Final NYS Budget Agreement: Wins for Primary Care After several weeks of negotiations, Governor Cuomo signed into law New York’s 2018-19 state budget late last week. CHCANYS is very pleased that the $168B budget deal includes several items of importance to primary care, including the following:
Patient-Centered Medical Home Incentive Payment Program The final budget restores the full $20M cut to the PCMH incentive payment programs, an item that CHCANYS strongly advocatied for. While we do not yet have additional details on exactly how the Dept. of Health will implement this restoration, we are extremely pleased that the State recognizes the importance of this funding to primary care providers as they transition to value-based payment.
Safety Net Funding As expected, the final budget maintains level funding of $54.4M for the D&TC Safety Net Fund (previously known at the D&TC Uncompensated Care Fund).
Capital Funding A total of $475M has been allocated to the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program, with a minimum of $60M set aside for community-based providers, including FQHCs. Additional funding has been set aside for the Assisted Living Program (ALP) providers which will not come out of the community-based provider pool.
Telehealth As CHCANYS recommended, the definition of originating site (where the patient is located) has been expanded to “include the patient’s residence within New York State, or temporary location either within or outside New York State.” Additionally, the Dept. of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Substance Abuse Services, and the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities are required to develop a coordinated document that clearly identifies any differences in telehealth regulations and policies, including those on reimbursement, between the agencies.
Health Homes Cuts to the Health Homes program are much smaller than initially anticipated: $10M this year and $16M next year, for a total of $26M over two years. Health Homes will be required to perform background checks and may be subject to penalties if they fail to meet participation targets. Additionally, in a letter to legislative leaders, the Dept. of Health committed to making several reforms to the program, including an increased focus on quality outcomes, data collection and reporting.
School-Based Health Centers School-based health centers have received $8.3M in grant funding, which includes $4M to restore funds to SBHC that were cut as part of last year’s budget.
Doctors Across New York The final budget maintains level funding for the DANY program at $9M.
Thank you all so much for your strong advocacy during this budget season. We could not have maintained funding for all the items listed above without your ongoing commitment to health centers and their ability to provide high-quality, comprehensive primary care to all New Yorkers.
Senate and Assembly One House Bills Released During the week of March 12, the NYS Senate and Assembly released their One House Budget Bills containing their proposed amendments to the previously released Executive Budget (Click to view: Senate / Assembly). Highlights of particular interest to CHCANYS / health centers include:
Patient-Centered Medical Home Incentive Payment Program Both the Senate and the Assembly indicated their opposition to a $20M reduction in Patient-Centered Medical Home incentive payments, although the Assembly restored only half the funding, while the Senate bill included language completely rejecting the cut.
Capital Funding Both Houses increased the total funding for Health Care Transformation Program and the amount available for community-based providers and specified that funding for Assisted Living Program providers (ALP) should be allocated from the general pool, not the community-based set-aside. The Assembly increased the overall pool to $525M and earmarked $75M for community-based providers, whereas the Senate increased the pool to $500M with a $70M set-aside for community-based providers.
Telehealth Both Houses accepted the idea to expand the availability of telehealth services, although they each modified the Executive’s proposed language on this issue.
Integrated Care Both Houses accepted the Executive’s proposal to eliminate thresholds on the volume of substance use and behavioral health services that may be provided at a primary care site.
Health Homes The Assembly rejected the Article VII requirement that Health Homes be subject to background checks. The Senate rejected the Article VII language related to Health Homes and reduced the funding for the program by $100M.
School-Based Health Centers The Assembly added an additional $3.8M for additional services and expenses associated with new and existing school-based health centers to the Executive’s proposal. The Senate rejected the lined out appropriations to individual school-based health centers that were included in the Executive Budget.
Rose Duhan Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2018-19 Budget CHCANYS President & CEO Rose Duhan testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the FY 2018-19 New York State Executive Budget on Monday, February 12. A copy of her testimony is availablehere. Access video of the hearinghere
New York SFY 2018-19 Executive Budget: Issues of Significance to Community Health Centers On January 16, Governor Cuomo announced the major components of his State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018-19 Executive Budget, which totaled $168.2 B. Facing a projected $4.4 billion deficit, the Governor noted the significant challenges the State will face in order to close the deficit and enact a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on April 1, 2018. Much of the Governor’s presentation focused upon the extraordinary challenges to New York’s economic viability resulting from the new federal tax structure and the disproportionately negative impacts this structure imposes upon New York State.
While the Governor highlighted his strategy for addressing the damaging impacts of the federal tax structure, he also noted that other federal actions are causing both significant uncertainty and damaging impacts upon the health care system in New York State. To offset these, the Governor proposes the creation of a $1.0 B Healthcare Shortfall Fund that will be supported by a series of revenue raisers, including funds associated with the acquisition of not-for-profit health insurers by for-profit entities. The purpose of the Healthcare Shortfall Fund is to ensure the availability of funding for health services for New Yorkers and reduce the impacts associated with reductions in federal support. It is not yet clear what programs and providers will be eligible for this fund or how these funds will be disseminated. As discussions progress, we will seek greater clarity and assurance that FQHCs will be eligible for funding should there be a reduction or loss of federal Community Health Center funding.
Consistent with prior years, the Governor’s Executive Budget includes a number of proposals of significance to community health centers, including:
Safety Net Pool – The Governor continues funding for the Safety Net Pool at last year’s level of $54.4 M.
Capital Funding – The Executive Budget includes $425 M to support a third year of capital funding for the Health Care Facility Transformation program. The funding will provide support for both capital and non-capital projects that further the State’s health care transformation goals. The Budget sets aside up to $60 M of the $425 M for community-based providers, including clinics licensed by the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, and others. From this $60 M carve out, the Executive Budget proposes to earmark up to $20 M for awards to assisted living programs.
Telehealth Initiatives – The Budget includes language to expand the settings in which a patient may be located and receive Medicaid reimbursable telehealth services to include the patient’s residence and any other location where the patient may be temporarily located. The Budget also expands the list of medical professionals who are eligible to provide Medicaid reimbursable telehealth services. In addition, the Budget includes language to clarify that remote patient monitoring may include follow up telephone calls and requests for and the transmission of data in response to prior interactions.
It is worth noting that although the Governor’s State of the State book indicates that the Executive intends to launch a pilot program to provide funding to rural telehealth providers to support the adoption and expansion of telehealth, the Executive Budget does not include any discrete funding to specifically address this initiative.
Health Homes – The Budget proposes to reduce funding for health homes by $67.65 M and establishes targets for health home participation by special needs and high-risk populations enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans. At the same time, the Budget authorizes incentive payments to Medicaid enrollees who are members of health homes for participating in wellness activities and for avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary use of emergency department services.
Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) - The Executive Budget reduces the funding available to support PCMH by $20.0 M. The Budget assumes implementing the reduction through administrative actions, which have not yet been clarified.
School Based Health Centers – Funding is continued for School Based Health Centers at the levels enacted last year. There are no new reductions proposed.
Migrant Farmworker Program – The SFY 2018-19 Executive Budget continues funding for this program at $406,000, which is consistent with prior years’ levels.
2018 State of the State Address: Initiatives of Significance to New York's Community Health Centers On January 3, 2018, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo delivered his eighth State of the State address. The Governor’s address, which exceeded 90 minutes in length, touched upon a multitude of issues, including a broad mention of the Governor’s commitment to ensuring access to health care for all New Yorkers. Consistent with prior years, the Governor’s Office also released a written overview of the Governor’s priorities for 2018, which complements and expands upon the Governor’s address and offers additional details about initiatives touched upon during his address and information about proposals not included in his speech. Click here to access a copy of the 2018 State of the State book. While the Governor did not specifically reference community health centers, there are several initiatives included in his 2018 priorities that are of interest to CHCs and the work they do.
Proposal: Pass the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act The Governor will introduce legislation in 2018 to codify the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act, which will ensure access to contraception, including emergency contraception.
Proposal: Require Outreach and a Comprehensive Homeless Services Plan from Each Local Social Services District This multi-prong initiative will require local governments and regional transportation authorities to establish outreach programs to address street homelessness. Additionally, the proposal will require the state Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) to work with local social services districts (LDSS) to ensure that the numerous local efforts to combat homelessness are coordinated among all providers of such services, including LDSS and community based organizations.
Proposal: Increase Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness This proposal will require OTDA and the Office of Mental Health to coordinate efforts to ensure that Assertive Community Treatment teams are connected to existing shelters, and require the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to make on-site peer delivered substance use treatment services available in 14 existing shelters.
Proposal: Invest When It Matters Most: The First 1,000 Days of Life Building on the recommendations developed by the Governor’s First 1,000 Days on Medicaid working group, this initiative will:
Develop a standardized model of pediatric primary care;
Facilitate group-based models of prenatal care to support pregnant women living in neighborhoods with the poorest birth outcomes in the State;
Enhance home visiting services in three high-risk communities;
Launch peer-family navigator services in non-health care community settings, such as family homeless shelters and drug treatment centers; and,
Provide parents of young children with improved access to evidence based parent-child therapy models.
Proposal: Reverse the Opioid Epidemic This initiative reflects the Governor’s continued focus on the opioid crisis and includes numerous efforts to address this issue, including:
Taking enforcement actions against pharmaceutical opioid distributors for breaching their legal duties to monitor, detect and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids;
Introducing legislation that includes several provisions related to opioid prescriptions, including language to limit opioid prescription refills to seven days without an in-person office visit;
Limiting requirements for prior authorization and co-payments for outpatient addiction treatment;
Directing several state agencies to implement regulatory and policy reforms that increase access to substance use disorder services, such as considering new regulations to include subacute pain as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana; and,
Introducing legislation to add numerous fentanyl analogs and synthetic cannabinoids to the State’s Controlled Substance Schedule, while also giving the Commissioner of Health broad authority to more easily add dangerous substances to the schedule.
Proposal: Enforce Lead Testing The Governor will direct the Department of Health, the Division of Homes and Community Renewal and other state partners to develop a system to ensure that housing authorities and landlords are protecting children from the dangers of lead exposure.
Proposal: Empower Health Care Consumers This proposal includes numerous initiatives aimed at assisting New Yorkers with navigating the health care system and promoting greater transparency regarding health care costs.
Proposal: Expand Access to Health in Rural New York by Expanding Telehealth Services The Governor is proposing two initiatives this year to modernize and expand access to telehealth services. The Governor will introduce legislation that will broaden the settings at which a Medicaid recipient can receive telehealth services. Additionally, the Governor will launch a pilot program to provide support to rural health care providers for telemedicine equipment and IT support.
Proposal: Leverage Hospital Community Benefit Investments to Support Prevention Initiatives Expanding on federal requirements included in the Affordable Care Act, this initiative will require all voluntary non-profit hospitals to include in community service plans information about the investments each hospital is making in community health improvement interventions, including those associated with the Prevention Agenda.
Additionally, the Governor advances several initiatives that could impact populations served by CHCs. These proposals, which are also contained in the book, are related to:
Improving the rights of and protections for immigrants;
Promoting greater tolerance for all New Yorkers;
Serving our veterans;
Setting the right learning conditions for youth; and
Supporting the needs of the modern aging population.
Final New York State FY 2017-18 Budget Includes Increased Capital and Working Capital Funding for Community-Based Providers The New York State FY 2017-18 budget was enacted on Sunday, April 9th, after the Governor and Legislature came to agreement on several outstanding issues. The final budget bill includes $54.4M in indigent care funding and $500M in Health Care Facility Transformation Funding (HCFTF), a minimum of $75M of which has been earmarked for community-based providers—twice as much as was first proposed in the Governor’s Budget proposal. The budget language specifies that:
Awards from the first round of Transformation Funding will be announced by May 1, 2017;
Up to $300M of the $500M HCFTF will be used to fund those applicants that did not receive an award in the first round of funding;
A new RFA for the remaining funds will drafted and reflect “legislative, community and stakeholder input.”
Thanks so much to all of you who participated in Advocacy Day, met with your legislators, and took action to urge the State to support the needs of community-based providers. The increase in HCFTF funding available for health centers and other community-based providers is a direct reflection of your hard work and commitment. Click here for a summary of health-related highlights prepared by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC. The final appropriations matrix is available here, and the final HMH Article VII matrix is available here.
Senate and Assembly One House Bills Released The Assembly and Senate released their budget responses to the Governor’s budget proposal - known as one house bills – on Monday, March 13. CHCANYS is still reviewing the bills and will provide a more detailed summary soon; in the meantime, please note the following hightlights:
Indigent Care Funding Neither the Assembly nor the Senate included the additional $20M for indigent care funding in their one house bill. Since the funding is not included in any version of the budget proposals, it will be very difficult to secure its inclusion in the final version of the budget.
Health Care Facility Transformation Fund The Assembly increased the funding for the Health Care Facility Transformation Fund to $700M (up from the $500M proposed by the Governor) and increased the set-aside for community-based providers to $125M. The Senate increased the funding for the Health Care Facility Transformation Fund to $800M but did not set aside any funds for community-based providers, nor did they include any of the language included in the Governor’s proposal outlining how the funds are to be appropriated. We expect that the total amount of funds and how they are distributed will be subject of negotiation in the coming days.
School-Based Health Centers Both the Senate and the Assembly rejected the Governor’s proposal to pool funding for many public health programs, including school-based health centers, and restored the funding to line items. The Assembly included language to maintain the carve-out from managed care for school-based health centers.
