORT,
 TUITION   ASSISTANCE,   TRANSPORTATION  ASSISTANCE,  CHILDCARE  SUPPORT,
 EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS SUCH AS  PEER  MENTORING  PROGRAMS,  MENTAL
 HEALTH COUNSELING, AND WORKER SAFETY; AND
   D.  THE  ACQUISITION  AND  IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT THE
 DELIVERY AND/OR EFFICIENCY OF SERVICES.
   3. Such annual funds allocated [to each health systems agency  region]
 shall be made available [for grants] PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS
 SECTION  to  applicants  within each [such] region [which are determined
 eligible and approved by the commissioner] OF THE STATE pursuant to  the
 provisions  of  this  section [and sections thirty-six hundred seven and
 thirty-six hundred nine of this article].
   4. In order to be considered eligible for receipt of [a  grant]  FUNDS
 pursuant to this section, a certified home health agency shall submit an
 application  to  the  department. Such application shall demonstrate, to
 the satisfaction of the commissioner, that the agency:
   (a) received a certificate of approval pursuant to the  provisions  of
 section  thirty-six  hundred  eight  of  this article at least two years
 prior to the date of the application and that such certificate  has  not
 been revoked or annulled subsequent to its receipt and is not limited as
 of the time of application;
   (b) shall utilize [grant] SUCH funds [to provide home care services to
 persons  whose  residence  is in an area which, due to location, is more
 costly to serve, or persons whose conditions require  a  more  intensive
 level  of  home  care than typically provided in a visit]  TO SUSTAIN OR
 S. 6981--A                          3
 
 INCREASE HOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR THE PURPOSES SPECIFIED IN  SUBDI-
 VISION TWO OF THIS SECTION;
   (c)  [shall undertake reasonable efforts to maintain financial support
 from public and community contributed funding sources;
   (d)] shall [make every  reasonable  effort  to  collect  payments  for
 services  from  third  party  insurance  payers, governmental payers and
 self-paying patients] DEMONSTRATE A SERVICE  COMMITMENT  TO  THE  UNDER-
 SERVED OR HARD TO SERVE AREAS FOR WHICH FUNDS WOULD BE APPLIED; AND
   [(e)]  (D) shall have professional assistance available on a seven day
 per week, twenty-four hour per day basis[;
   (f) shall establish a reasonable relationship between costs and charg-
 es, or establish charges at approximate cost; and
   (g) has no other available financial  resources  to  serve  the  popu-
 lations as identified in paragraph (b) of this subdivision].
   5.  [For  the  purpose of this section and sections thirty-six hundred
 seven and thirty-six hundred nine of this  article,  a  grant  applicant
 shall  submit  a copy of its application to the health systems agency in
 whose region the applicant is located.
   6.] For the purpose of this section [and sections  thirty-six  hundred
 seven  and  thirty-six hundred nine of this article, each health systems
 agency shall convene an advisory group with  representatives  from,  but
 not  limited  to, local departments of health, including those organized
 and unorganized as  county  and  part-county  health  districts,  social
 services  districts,  offices for the aging, certified home health agen-
 cies, and consumers of home health agency services. Such advisory group,
 after considering recommendations from persons involved in or knowledge-
 able about home care services delivered in that region, shall,  consist-
 ent with state and regional health plans, identify priority regional and
 local  needs  for  the  purposes identified in this section and sections
 thirty-six hundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine  of  this  article.
 The  health  systems agency shall provide to the commissioner the recom-
 mendations of the advisory group regarding which grant applications meet
 regional and local needs, as well as the advisory group's prioritization
 of applications.
   7. For the purposes of this section and  sections  thirty-six  hundred
 seven  and  thirty-six  hundred  nine of this article,] the commissioner
 shall approve applications for [grants] FUNDS which  meet  the  require-
 ments of this section pursuant to which the application is submitted and
 rules and regulations, OR GUIDELINES OF THE DEPARTMENT, adopted pursuant
 thereto.  [In  approving  such applications, the commissioner shall take
 into prime consideration  the  recommendations  of  the  advisory  group
 convened by the health systems agency in whose region the applicants are
 located and also take into consideration other applications submitted by
 the  same  applicant for grants submitted pursuant to such sections. The
 commissioner shall notify each advisory  group  and  each  applicant  in
 writing  of his approval or disapproval and, if disapproval, shall state
 the reasons for disapproval.
   8. Grants] 6. FUNDS approved for the purposes of  this  section  [may]
 SHALL be made AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION each year [for up to a two-year
 period  or  until  the  costs  for  such  services provided by virtue of
 receipt of the grant are included in  rates  of  payment,  whichever  is
 sooner].  Certified  home  health  agencies which receive [grants] FUNDS
 pursuant to this section may reapply  for  [grants]  FUNDS  and  may  be
 approved if the applicant satisfies the requirements of subdivision four
 of  this section and rules and regulations, OR GUIDELINES OF THE DEPART-
 MENT, adopted pursuant to this section.
 S. 6981--A                          4
 
   [9.] 7. In the event that a public certified  home  health  agency  is
 approved  for [a grant] FUNDS, pursuant to this section, funds [provided
 under the grant] shall not reduce the amount of aid otherwise reimbursa-
 ble to such agency pursuant to article six of this chapter.
   [10.]  8.  The commissioner is authorized to promulgate such rules and
 regulations, OR GUIDELINES OF THE DEPARTMENT, as are necessary to  carry
 out  the  provisions  of  this  section.  Such rules and regulations, OR
 GUIDELINES OF THE DEPARTMENT, may include, but not be limited to,  mini-
 mum  and  maximum [grant] FUNDING levels PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUAL AGENCIES
 UNDER THIS SECTION.
   [11.] 9. Recipients of [grants] FUNDS shall submit to the commissioner
 reports on the use of [grants] FUNDS provided under this section at such
 times and in such format as the commissioner may prescribe.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law; provided however, that the
 amendments  to section 3615 of the public health law made by section two
 of this act shall not affect the expiration of such  section  and  shall
 expire  therewith. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such effective date.