BILL NUMBER: S6640

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to repeal section 3605-c of the public health law requiring
authorization for a licensed home care services agency to enroll as a
provider under the medical assistance program

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To restore the right of a qualified licensed home care service agency
(LHCSA) to serve Medicaid enrollees, to eliminate regulatory barriers
for families in need of licensed home health care services.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends the public health law by repealing
Section 3605-c, which authorizes the Commissioner of Health to require
home care agencies that are licensed by the state to enter into
contracts to provide services that they are already providing.

              

Section two of the bill provides that the bill shall be effective imme-
diately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Families seeking to obtain access to home health care continue to face
multiple and varied acute challenges many of which predate COVID-19. The
current law repealed here was enacted prior to the pandemic, limiting
the diversity and numbers of licensed agencies but importantly lowering
access for care.

Home care in recent years has been facing strong headwinds, with
decreased rates, increased costs, multiple redundant reporting require-
ments, strict regulation, a licensing moratorium, now lapsed with no
path forward, and requests for offers/proposals (RFO/P) for both the
Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) and Licensed Home
Care Services Agencies (LHCSA). In fact, patients seeking home care
under Medicaid are already limited in the number of agencies they can
choose by proposals enacted in prior years. This and recently enacted
MRT proposals have made home care and personal care difficult to obtain
for families under the Medicaid program.

This bill would eliminate the LHCSA RFO/P process by repealing the
section of law that authorized it, thus eliminating a new barrier for
families seeking home care.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately