August 9, 2024

The following information is also being vetted through the NYS Council Regulatory Affairs committee however we have not received an abundance of comments to this point.   We need to hear your comments and feedback on the following regs/protocols currently out for comment.  Please note dates highlighted in yellow.  I will be preparing NYS Council comments re:  the OMIG protocols on Monday.  Please send your comments on these two protocols by Monday at noon.

1) OMIG Audit Protocol – OTP comments due Tuesday, 8/13  (attached)

2) OMIG Audit Protocol – Outpatient – comments due Tuesday, 8/13  (attached)

3) OASAS Part 860 – Recovery Residences – comments due August 17The revised draft regulation now out for comment for the second time is here: https://oasas.ny.gov/revised-part-860-recovery-residences

4) OASAS Heightened Scrutiny Packet  (comments accepted until September 6)Associated with NYS ongoing compliance with all rules and requirements of the NYS Medicaid HCBS federal waiver and specifically as they relate to the OASAS Permanent Supportive Housing Program.  The Notice that was published in the NY State Register on Wednesday, August 7 is posted at bottom.  This is specifically related to the OASAS Permanent Supportive Housing.  To bring New York’s Home and Community Based (HCBS) delivery system into compliance with the HCBS Final Rule, every State entity that sponsors or oversees Medicaid HCBS has conducted (via state staff or its partners) site assessments of the HCBS settings they oversee, both residential and non-residential. Based on this review, settings found to be co-located with, on the grounds of, or adjacent to settings providing inpatient institutional treatment or settings found to isolate recipients of HCBS from the broader community are required to undergo the heightened scrutiny process. This process involves the identified setting’s assessment result data packets being put out for a 30-day public comment period prior to ultimately submitting the data packets to CMS for their approval to use such settings for HCBS. The listing below includes the HCBS Heightened Scrutiny Packet, which will be available for public comment for 30 days and close on September 6, 2024. We invite the public to review this listing and email comments to legal@oasas.ny.gov. All comments will be reviewed and considered as part of the HCBS Heightened Scrutiny process.

PUBLIC NOTICE – NY State Register, 8/7/2024
Office of Addiction Services and Supports
Heightened Scrutiny Evidence Packet

In compliance with 42 CFR § 441.301(c)(5)(v), the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Support is pleased to announce that it will conduct a public comment period, to allow members of the public to provide comments on its Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Final Rule related Heightened Scrutiny evidence packet, developed by New York State Department of Health, New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), and New York State entities that oversee HCBS. This is being done to maintain federal match funding for home and community-based service settings that New York State Department of Health has determined can or will overcome the institutional (i.e., non-eligible for HCBS funding) presumption by Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
OASAS oversees one of the nation’s largest Substance Use Disorder systems of care with approximately 1,700 prevention, treatment and recovery programs serving over 730,000 individuals per year. This includes the direct operation of 12 Addiction Treatment Centers where doctors, nurses, and clinical staff provide inpatient and residential services to approximately 8,000 individuals per year. OASAS is the single designated state agency responsible for the coordination of state-federal relations in the area of addiction services. As such, the State is confident that OASAS will be in full compliance with the HCBS Rule and support the basic premise that compliance will enhance the lives of thousands of people, improve their health, and raise their overall quality of life. The State further recognizes the need for ongoing monitoring both prior to and following full compliance with the HCBS requirements and is committed to carrying out oversight activities to ensure timely and sustained compliance. This notice further serves to open the 30-day public comment period that will close on September 6th, 2024. 
A draft of the Heightened Scrutiny evidence data packet will be available for review at https://oasas.ny.gov/legal.

 Prior to finalizing the proposed Heightened Scrutiny evidence packets, OASAS will consider all written and verbal comments received, amending determination(s) of compliance and conducting further remediation activities as needed. Please direct any questions to legal@oasas.ny.gov.

The public will be afforded the opportunity to provide written comments by emailing legal@oasas.ny.gov or verbal comments by phone at 518-485-2312. Written comments will also be accepted by mail at:
Office of Addiction Services and Supports, Attn: DGCRM, 1450 
Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203

All comments must be postmarked or emailed by 30 days of the date of this notice.