Yesterday afternoon, Governor Cuomo announced the recipients of $491M in Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program funding via a series of regional press releases – click here to view them. We are especially pleased to see that 21 health centers received just over $59M, reflecting the State’s commitment to allocate a portion of funds to community-based providers. These funds will be used to further access to primary care in communities across New York and support the State’s ambitious healthcare reform agenda. A full list of awardees is available here.
As you may remember, the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program was initially implemented as part of the SFY 2016-17 budget. A total of $195M was allocated to the fund, $30M of which was to be set aside for community-based providers, including FQHCs. Applications for the initial round of funding were due in the fall of 2016. During the SFY 2017-18 budget process, the State reauthorized the program and added an additional $500M to the pool, at least $75M of which was to go to community-based providers. Since the awards for the initial $195M were not announced by the time the SFY 2017-18 budget was finalized, the State authorized the Department of Health to use $300M to make awards to applicants who applied for the initial funds last fall. Yesterday’s announcement reflects the entirety of the initial $195M appropriation, $59M of which was awarded to community-based providers (30%) and $296M of the SFY 2017-18 $500M appropriation, $28M of which went to community-based providers (9%).
A new RFA will be issued for the remaining $204M in SFY 2017-18 Transformation funds, at least $47M of which will be set aside for community-based providers. The Budget language requires that this RFA reflect legislative and stakeholder input, including on whether the eligibility requirements for community based providers be expanded. The State anticipates that it will be released in the fall; we will share additional information once it becomes available.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Congratulations to the awardees!