Click below to view matrices prepared by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC:
CHCANYS Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2017-18 Budget CHCANYS Assistant Director of Policy Lacey Clarke testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the 2017-18 New York State Executive Budget on Thursday, February 16. During her presentation, Ms.Clarke highlighted the need for a $20M increase in indigent care funding for FQHCs and other safety net providers, many of whom may be forced to reduce staff, eliminate expansion plans and/or limit access to services without it. Ms. Clarke also talked about the central role played by FQHCs and other community-based providers in the State’s ongoing health system transformation efforts and asked that a minimum of 25% of the $500M allocated to the Health Care Facility Transformation Program be earmarked for community-based providers to enable them to participate meaningfully in reform initiatives. A copy of her testimony is available here. To read CHCANYS' press release, click here.
New York SFY 2017-18 Executive Budget Proposal: Health Care Highlights New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently released his Executive Budget proposal for the 2017-18 fiscal year, which begins on April 1. This year’s proposal is lean, with generally flat funding. Despite the Governor’s claim that there were no cuts to Medicaid, there do appear to be cuts. The Department of Health’s budget was about $400M less than last year, and CHCANYS has reached out to the Department of Budget and the Governor’s office for further clarification regarding appropriations that have historically been included in the budget and do not appear to be included this year. With a flat or reduced budget, there are not a lot of new programs.
CHCANYS budget advocacy efforts this year will be focused on increasing indigent care funding by $20M, securing proportional capital funding for community-based providers, and protecting existing health center funding streams. Your participation on Advocacy Day and throughout the budget process will be critical to advancing these priorities.
Specific items in the Governor’s budget of relevance to health centers include:
$54.4M in state funding for the Diagnostic and Treatment Center (DTC) Indigent Care Pool (the same funding level as FY16-17)
$30M for community-based providers as part of the $500M Health Care Facility Transformation Program (the funding level for community-based providers is the same as FY16-17, although the total pool amount increased from $200M to $500M)
Language that permits the State to make changes to Medicaid appropriations and Health Care Reform Act (HCRA) appropriations if federal financial participation or amounts received are less than projected, including due to federal changes, such as repeal of the ACA or Medicaid block granting.
$406K in funding for Migrant Farmworkers (the same funding level as FY16-17)
Funding for Workforce programs, including a $2M increase in funding for Doctors Across New York
Block grants for certain public health programs with a 20% reduction in funding: Disease Prevention and Control: $33,365,000 Maternal and Child Health Care Program: $26,755,000 Health Workforce: $33,713,000 Health Access and Advocacy: $4,524,000
No language on Limited Service Clinics. Unlike in previous years, there is no proposal to authorize the Department of Health to regulate “minute clinics.”
For more detailed Executive Budget coverage:
An expanded summary of Health and Mental Hygiene-related budget highlights is available here.
A list of notable items from the appropriations bills is available here.
A matrix showing selected Health and Mental Hygiene-related provisions from HMH Article VII of the Executive Budget is available here.
State of the State 2017 Governor Cuomo delivered his 2017 State of the State message last week via a series of regional addresses that took place in various locations across New York. Click here to view this year’s signature proposals.
NYS Legislative Session Ending The NYS 2016 legislative session is scheduled to conclude this week, and it is expected that lawmakers will be working until late Thursday to reach agreement on a number of key items, including the ongoing opioid crisis and increased access to breast cancer screening. CHCANYS will provide additional details regarding this year’s end-of-session activities as they become available.
New York State FY 2016-17 Budget: FQHC-Related Highlights The New York State FY 2016-17 budget was finalized last week and includes a number of health-related items, detailed hereandhere. Highlights include $195 million for health care facility transformation funding, at least $30 million of which must go to community-based healthcare providers, including FQHCs. Also included is $54.4 million in state funding for the 2016 Clinic Uncompensated Care Pool (UCP). Unfortunately, the final budget bill does not include contingency funding to compensate for the potential shortfall in 2015 UCP federal funding. In a side letter, the Administration affirmed their support for the program and committed to working “aggressively” to secure federal funding for 2015 and 2016. CMS has not yet made a final decision regarding the State’s request for federal matching funds for 2015 UCP and beyond and as such, despite the lack of contingency funding in the State budget, the issue remains unresolved.
NYS Senate and Assembly Release One House Budget Bills Both the NYS Senate and Assembly have released their one house bills, which are spending and revenue recommendations made by the Legislature in response to the Governor’s proposed Executive Budget. The Legislature and the Governor will now enter into negotiations to adopt a final budget by April 1st. The CHCANYS Policy Team is continuing to analyze the bills, but in the meantime wanted to highlight the following items relevant to health centers:
Capital Funding for Health Care Facility Transformation
Both houses included funding for health care facilities to support capital and non-capital projects, including mergers, acquisitions and restructuring activities in furtherance of transformation, with a specific earmark for community-based providers, including FQHCs.
