Another Department of Health Meeting on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Funding
LeadingAge New York along with other home care associations met with Department of Health (DOH) staff on May 9th to discuss Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) funding questions and concerns. Our questions and concerns centered on two parts, current and future issues.
The current issues included asking the DOH to share a list similar to the Quality Incentive Vital Access Provider Pool (QIVAPP) program on the funds the plans received and, if possible, how the funds were disbursed to the providers. DOH stated they would provide a list of what each plan received but did not have a break-out of what the plans disbursed to providers. DOH stated it will be the responsibility of the NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) to ensure all of the FLSA funds were properly disbursed.
DOH expects the federal FLSA share to be sent to the plans about two months from our May 9th meeting, which will be approximately July 9th. This funding will still be for the time period up to the end of March 2016. We asked DOH about FLSA funding after March 2016. It is expected FLSA funding will be included in the plan’s April rates which the plans should see sometime in the middle of Oct. Unfortunately, DOH clarified it will still be left to the plans and providers to resolve the disbursement methodology.
DOH expects the FLSA survey and attestation forms to be ready by June. LeadingAge NY and our members have been actively engaged in offering suggestions on both the survey and attestation form. It is expected they will be released through HCS or through a survey monkey format. We will keep members posted when DOH decides the best distribution process. The results of this survey will be instrumental in determining whether the FLSA funding add-ons need to be adjusted up or down.
Fully Integrated Duals Advantage plans should receive the FLSA funding for the same time period of Oct. 2015 through March 31, 2016 by end of this month. Mainstream Medicaid managed care plans should see FLSA funding in their Oct. rate package.
Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871