OASAS Procurement; Gov. Hochul 11/25 Vetoes

November 26, 2022

One of our eagle eyed member agency representatives spotted a relatively new (posted 11/4) procurement announcement on the OASAS website titled “Restructure Addiction Services Financing.” The posting is here:  https://oasas.ny.gov/rfi/restructure-addiction-services-financing.  It is our impression (based on the information posted) that OASAS intends to solicit a vendor to assist the Office with the task/s discussed (below).  I made an inquiry of OASAS yesterday. This is a procurement and so, OASAS staff are not permitted to say much at all about the posting.  As such,  I will try to reach the public information officer on Monday.  

(from the OASAS Procurement page)

Overview 

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) intends to request information about vendors that can review the current system of financing addiction services authorized under Articles 25 and 41 of New York State Mental Hygiene Law to:

  • Make recommendations for changes designed to ensure the equitable reimbursement of substance use disorder (SUD) and gambling services consistent with State law and Federal regulations which is conducive to the provision of effective and high quality services and
  • To assist in the implementation of the selected methodology.

OASAS currently funds approved net operating deficits for services. The net operating cost of a program is determined as total operating expenses approved by OASAS, less all sources of revenue. This operational deficit, or net deficit, is then funded by OASAS as State aid which consists of State General Fund, Federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG), or other Special Revenue Funds. OASAS may fund up to 100 percent of the net operating deficit of a provider. State aid is paid as an advance payment based on the approved program budget either quarterly for non-Federal funds or monthly for Federal funds. The approved budget for an existing funded program is often based on historical funding patterns. As a result, the State aid funding for older programs may be inconsistent with the State aid funding provided to new programs which creates inequities for the same type of services, even within the same geographic area.

To address these inconsistencies, OASAS is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to seek alternate funding approaches that will provide greater equity in funding addiction services while maintaining compliance with Federal SABG expenditure rules.

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Executive Vetoes

Governor Hochul continues to take action on bills that were passed during the 2022 legislative session.  To this point, we have not seen many bills move that are directly related to mental health and substance use disorder or (more generally) to human services however yesterday that changed.  Zack Fink from SPECTRUM News reports that Governor Hochul vetoed the following bills of import to NYS Council members on 11/25.   (This is NOT a complete list of bills the Governor considered yesterday.  Also, the Governor often provides a brief message that gives the public an idea of why she vetoed a bill – however this information does not appear to be available yet).  Stand by.

11/25 vetoes include (but are not limited to):

A10139 Gunther – a bill to create a temporary commission to study aging in place in mental health housing

S7377 Wallace – a bill to establish the office of hospice and palliative care access and quality

A 658A Rosenthal – establishes a task force to identify evidence based early intervention solutions to reduce childhood exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

A7357A Abinati – establishes a pilot program to create an assistance hotline for individuals w IDD and Complex behavioral needs

A 9348  Cusick – Establishes a Fentanyl Abuse and Overdose Prevention Task Force