Full CHHA EPS Rebasing Adjustment is in Effect

LeadingAge New York has confirmed with the Department of Health (DOH) that they have transmitted to eMedNY the revised Episodic Payment System (EPS) rates for Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs) effective Thurs., Oct. 1st.

This follows our advocacy efforts with the Governor’s health staff to mitigate the impact of the State’s Medicaid CHHA EPS rebasing. Our message was to limit the CHHA EPS rebasing to the final 2015-16 State’s fiscal plan level of $30 million.

As we reported, after the final budget was passed DOH indicated this might be the first reduction until full rebasing goes into effect in October 2015. LeadingAge NY, along with other home care associations, developed legislation (S.5878/A.8171), which was passed by both houses and was designed to cap the rebasing reduction at the amount passed in the final 2015-16 State's fiscal plan. DOH issued a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) in August outlining full rebasing effective Oct. 1, 2015. As indicated in the DAL the full rebasing will use 2013 as the base year instead of the current 2009 base year, resulting in a significant increase in the magnitude of the cuts.

In last week's Intelligence we highlighted the key points of our advocacy:

• Support of the unanimously passed legislation to keep the rebasing cuts at the agreed upon amount in the State budget;
• Request to provide time to closely examine the problems with the rebasing methodology;
• Request that DOH delay loading the new rates into eMedNY system; and
• Consider the federal policy under the Affordable Care Act that caps rebasing to a negative 3.5 percent.

We also emphasized the critical role that home care plays in support of new models of payment and Medicaid reform.

We will continue to advocate for the Governor’s office to sign S.5878/A.8171. LeadingAge NY will continue to keep members posted on additional information as it becomes available.

Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871