April 11, 2022

Below and attached please find a wrap up of enacted FY23 state budget outcomes in the areas of Health and Mental Hygiene.  Great thanks are due to our government relations consultants for assisting us throughout the budget process and to our attorney Adam Falcone for ushering us through the long process we undertook (to include our filing 20+ FOILs) to secure scarce resources from MCOs that belongs to our systems of care.  On the OMH side of things, these funds will be used to make the 10.67% rate increase that might otherwise have been temporary, permanent. (We are still waiting for more information that confirms OASAS is doing something similar with the funds they received):   

1)  Continuation of APG government rates through 2027 AND an expansion of the Child Health Plus program to include a group of children’s services that will now be paid at the APG government rate

2)  One year COLA at 5.4% plus up to $3,000 for Workforce Bonuses

3) Telehealth reimbursement rate parity from both Medicaid (MMC) and commercial / private health plans that are licensed under Article 44 of the state’s insurance laws, for two years

4) $222M ($111M state share) reinvested with OMH and OASAS thanks to NYS Council advocacy that resulted in a state recoupment of overpayments made to MCOs that failed to meet expenditure targets that are contractually required and designed to ensure plans spend the majority of the fees they receive from the state on actual care for beneficiaries 

5) Funds set aside for mental health and substance use disorder providers specifically from the 3rd and 4th rounds of the Statewide Healthcare Transformation Fund grants program

6) Language that requires NYS to make public specific information related to MCO performance in areas including expenditure targets including which plans were required to return funds to the state, how much was collected from these plans and (once returned) where these funds were allocated

7) Continuation of DSRIP waivers that have afforded BH providers a great deal of flexibility over the past 6 years

8) A study that examines the strengths and challenges associated with competitive procurement of MCOs in Medicaid managed care AND that looks at the state’s enforcement of MCO performance metrics

Note:  As many of you know, the NYS Council continues to convene the state’s BHCCs/BH IPA Collaborative.  As a group we were able to compel state leaders to include a proposal in NY’s eFMAP Spending Plan that was recently approved.  It will deliver $20M in additional funds for BHCCs/BH IPAs around the state.  This is not included in the state budget.  In fact, many of the eFMAP proposals that resulted in rate increases for Outpatient Clinics, PROS, ACT and OASAS Part 820 programs are outside of the budget process but no less important.

4/11/22

SFY 2022-23 Final State Budget Update for Health/Mental Hygiene

The State Legislature passed the final SFY 2022-23 State Budget late Friday evening and into the early morning hours Saturday, making for a final budget that was enacted one week past the constitutional deadline of April 1. Key provisions of the $220 billion spending plan include:

• $1.2 billion for frontline health care and mental hygiene worker bonuses.
• $7.4 billion over four years to support a $3 wage increase for the state’s home care workforce.
• 5.4% Cost of Living Adjustment for agencies/workforce under OMH, OASAS, OPWDD, OCFS, OTDA and SOFA.
• $4.2 billion environmental bond act toward strengthening infrastructure against the effects of climate change.
• A partial suspension of the state’s gasoline tax by 16 cents a gallon from June 1 through the end of the year.
• Authorization for three years of alcohol to-go, allowable when purchased with a “substantial” food item.
• Bail reforms that will allow judges setting bail to be able to consider factors such as prior gun use and whether the crime caused serious harm to a victim
• $224 million to fund gun violence prevention
• $600 million for a new, $1.4 billion Buffalo Bills stadium
• Extension for the authority of government officials in New York to remotely participate in meetings until 2024.

With a final budget in place, both houses will take a Spring recess for two weeks before returning on April 25th for the post-budget session scheduled to run through June 2, 2022.  

Attached, please find our Health/Mental Hygiene sector-by-sector summary of the Final State Budget.  Upon review, please let us know if you have any questions.  

Be well,
RMS Team