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.
This bill authorizes the Commissioner of Health, beginning with annual periods starting April 1, 2025, to make additional adjustments to Medicaid medical assistance payment rates for certain home care and hospice-related providers. Covered entities include certified home health agencies, managed long term care plans, hospices, long term home health care programs, licensed home care services agencies, and other qualifying providers. The rate adjustments must be targeted to recruitment, training, and retention of direct care workers in shortage areas and shortage disciplines, such as nurses, therapists, social workers, home health aides, and personal care aides.
The bill also allows the commissioner to pilot the use of these funds for supportive incentives intended to improve workforce recruitment and retention. Examples listed in the bill include transportation, education, training, child day care, career ladder supports, peer support, and other supports the commissioner determines appropriate. The bill requires a report by April 1, 2027, to the governor and legislature on the program’s effectiveness, including whether it improved recruitment, retention, and community need, and it directs the commissioner to seek input from providers, plans, consumers, and workers.
The bill amends Public Health Law section 3614 and section 2807-v to create a new authority for targeted Medicaid rate enhancements for home care and hospice providers serving workforce shortage areas and disciplines. It also permits the use of unexpended funds and balances under section 2807-v, subject to budget director approval and available federal financial participation, to finance these adjustments, capped at up to 30 percent of the aggregate level specified for existing subdivision 9 adjustments. The practical effect is to give the Department of Health a new financing tool to support the home care workforce and related provider capacity without creating a standalone appropriation in the text.
The available context suggests the bill is generally supportive and workforce-focused, with an emphasis on addressing shortages in home care and hospice services. Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided material, there is no documented opposition or formal debate to indicate broader legislative division. The bill’s structure, including a reporting requirement and pilot approach, suggests an effort to build evidence for whether the rate adjustments improve recruitment and retention.
The main potential points of contention are fiscal and administrative rather than ideological. The bill relies on available federal financial participation, approval from the state budget director, and unexpended funds and balances, which may raise questions about funding stability and competing uses of Medicaid dollars. Another possible issue is how the commissioner will define shortage areas, shortage disciplines, and eligible supportive incentives, since those determinations are left largely to agency discretion. No specific opposing lawmakers, providers, or stakeholder groups are identified in the provided record.