DOH Updates Nursing Home VAPAP Website

(June 3, 2025) The Department of Health (DOH) has updated their dedicated Nursing Home Vital Access Provider Assurance Program (VAPAP) webpage to include State Fiscal Year 2025-26 (FY26) application submission dates. Nursing home providers seeking FY26 VAPAP funding “for the first half of FY26” should submit their application by July 1, 2025. The application deadline for the second half of the FY is Oct. 1, 2025. The program offers nursing homes in severe financial distress the opportunity to apply for one-time, non-reoccurring, short-term financial assistance while they “plan for the implementation of longer-term solutions to achieve financial sustainability.” While the program is funded at $25 million per year, it is unclear whether applications not yet processed from prior years are competing for the FY26 funding.

Nursing homes seeking financial assistance should submit a formal application which is available for download on the Nursing Home VAPAP site. To apply, a facility must have fewer than 15 days of cash on hand AND have a negative operating margin in the last two calendar years AND have no outstanding payments due to DOH. In addition, the applicant, along with any related or affiliated entities, may not currently be the subject of known investigation or enforcement action by federal or state agencies and must have submitted the appropriate cost report.

Full information on the program, including eligibility, application evaluation criteria, and the complete application packet, is available here.

While members who have gone through the process describe a lengthy, often frustrating process with mixed outcomes, we do recommend that nursing homes in financial distress review the criteria and consider submitting an application that focuses on the listed evaluation criteria. Please contact us with questions and share your experiences with the program.

Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841