The Senate bill includes $300 million for health care facility transformation, with a minimum of 25% earmarked for community-based providers, including FQHCs.
The Assembly bill includes $225 million for health care facility transformation, with a minimum of $25 million earmarked for community-based providers, including FQHCs.
Uncompensated Care Pool (UCP)
Both the Senate and the Assembly included language in their bills allocating $54.4 million to the D&TC Uncompensated Care Pool in the event that CMS does not approve federal funding to cover 2015 losses.
Both houses maintained the $54.4 million in state funding for the UCP proposed in the Executive budget.
Minimum Wage
The Assembly included a proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2021 statewide (2018 in New York City) in their bill and allocated $200 million to support supplemental payments to healthcare providers to reflect increased labor costs associated with the wage increase.
The Senate bill did not include the minimum wage increase.
Migrant Health
Both houses maintained the $406,000 in funding for migrant health programs as proposed in the Executive budget.
School Based Health Centers
Both houses included language in their bills to delay the Medicaid Managed Care Carve-In for School Based Health Centers for one year from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017 and make permanent the Medicaid Managed Care Carve-Out for Mental Health Services.
Doctors Across New York
The Senate included language collapsing funding for the Doctors Across New York (DANY) loan repayment and practice support funding pools into one $12 million pool, for which applicants could apply for either loan repayment or practice support for three years at $40,000 annually. Additionally, the Senate proposed that the awards be made annually. Currently, the awards are available every other year and the loan repayment and practice support programs are separate funding streams with different time commitments.
The Assembly did not include any proposals regarding DANY in their bill.
Retail Clinics
Both houses included language regulating retail clinics in their bills. While both bills require retail clinics connect patients to primary care providers, their approaches to this differ slightly.
The Assembly would require retail clinics to provide patients who indicate they do not have a primary care provider with a regularly updated list of local primary care providers, including FQHCs, who serve Medicaid, low income and uninsured patients.
The Senate would require clinics to provide patients with a list of local primary care providers but does not specifically include FQHCs or other providers who serve Medicaid, low income and uninsured patients.
For those interested in reading the bills in their entirety, the Senate health bill (S. 6407) is available here and the Assembly health bill (A 9007) is available here. Some appropriations listed above, including the Uncompensated Care Pool Funding and Migrant Health Program, are in the Aid to Localities bill (S6403/A9003), available here.
Click here to see an updated matrix prepared by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
CHCANYS 2016 Budget and Legislative Priorities Click hereto access a detailed list of CHCANYS' budget and legislative priorities for 2016.
CHCANYS Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2016-17 Budget CHCANYS Senior Policy Director Beverly Grossman testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the 2016-17 New York State Executive Budget on Monday, January 25. During her presentation, Ms. Grossman highlighted the devastating impact on FQHCs of the current $54.4 million deficit in federal indigent care funding and pointed out a number of additional “hidden cuts” that if left unaddressed, will undermine health centers’ ability to maintain current staffing levels and cover day-to-day expenses. Ms. Grossman also talked about the central role played by FQHCs and other community-based providers in the State’s current health system transformation efforts and stressed the need for dedicated financial resources to help these safety net providers participate meaningfully in reform initiatives.
A copy of her testimony is availablehere. To read CHCANYS' press release, click here.
FY 2016-17 NYS Executive Budget Proposal: Health Care Highlights On January 13, 2016, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo released his Executive Budget proposal for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which begins on April 1, 2016. This year’s proposal is lean, with generally flat funding. The good news about this approach is that there do not appear to be many cuts. The bad news is that the proposal does not introduce many new programs, nor does it include funding for certain high-cost items (e.g., minimum wage and Health Republic losses).
One item of note is that the Governor’s budget book proposed increasing New York City’s share of Medicaid funding, which would cost the City nearly $2 billion over four years if approved. Discussions are ongoing as to what this proposal may mean for New York City or, if not successful, for the overall Medicaid budget.
CHCANYS budget advocacy efforts this year will be focused on ensuring that FQHCs have access to necessary state funding and receive an equitable distribution of any state healthcare investments as community healthcare safety net providers. Participation on Advocacy Day and throughout the budget process will be critical to vocalizing the needs of health centers as integral participants in the State’s healthcare transformation initiatives.
