DOH Offers Updates in Health Care Worker Bonus Webinar and FAQs
The Department of Health (DOH) held a webinar on the Health Care Worker Bonus (HWB) program on Fri., Aug. 19th. A recording of the webinar and the slide deck have been posted on the website. In addition, updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) were posted late on Aug. 22nd. At LeadingAge NY's request, DOH has highlighted the new FAQs. In our review, most of the FAQs echo what was shared in Friday’s webinar. We have submitted a large number of questions, many of which have yet to be addressed.
We are pleased to report that our advocacy regarding covering the costs associated with the program was successful, however. It was reported on the webinar that employers will be reimbursed for payroll and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes and are not required to make 401 or other retirement account payments on the bonus dollars. LeadingAge NY has been raising this issue with the State in our conversations and communications, and we are pleased to see that those costs were recognized.
Additional clarifications include the following:
- Employee attestations can be collected electronically. Employers should maintain the attestations on file; they do not need to be submitted to the State. If an employer is unable to get an attestation for this cycle, they can get the attestation and submit for the bonus in the next cycle.
- The portal is designed to allow multi-site entities with multiple Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) IDs to register all associated MMIS IDs under a single account. Reimbursement will be made to the account designated by each MMIS ID registered under the account.
- An employee should be submitted once under the MMIS ID where the employee worked the majority of hours in a vesting period. The hours worked under other MMIS IDs should be included in a single submission. Multiple submissions for one employee by the same organization will be rejected by the system for duplication.
- DOH will monitor to ensure that the $3,000 limit per employee is not exceeded.
- The bonus does not need to be distributed to the employee as a separate check as long as the bonus amount is clearly indicated.
- For purposes of determining whether job titles not specifically listed would qualify as “other health care support workers,” DOH indicated that whether the position was a resident/patient-facing position would be a guiding principle. They have specifically excluded coders, billers, call center staff, medical records staff, and those working in non-patient/resident buildings. They have also excluded security staff. However, telehealth staff, even if working from home, ARE eligible.
LeadingAge NY had advocated for more education and information, and we are pleased to report that DOH will provide weekly updates and regular updates to the FAQs. We will continue to pursue answers to outstanding questions and advocacy on some critical issues. We will provide updates as we learn them.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828