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Final VAPAP Application Due Date Is Feb. 1st

Nursing homes in severe financial distress have one final chance to apply for funding dedicated for that purpose in the 2022-23 State Budget. The Nursing Home Vital Access Provider Assurance Program (VAPAP) allows homes to apply for financial relief dollars to maintain operations and vital services while they implement longer-term solutions to achieve financial sustainability.

To be eligible to apply, a provider must be an Article 28 residential health care facility (RHCF) and have less than 20 days of cash as of Dec. 31, 2021 or have had a negative operating margin in the last two complete calendar years.

Homes must submit 2021 annual financials as well as 2022 monthly financial data, and all applications must include the requested strategic initiatives plans and financial projections and key metrics that demonstrate a path to long-term sustainability and improved resident care and satisfaction.

Criteria that the Department of Health (DOH) takes into account when evaluating applications include:

  • Quality of care, as reflected in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star Ratings and Nursing Home Quality Incentive (NHQI) pool rankings;
  • The extent to which the RHCF's application and transformation plan addresses community service needs;
  • Alternative RHCF capacity, availability of other forms of long term care in the immediate region;
  • Special services and populations served;
  • Historical and projected financial sustainability; and
  • Amount and length of assistance required compared to the number of beds at risk of loss.

While this is the third and final application cycle, DOH has not publicized an awardee list. Due to the comprehensive nature of the application, any provider interested in and eligible for the program who may have not yet completed the process should review the materials immediately. The application and full information are available on the dedicated DOH site here, and a previously published outline of the program is here.

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