With those general observations in mind, notable successes for FQHCs include:
$54.4 million in state funding for the Diagnostic and Treatment Center (DTC) Indigent Care Pool (the same funding level as FY15-16, although we continue to wait on approval of the federal match for FY15-16 and beyond);
$406K in funding for Migrant Farmworkers (the same funding level as FY15-16);
No proposed changes to the 340B pharmacy program;
Funding for School-Based Health Centers (the same funding levels as FY15-16);
Funding for Workforce programs, including Doctors Across New York (the same funding levels as FY15-16);
Legislation permitting limited service clinics (i.e. retail clinics) to be operated by Article 28 providers (language specifically includes FQHCs) and imposing some requirements designed to strengthen linkages between these clinics and primary care providers, such as providing records of services rendered to patients’ primary care providers;
No proposed “bundling” of funds for Public Health programs.
Additionally, the budget proposal includes $195 million in capital dollars for a Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program, eligibility for which could potentially be extended beyond acute hospital facilities to include a broader spectrum of entities, such as D&TCs, behavioral health providers, and primary care and home health care providers. Funding for this program would be reallocated from the FY 15-16 appropriation for Oneida County hospitals. As you know, CHCANYS has been working hard over the past year to highlight the discrepancy between the Administration’s healthcare transformation goals and state allocation of resources. We will continue to advocate strongly that this proposed funding stream be shared equitably with the community-based providers upon whom current reform efforts so heavily depend.
For more detailed Executive Budget coverage:
An expanded summary of Health and Mental Hygiene-related budget highlights is available here.
A list of notable items from the appropriations bills is available here.
A matrix showing selected Health and Mental Hygiene-related provisions from HMH Article VII of the Executive Budget is available here.
The joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the Executive Budget will take place on Monday, January 25, during which Senior Policy Director Beverly Grossman will deliver testimony on behalf of CHCANYS. The one-house legislative responses will likely be released in late February or early March, and the final budget release is expected no later than the April 1 deadline.
New York State FY 2015-16 Budget: FQHC-Related Highlights The Legislature passed the New York State FY 2015-2015 budget on March 31, on time for the fifth consecutive year.
Click here for highlights relevant to FQHCs, prepared for CHCANYS by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
Click here to access a statement from Governor Cuomo’s office.
NYS Senate and Assembly Release One-House Budget Bills The NYS Senate and Assembly have issued one-house bills in response to Governor Cuomo’s FY15-16 proposed budget. Click here for an overview of health and mental hygiene-related highlights. Click here for an appropriations matrix.
While these bills do not include either the changes to the 340B program or the block granting of the SBHC and primary care workforce programs proposed by the Governor, which is positive news, they also fail to earmark sufficient capital funding for community-based safety net providers and do not provide the support necessary to ensure full funding of the D&TC Uncompensated Care Pool. CHCANYS will continue to focus its advocacy efforts in these areas in the coming weeks as state budget negotiations continue.
CHCANYS' 2015-16 Legislative Agenda Released In response to Governor Cuomo's FY15-16 Executive Budget proposal, CHCANYS developed an issue brief outlining its legislative agenda, which stresses the need for increased investment in the community-based safety net providers, including FQHCs, whose work is central to the State's current health care delivery system transformation efforts. To access this document,click here.
CHCANYS Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2015-16 Budget CHCANYS Senior Policy Director Beverly Grossman testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the 2015-16 New York State Executive Budget on Monday, February 2, 2015.
In her testimony, Ms. Grossman stressed the need for increased financial and capital investment in the community-based safety net providers whose work is integral to the current efforts to transform New York’s health care delivery system. Her comments highlighted the 50-year track record of FQHCs in caring for and designing effective interventions for vulnerable, medically-underserved populations, and included a number of recommendations for facilitating the shift away from inpatient-focused care by providing the resources necessary to strengthen and expand their operations.
A copy of Ms. Grossman’s testimony is availablehere. To read CHCANYS' press release, click here.
Cuomo Releases FY 2015-16 Executive Budget Proposal On January 21, 2015, Governor Cuomo delivered his annual “State of the State” address to the Legislature. At the same time, he introduced his FY 2015-16 Executive Budget proposal. For a summary of health care highlights, please click here.
An expanded summary of Executive Budget Highlights related to health and mental hygiene is available here.
Notable Items from the Health and Mental Hygiene Aid to Localities Appropriations Bill are available here.
A matrix with selected healthcare section related provisions from HMH Article VII of the Executive Budget is available here.
NYS Legislature Back in Session The NYS Legislature kicked off its 2015-16 session with a swearing-in ceremony on January 7. The annual State of the State address, originally scheduled to take place last week, has been postponed until January 21 in order to accommodate funeral arrangements for the late Governor Mario Cuomo, who passed away on January 1.
