DOH Releases List of Potential 1915.i Providers That Will Be Considered DSRIP Safety Net Providers
OMH to Release 1915.i Designation Process Shortly
At this week’s NYAPRS Conference workshop update by state officials that touched upon a number of issues for which NYAPRS has been heavily advocating, the following was announced:
- DSRIP Safety Net Status for 1915.i Providers
- We heard that the NYS Department of Health would be displaying on their website this week a list of those non-Medicaid behavioral health providers that DOH, OMH and OASAS expect will be given fully fledged DSRIP Safety Net provider status since they will likely meet the criteria to be designated as a 1915.i provider, pursuant to the process described below.
THAT LINK IS NOW AVAILABLE AT https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/docs/safety_net_1915i.pdf
“Providers on this list are OMH funded agencies currently receiving OMH funds to operate non-Medicaid reimbursable Home and Community Based-like services that are similar to or identical to the HCBS, also referred to as “1915i-like”, services that will be available to Health and Recovery Plan (HARP) enrollees if HARPs are approved by CMS.
All of the providers appear qualified to be designated to provide one or more HCBS services to HARP enrollees, based on their experience delivering OMH funded similar services.
Importantly, however, their appearance on this list is NOT tantamount to designation. These providers will have to apply for designation. Any provider on this list that does not apply to be an HCBS service provider and/or is not approved as an HCBS provider will be delisted as a “safety net” provider.”
Certainly, this list will not likely include all of the providers who meet this 1915.i eligible status. We are expecting that the state will announce the process by which eligible agencies that are not on this list can apply to be included.
- DOH will make the DSRIP Performing Provider System leads aware that these providers may soon be granted fully-fledged DSRIP Safety Net Provider status, since they will soon be directly billing Medicaid under the HARP program.
- This raises those providers’ positions in their negotiations with the various DSRIP PPSs.
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- 1915.i Service Designation
- Over the next week or so, OMH will be displaying on their website the criteria by which prospective 1915.i providers can apply, using a form on that page, to be officially designated as a 1915.i provider.
- They will soon be releasing the rate schedules by which 1915.i providers will be reimbursed under the HARP initiative.
- Designated 1915.i providers should then be approaching health plans that have applied to offer HARP benefits ASAP to enter into formal contract agreements with them, especially in New York City, given that the HARP will be rolled out there first.
- These agreements and/or contracts will apparently give the state confidence that these specific 1915.i providers will be indeed by providing HARP services and will thus allow it to give those providers start up dollars to ramp up their IT and other infrastructure systems. Stay tuned for more details!
- New HARP State Dates: At a recent MC TAC kickoff meeting, it was announced that the HARP initiative start date for NY will indeed be on April 1 in New York City and October 1 in upstate areas.
- Cuomo Executive Order to Create Employment First Policy Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo signed an executive order to establish the Employment First Commission, tasked with creating an Employment First policy for New York, which makes competitive, integrated employment the first option when considering supports and services for people with disabilities. For more details, see http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/09172014-executive-order-employment-first