Proposed Rule Making & Public Notices of Interest

September 29, 2023

Attached, please find a Proposed Rule Making published in the State Register on 9/27 by OCFS related to Workload Reduction to update various rules regarding the certification or approval of foster family boarding homes.  Sharing as an FYI.

Also attached is the Public Notice section of the State Register this week.  There are multiple notices published by NYSDOH related to BH services which we know will be of interest including:

  • Rates for larger ACT teams and implementing youth ACT team specific rate increases to enable programs to better serve Medicaid beneficiaries with serious mental illness effective on or after October 1, 2023.
  • Adjusting Medicaid rates of payment by 1.86% statewide for those Mental Health Outpatient Treatment and Rehabilitative Services (MHOTRS) providers licensed by the Office of Mental Health who participate in the OMH Quality Improvement initiative. The existing quality improvement initiative program will be expanded to include hospital based MHOTRS providers and the quality program will be enhanced to support expansion of access to mental health services and improved patient outcomes, effective on or after October 1, 2023.
  • Adjusting rates statewide to reflect the impact of New York State Minimum Wage increases for the following services: Assertive Community Treatment, Partial Hospitalization, Mental Health Outpatient Treatment and Rehabilitative Services, Day Treatment Services for Children, Continuing Day Treatment, Personalized Recovery Oriented Services, and Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) Services on or after October 1, 2023.
  •  Amending the State Plan to modernize and simplify the Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) program to improve access to services and quality of care. The proposed amendment will amend PROS provider qualifications and service definitions and add new services, effective on or after October 1, 2023.
  • Updating rates paid to both clinics licensed under the Article 28 of the Public Health Law and private practitioners that have been designated by the Office of Mental Health to provide collaborative care services. The rates for Article 28 clinics will be simplified to eliminate certain supplemental payments (i.e., retainer payment), eliminating the need for an additional claim submission. The resulting rate will then be trended from the inception of the program to CY 2023 using the Medicare Economic Index, a net 14% increase. Private practitioner rates, will also be increased to be equivalent to the Article 28 rates.  Effective on or after October 1, 2023.