NYS 2014-15 Legislative Session Recap The New York State 2013-14 Legislative Session adjourned on June 20. While the bulk of New York’s health care legislation is developed during and incorporated into the State budget process, there were a number of issues negotiated by Legislature and Governor Cuomo during the final few weeks of the session, including landmark legislation to allow for the use of medical marijuana and a suite of bills focused on fighting opioid addiction, which has reached epidemic proportions in areas of the State. Click here to read an overview prepared for CHCANYS by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
New York State FY 2014-15 Budget: FQHC-Related Highlights The Legislature passed the New York State FY 2015-2015 budget on March 31, on time for the fourth consecutive year.
Click here for highlights relevant to FQHCs, prepared for CHCANYS by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
Click here to access Governor Cuomo’s press release.
CHCANYS Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2014-15 Budget CHCANYS President and CEO Elizabeth Swain testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the 2013-14 New York State Executive Budget on Monday, February 3, 2014.
In her testimony, Swain applauded Governor Cuomo for recognizing the need to shift New York’s health care infrastructure from inpatient hospital settings to primary care delivery systems. Her comments stressed the central role that FQHCs play in sustaining New York’s health care safety net and illustrated numerous ways in which investment in primary care will ultimately lead to improved health outcomes and reduce costs.
For a copy of the complete testimony, click here. To watch a video of the hearing, click here.
Summary of FY 2014-15 Executive Budget Proposal Click here to read a summary of the FY 2014-15 Executive Budget Proposal prepared by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
2014 Legislative Session Kicks Off with State of the State Address Governor Andrew Cuomo kicked off the 2014 Legislative Session with his annual State of the State address on January 8th. His comments included brief mentions of NY State of Health enrollment and a proposed medical marijuana pilot, as well as the establishment of Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives, the promotion of organ donation, and the creation of the NY Genomic Medicine Network. Medicaid was not discussed.
The Executive Budget proposal is due by January 21, 2014, and the Legislature’s Joint Budget Hearing on Health/Medicaid has been scheduled for February 3.
To access a copy of the Governor’s remarks, click here.
NYS 2013-2014 Budget Enacted The Legislature passed the $141.3 billion State budget on March 28th, on time for the third consecutive year. Click here for a health-related budget PowerPoint, prepared for CHCANYS by Carolyn Kerr of Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
NYS 2013-2014 Budget Update In keeping with their plan to pass this year’s budget ahead of schedule, the Legislature and Executive completed budget negotiations and printed all of the final budget bills this past weekend. It is expected that the Legislature will vote on the bills today. CHCANYS has worked diligently to protect community health centers and the communities they serve throughout the budget process. We are pleased that our efforts, coupled with your strong advocacy, culminated in the successful resolution of many of our top priority issues. For a summary of key FY2013-14 budget provisions, click here.
NYS Legislature Aims for Third On-Time Budget It appears that the New York State Executive Budget will be delivered on time for the third consecutive year. The process is moving very quickly, and it is expected that the final FY 2013-14 budget bill will be passed before the session breaks for Passover and Easter at the end of the month. Both the Assembly and Senate released their budget resolutions on Monday, March 11, and the final report of the Joint Conference Committee is due today. Additional budget information will be posted on the CHCANYS website once it becomes available.
CHCANYS Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2013-14 Budget
Beverly Grossman, CHCANYS' Director of Policy, testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the 2013-14 New York State Executive Budget on Wednesday, January 30.
In her testimony, Grossman lauded Governor Cuomo for his support of community health centers, demonstrated most recently in the 1115 Waiver submitted by NY State to the federal government, and recognized State leadership for making health system reforms to reduce costs, improve health status and quality of care in New York. Grossman also expressed concern about ambiguities in the 2013-14 Executive Budget appropriations. The Executive Budget includes undefined “buckets” of funding and broadens the authority to the Commissioner of the Department of Health to review, allocate and change funding after the passage of the budget.
New York’s FQHCs and CHCANYS proudly support the following policy proposals:
The Executive Budget’s proposed $54.4 million for the Diagnostic and Treatment Center (D&TC) Indigent Care Pool;
Initiatives to strengthen the primary care workforce, including the MRT Workforce Recommendations included in the Executive Budget and the Primary Care Service Corps and Doctors Across NY programs; and
Continued funding for community health centers serving migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families.
Governor Cuomo Releases 2013-14 New York State Executive Budget On January 22nd, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled his 2013-14 Executive Budget. The Legislature will likely begin budget hearings in early February. After the hearings, the Assembly and Senate will release their responses to the Governor’s proposal, leading to the final step: negotiations between all parties on a final budget. Unless the Governor agrees to resubmit a budget bill, the Legislature can only either approve or not pass items in the proposed budget. CHCANYS is working quickly to create a list of 2013-2014 Executive Budget health-related highlights to share. Click hereto access New York State’s 2013-14 Budget web page.
