Updates on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
As we reported last week the Department of Health (DOH) has made adjustments to personal care fee-for-service Medicaid rates, Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) Episodic Payment System (EPS) rates and the Long Term Home Health Care Program (LTHHCP) rates to reflect additional costs driven by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) changes. This week DOH posted to the Health Commerce System (HCS) the revised CHHA pediatric Medicaid rates effective Oct. 13, 2015 through Dec. 15, 2015 incorporating the state share of the $0.34 per hour being added to the rates for pediatric home health aide services.
DOH has posted a “Dear Colleague Letter” regarding the distribution of FLSA-related funding to managed care plans and their contracted home health care agencies. Home health care agencies include CHHAs, LHCSAs, LTHHCPs, and Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. As stated in the letter, “Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) Partial Capitation Plans will receive State share payment in cycle number 2008 which remits to providers on March 2, 2016. The total of the State share payments is $22,807,251. MLTC Plans will receive State share only payments as lump sum amounts. Phase IV rates (effective October 1, 2015) will include Federal Share with CMS approval.” LeadingAge NY has several questions regarding this letter and we have expressed our concerns to DOH on the lack of guidance for how the monies will be aportioned and distributed to providers and home care workers.
Attached to the letter were five attestations forms for:
The “Dear Colleague Letter” instructs both plans and providers to sign and submit the forms attesting that funds received will be distributed in their entirety to workers.
Plans are expected to distribute the forms to their contracted home care providers and obtain a signed form to be kept in their records for a period of 10 years. All fee-for-service providers should return the signed attestation forms to the DOH at FLSA@health.ny.gov.
If you have questions that you would like to submit to DOH either directly or through LeadingAge NY please copy me at cudell@leadingageny.org,
Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871