DOH Announces Delay in Nursing Home Managed Care Transition

On Aug. 5, LeadingAge New York received official word from the Department of Health (DOH) that the transition of the nursing home benefit and population into Medicaid managed care in the New York City, Long Island and Westchester regions has been delayed from Aug. 1, 2014 to Oct. 1, 2014.  As has been the case all along, the delay is necessary because the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have yet to approve the State’s transition plan for the nursing home benefit and population.  Based on this delay and the State’s previous timeframes, our assumption at this point is that the transition in the rest of state would begin on April 1, 2015.

The official notice from DOH is as follows:

"As you know, the NH transition into managed care was not approved by CMS in order to implement on August 1, 2014.  In order for the State to secure the appropriate approvals from CMS, the transition of this benefit is being extended to October 1, 2014.    The Nursing Home Policy paper will be modified to reflect this date change and all dates will be extended based upon this proposed start date.  We apologize for any inconvenience these delays have caused, however, the State remains committed to implementing a smooth transition once CMS approval is obtained. 

Vallencia Lloyd, Director, Division of Health Plan Contracting and Oversight"

Source: DOH email message 8/7/14

Contact: Patrick Cucinelli, pcucinelli@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8827