Highlights from HMH Article VII Budget Bill

April 8, 2022

Below is an outline of key highlights in the Health and Mental Hygiene (HMH) Article VII budget bill in order and by Part.  Major thanks to our government relations team at Reid, McNally and Savage for their partnership in helping to peel this onion:

  • Includes Nurses Across NY loan repayment program (Part A)
  • Rejects the Physician and Nurses Interstate Licensure Compact proposals (Part B)
  • Includes language to remove NP collaborative relationship requirements across specialty areas with two year sunset (Part C)
  • Omits Healthcare Bonus proposal but we expect another bill to address and other worker payment initiatives to come (Part D)
  • Rejects proposal to move HMH professional oversight from SED to DOH (Part G)
  • Modifies Medicaid global spending cap and extends it through SFY 2023-24 (Part H)
  • Includes restoration of prior across the board Medicaid cuts and includes 1% DOH Medicaid trend increase (Part I)
  • Modifies Healthcare Facility Transformation Fund Statewide 4 proposal to more specifically earmark funding for MH/SUD providers and others including a min of $25M from $450M in new funding for Statewide 3 applications and a min of $25M from $750M in new funding for an additional round of applications (Part K); The NYS Council requested earmarked funds
  • Modifies MCO Procurement Proposal to require an independent study specifically looking at MCO involvement with BH and other areas in Medicaid with recommendations by 10/31/22 (Part P)
  • Omits Essential Plan expansion, may be part of another bill coming (Part Q)
  • Omits Maternal Health coverage expansion, may be part of another bill coming (Part S)
  • Omits Child Health Plus expansions, may be part of another bill coming (Part U)
  • Modifies Governor’s Telehealth Parity proposal to include MH Practitioners under Art. 163 and to require a report on telehealth and 2 year sunset (Part V)
  • Rejects Medicaid Prescriber Prevails changes (Part BB)
  • Includes 5.4% COLA for one year for OMH, OASAS, OPWDD, OCFS and SOFA providers/programs (Part DD)
  • Includes 988 Crisis Prevention and Behavioral Health Crisis Act (Part EE)
  • Modifies language around MCO recoupment and reinvestment in BH to include greater language for transparency/reporting on MCO recoupment by plan and time period on DOH’s website, as requested by the NYS Council (Part FF)
  • Extends DSRIP authorities/flexibilities through 4/1/24 (Part GG)
  • Rejects requirement for pharmacies to stock Naloxone and Buprenorphine products (Part HH)
  • Includes language regarding certification of recovery residences (Part II)
  • Rejects proposal related to modernizing the alcohol awareness program (Part JJ)
  • Rejects proposal related to OASAS Capital Program reforms (Part KK)
  • Extends BH APGs under Medicaid and CHP four more years through 3/31/27 (Part LL)
  • Rejects Kendra’s law extension (Part MM); Language may be included in budget legislation to come with criminal justice reforms
  • Includes proposal related to Property Pass through for supportive housing (Part NN)
  • Extends OMH and OPWDD authority to appoint temporary operators to 3/31/25 (Part OO)
  • New (Part TT) making technical changes to law regarding rate reductions for high service utilization for Article 31/32 clinics

We await the release of the final Aid to Localities budget where we can check OMH/OASAS funding lines including any changes to the Opioid Settlement fund.  More updates to follow.