DOH Reverses Recent ALP Minimum Wage Update
Assisted living programs (ALPs) should have received a note from the Department of Health (DOH) earlier this week (copied below) informing them that the updates recently made to 2017 and 2018 ALP rates have been reversed. Early in August, DOH had posted updated 2017 and 2018 rates which recalculated minimum wage adjustments reflected in those rates from a regional calculation to a program-specific calculation based on submitted surveys for the respective years; click here for background. Payment adjustments related to these updates were reflected in Medicaid payment cycle 2242 (checks dated Aug. 10th and released on Aug. 26th).
Due to concerns subsequently identified with the data, DOH has now reversed these corrections to the 2017 and 2018 rates. Payment adjustments reflecting this reversal are expected to be reflected in Medicaid payment cycle 2247 (checks dated Sept. 14th and released on Sept. 30th). Members can access a listing of 2017 and 2018 rates (original, revised, and reversed) on the DOH website here. Please note that updates to 2020 ALP rates are NOT being reversed and were also contained in payment cycle 2242. At this time, it is unclear if, when, and how the 2017 and 2018 ALP rates will be further updated. However, we do remind members who receive minimum wage funding in their rates to document use of the funds and to be aware that the State may reconcile the funding provided to actual spending.
Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, or Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org. Both can be reached at 518-867-8383.
MESSAGE FROM DOH:
September 8, 2020
This is to inform you that the Bureau of Residential Health Care Reimbursement has published ALP rate adjustments for 2017 and 2018 and transmitted the rates to eMedNY for payment.
The ALPS rates that were loaded on July 31, 2020 have reverted to the previously approved rates. A further update will be forthcoming.
The rates have been posted on the NYS DOH public website at :
https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/long_term_care/reimbursement/alp/.
If you have any questions, please submit them to the ALP mail log at ALP-rates@health.ny.gov, attention Russ Smith.
Thank you.