State Budget: 30 Day Amendments Available for Review

February 21, 2020

The Division of the Budget (DOB) just made the 30-Day Amendments available online.  See link here:  https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy21/exec/fy21bills.html

The 30-day amendment process gives the Governor an opportunity to make technical or other changes to his executive budget proposal released in mid-January.  We draw your attention to the HMH section at the link (above) and specifically the Narrative that discusses changes that were made in the areas of Health and Mental Hygiene, as well as to HMH New Part EE that seeks to establish a statewide drug formulary for opioid dependence agents and opioid antagonists, and to strengthen the state’s drug rebate program, especially in this category of medications. As you know the issue of rebates has been a major barrier to enact legislation that would do away with prior authorization requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries seeking MAT, as is already the case in the private health insurance space. Finally, this same proposal would remove prior authorization for methadone when used to treat opioid use disorder.

We will provide a more comprehensive analysis of the 30-day amendments shortly.