March 14, 2023

Below are highlights from the Assembly’s one-house budget bills also released today.  
Assembly Article VII HMH Budget Bill (A3007B):

• Extends Medicaid global cap through SFY 2024-25 (Part A)
• Rejects proposals to eliminate prescriber prevails and modify OTC Medicaid coverage (Part D)
• Provides increased funding for hospitals including a 10% rate increase (Part E)
• Includes expansions to Essential Plan coverage (Part H)
• Rejects managed care program reforms (Part J)
• Modifies waiver eligibility expansion proposal for incarcerated people (Part K)
• Rejects site-of-service utilization reviews proposal (Part L)
• Modifies Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation proposal to provide an additional $1 billion with $20M set aside for community based organizations (Part P)
• Rejects proposal to expand various scopes of practice for providers (except allows for home health aide expansion) and rejects Interstate Licensure Compact for physicians and nurses (Part W)
• Modifies medical debt proposals (Part Y)
• Rejects proposal to transfer oversight of Health/MH professions from SED to DOH (Part CC)
• Increase COLA to human service providers in six agencies by 8.5% including $33.6M for OASAS providers, $128.4 for OMH providers and $20.4M for OCFS providers(Part DD)
• Rejects proposal to create a “qualified mental health associate” (Part GG)
• Accepts OMH/OASAS joint licensure proposal for CCBHCs and indigent care pool funding for CCBHCs (Part HH) and provides $10M to further expand CCBHCs and $10M to increase funding for indigent care pool (ATL)
• Rejects proposals for expanded commercial insurance coverage and reforms of BH services (Part II)
• Rejects proposal allowing Commissioner of OMH to impose penalties on providers for failing to comply with operating certificates and the law (Part JJ)
• Includes new proposal to create a mental health housing task force (Part KK)
• Includes new proposal to retroactively enroll children in CHP (Part UU)
• Repeals Medicaid pharmacy carve out (Part NN)
• Includes new proposal to guarantee FQHCs are paid their full Medicaid reimbursement rate for telehealth services regardless of location of patient or provider or modality of service (Part 00)

Assembly Aid to Localities and State Operations Bills (A3003B and A3000B):

• Provides $2M to fund Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialists in NYC Schools
• Provides $5M to support the expansion of the OMH Community Mental Health Loan Forgiveness program for a total of $19M. Eligible professionals include LMSWs, LCSWs, LMHCs, LMFTs, Psychoanalysts, Creative Arts Therapists and ABAs.