We expect that New York will have an on-time budget, passed by April 1, 2013 if not earlier. We will continue to keep you informed as we move through the budget process. If you have any questions or would like further details about the proposed budget, contact Beverly Grossman at bgrossman@chcanys.org.
Governor Cuomo Delivers State of the State Address on January 9th On Wednesday, January 9, 2013, Governor Cuomo delivered his third State of the State address. The agenda the Governor set forth included strengthening New York’s public education system as well as its emergency response capacity, including upgrades to harden New York’s infrastructure and ensuring the resiliency of its healthcare facilities. He also laid out his plans to improve the quality and safety of care provided to hospital patients, increase the state’s minimum wage to $8.75, require pay equity for women, strengthen abortion rights, expand the state’s ban on assault weapons, and require a public financing of political campaigns. Click here to watch a video recording and/or download a Powerpoint copy of the presentation.
NYS 2012-13 Legislative Session Recap The New York State 2012-13 Legislative Session adjourned on June 22. Given that the bulk ofNew York’s health care legislation is developed during and incorporated into the State budget process, there was a notable number of bills up for consideration by the Assembly and Senate during the final few weeks of the session.Click hereto read an overview prepared for CHCANYS by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.
New York State 2012-2013 Enacted Budget: Health-Related Hightlights The Legislature passed the $132.6 billion State Budget on March 30th, two days in advance of the April 1st deadline. The Governor and legislative leaders announced the Budget agreement early last week, and the Budget bills were on the members’ desks for the required three days, much to the delight of those promoting transparency. A number of Health initiatives were enacted. CHCANYS worked diligently to ensure that Federally Qualified Health Centers were protected in the final decision-making. As you will see from the outcomes, we were largely successful. Click here for more.
CHCANYS Testifies at Joint Legislative Hearing on NYS 2012-13 Budget Beverly Grossman, CHCANYS' Director of Policy, testified at a joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Legislative Hearing on the health and Medicaid sections of the 2012-13 New York State Executive Budget on Wednesday, February 8th. Click here for more.
CHCANYS Analysis of NYS Budget Results for FY 2012-13 On January 17th, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled his 2012-13 Executive Budget. The Legislature has begun budget hearings that will produce Assembly and Senate responses to the Governor’s budget and lead to negotiations between all parties on a final budget. Unless the Governor agrees to resubmit a budget bill, the Legislature can only either approve or not pass items in the proposed budget. Click here to read CHCANYS' analysis of the NYS Budget Results for FY 2012-13.
CHCANYS Analysis of NYS Budget Results for FY 2010-11
The recent passage of the final revenue bill marked the end of a highly contentious New York State budget process for FY 2010-11. Despite the worsening state and national economy, CHCANYS and its members were able to preserve some recent gains. To read CHCANYS’ analysis of the key provisions in the health care portion of the budget, click here.
CHCANYS Testifies on NYS Budget
Director of Policy, Kate Breslin, testified before the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Joint Legislative Hearing on the 2010-11 Executive Budget on February 9th. Her testimony focused on health care and Medicaid in New York State. Click here to read her testimony.
CHCANYS Releases 2010 Legislative Agenda and Fact Sheet
CHCANYS top priorities for this year’s legislative session are Indigent Care, Transition Funding, Credentialing, Doctors Across NY and Migrant Health Care Funding. Click here to read the entire agenda. CHCANYS has also released its updated 2010 Fact Sheet. Click here for a PDF of the publication.
2009-10 Legislative Agenda and Budget
CHCANYS Responds to State Budget April, 2009 Community health and primary care fared well in the 2009-10 New York State Budget. Click here to read CHCANYS’ press release.
CHCANYS Urges Governor and Legislature to Increase D&TC Indigent Care Pool this Year March, 2009 Significant funds available through recently enacted Federal stimulus legislation presents New York with the opportunity to provide adequate support this year to the D&TC Indigent Care Pool. CHCANYS is urging the Governor and the Legislature to demonstrate their commitment to health care for vulnerable individuals by adding support for the D&TC Indigent Care Pool in the amount of $111 million. Click here for background and Policy Request Detail.
CHCANYS Realeses its 2009-10 Legislative Agenda February, 2009 Restoring Electronic Health Record Transition Funding and strengthening the Diagnostic & Treatment Centers Indigent Care Pool are at the top of the CHCANYS’ Legislative Agenda for 2009-10. Click here to download Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Center Handbook.
