BILL NUMBER: S6054A

SPONSOR: HANNON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to authorizing, in
certain cases, the provision of in-home private duty nursing services to
a recipient of medical assistance by a relative who is a registered
professional nurse

 
PURPOSE:

To provide a mechanism whereby relatives of a Medicaid recipient who has
been authorized to receive in-home private duty nursing services to be
provided by a relative who is a registered professional nurse.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill adds a new section 365-o of the social services
law to allow Medicaid recipients, or their representative or guardian,
who has been approved for in-home private duty nursing, to apply to the
              

commissioner of health to allow a relative who is a registered profes-
sional nurse licensed in New York State to provide nursing care to the
recipient at the nursing rate of pay.

Section 2 of the bill provides an immediate effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

New York currently has a Consumer Directed Personal Assistants program
which allows relatives to provide personal assistant services under
Medicaid to their family member in certain circumstances, however under
that program relatives, no matter what their training, are considered to
be providing personal assistant services and reimbursed at that rate.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

On occasion, an individual who requires and is approved for in-home
nursing care through Medicaid has a family member who is a registered
professional nurse licensed in the state and qualified to provide the
care needed by their loved one. Current practice only allow a family
member to provide care and be reimbursed under Medicaid through the
Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program (CDPAP) at the personal
assistant rate of pay. This program allows family members to provide
services traditionally reserved to those licensed as nurses in limited
instances. However, CDPAP does not have a mechanism to allow relatives
to be hired and paid a nursing rate for approved in-home nursing care.
As a result, a nurse who would like to provide the care at home for a
relative must be able to take a substantial pay cut or is forced to work
as a nurse caring for someone else in order to earn the salary commensu-
rate to their licensure.

This legislation provides a mechanism for Medicaid recipients, or their
representatives, to apply to the Department of Health in these rare
instances where a family member is qualified and interested in providing
nursing services through Medicaid to their loved one and be reimbursed
at a nursing rate.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state as individuals would already be approved for in-home nurs-
ing care and the relative would not receive a higher rate of pay than
currently provided.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately