§ 3615 — State aid to certified home health agencies

New York § 3615

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBH: Public Health
• Art. 36: Home Care Services

Text

* § 3615. State aid to certified home health agencies. 1. State aid\nshall be provided to certified home health agencies to assist in\ndeveloping and ensuring their capacity to meet community need. Funds for\nsuch aid shall be made available each year in an amount equal to\ntwenty-five cents per capita of the population within each health\nsystems agency region, as established pursuant to article twenty-nine of\nthis chapter, or two hundred thousand dollars, whichever is greater. Two\nmillion five hundred thousand dollars shall be for the state's share of\npayments provided pursuant to subdivision five of section thirty-six\nhundred fourteen of this article. The remaining amount shall be for\npurposes of providing grants pursuant to this section and sections\nthirty-six hundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article.\n 2. For purposes of funding grants pursuant to sections thirty-six\nhundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article and grants\npursuant to this section, the commissioner shall allocate the proportion\nof funds among the health systems agency regions using the last\npreceding federal census or other census data approved by the\ncomptroller.\n 3. Such annual funds allocated to each health systems agency region\nshall be made available for grants to applicants within each such region\nwhich are determined eligible and approved by the commissioner pursuant\nto the provisions of this section and sections thirty-six hundred seven\nand thirty-six hundred nine of this article.\n 4. In order to be considered eligible for receipt of a grant pursuant\nto this section, a certified home health agency shall submit an\napplication to the department. Such application shall demonstrate, to\nthe satisfaction of the commissioner, that the agency:\n (a) received a certificate of approval pursuant to the provisions of\nsection thirty-six hundred eight of this article at least two years\nprior to the date of the application and that such certificate has not\nbeen revoked or annulled subsequent to its receipt and is not limited as\nof the time of application;\n (b) shall utilize grant funds to provide home care services to persons\nwhose residence is in an area which, due to location, is more costly to\nserve, or persons whose conditions require a more intensive level of\nhome care than typically provided in a visit;\n (c) shall undertake reasonable efforts to maintain financial support\nfrom public and community contributed funding sources;\n (d) shall make every reasonable effort to collect payments for\nservices from third party insurance payers, governmental payers and\nself-paying patients;\n (e) shall have professional assistance available on a seven day per\nweek, twenty-four hour per day basis;\n (f) shall establish a reasonable relationship between costs and\ncharges, or establish charges at approximate cost; and\n (g) has no other available financial resources to serve the\npopulations as identified in paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\n 5. For the purpose of this section and sections thirty-six hundred\nseven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article, a grant applicant\nshall submit a copy of its application to the health systems agency in\nwhose region the applicant is located.\n 6. For the purpose of this section and sections thirty-six hundred\nseven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article, each health systems\nagency shall convene an advisory group with representatives from, but\nnot limited to, local departments of health, including those organized\nand unorganized as county and part-county health districts, social\nservices districts, offices for the aging, certified home health\nagencies, and consumers of home health agency services. Such advisory\ngroup, after considering recommendations from persons involved in or\nknowledgeable about home care services delivered in that region, shall,\nconsistent with state and regional health plans, identify priority\nregional and local needs for the purposes identified in this section and\nsections thirty-six hundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine of this\narticle. The health systems agency shall provide to the commissioner\nthe recommendations of the advisory group regarding which grant\napplications meet regional and local needs, as well as the advisory\ngroup's prioritization of applications.\n 7. For the purposes of this section and sections thirty-six hundred\nseven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article, the commissioner\nshall approve applications for grants which meet the requirements of\nthis section pursuant to which the application is submitted and rules\nand regulations adopted pursuant thereto. In approving such\napplications, the commissioner shall take into prime consideration the\nrecommendations of the advisory group convened by the health systems\nagency in whose region the applicants are located and also take into\nconsideration other applications submitted by the same applicant for\ngrants submitted pursuant to such sections. The commissioner shall\nnotify each advisory group and each applicant in writing of his approval\nor disapproval and, if disapproval, shall state the reasons for\ndisapproval.\n 8. Grants approved for the purposes of this section may be made each\nyear for up to a two-year period or until the costs for such services\nprovided by virtue of receipt of the grant are included in rates of\npayment, whichever is sooner. Certified home health agencies which\nreceive grants pursuant to this section may reapply for grants and may\nbe approved if the applicant satisfies the requirements of subdivision\nfour of this section and rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this\nsection.\n 9. In the event that a public certified home health agency is approved\nfor a grant, pursuant to this section, funds provided under the grant\nshall not reduce the amount of aid otherwise reimbursable to such agency\npursuant to article six of this chapter.\n 10. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate such rules and\nregulations, as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this\nsection. Such rules and regulations may include, but not be limited to,\nminimum and maximum grant levels.\n 11. Recipients of grants shall submit to the commissioner reports on\nthe use of grants provided under this section at such times and in such\nformat as the commissioner may prescribe.\n * NB Effective until June 30, 2029\n * § 3615. State grants to certified home health agencies. 1. State\ngrants shall be provided to certified home health agencies to assist in\ndeveloping and ensuring their capacity to meet community need. Funds for\nsuch grants shall be made available each year in an amount equal to\ntwenty-five cents per capita of the population within each health\nsystems agency region, as established pursuant to article twenty-nine of\nthis chapter, or two hundred thousand dollars, whichever is greater.\n 2. The commissioner shall allocate the proportion of funds among the\nhealth systems agency regions using the last preceding federal census or\nother census data approved by the comptroller.\n 3. Seventy-five percent of such annual funds allocated to each health\nsystems agency region shall be made available for grants to certified\nhome health agencies within each such region which are determined\neligible and approved by the commissioner pursuant to this section.\nTwenty-five percent of such annual funds allocated to each health\nsystems agency region shall be made available for grants to applicants\nwithin each such region which are determined eligible and approved by\nthe commissioner pursuant to the provisions of sections thirty-six\nhundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article.\nNotwithstanding such percentages, in the event that grants approved\nunder either percentage category are less than the amount available\npursuant to such percentage, the remaining amount shall be added to and\ndeemed available for the purposes of the other percentage amount.\n 4. In order to be considered eligible for receipt of a grant pursuant\nto this section, a certified home health agency shall submit an\napplication to the department. Such application shall demonstrate, to\nthe satisfaction of the commissioner, that the agency:\n (a) received a certificate of approval pursuant to the provisions of\nsection thirty-six hundred eight of this article at least two years\nprior to the date of the application and that such certificate has not\nbeen revoked or annulled subsequent to its receipt and is not limited as\nof the time of application;\n (b) shall utilize grant funds to provide home care services to persons\nof low income who are not otherwise eligible for government sponsored\nprograms or not covered by insurance, persons whose residence is in an\narea which, due to location, is more costly to serve, or persons whose\nconditions require a more intensive level of home care than typically\nprovided in a visit;\n (c) shall undertake reasonable efforts to maintain financial support\nfrom public and community contributed funding sources;\n (d) shall make every reasonable effort to collect payments for\nservices from third party insurance payers, governmental payers and\nself-paying patients;\n (e) shall have professional assistance available on a seven day per\nweek, twenty-four hour per day basis;\n (f) shall establish a reasonable relationship between costs and\ncharges, or establish charges at approximate cost; and\n (g) has no other available financial resources to serve the\npopulations as identified in paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\n 5. For the purpose of this section and sections thirty-six hundred\nseven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article, a grant applicant\nshall submit a copy of its application to the health systems agency in\nwhose region the applicant is located.\n 6. For the purpose of this section and sections thirty-six hundred\nseven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article, each health systems\nagency shall convene an advisory group with representatives from, but\nnot limited to, local departments of health, including those organized\nand unorganized as county and part-county health districts, social\nservices districts, offices for the aging, certified home health\nagencies, and consumers of home health agency services. Such advisory\ngroup, after considering recommendations from persons involved in or\nknowledgeable about home care services delivered in that region, shall,\nconsistent with state and regional health plans, identify priority\nregional and local needs for the purposes identified in this section and\nsections thirty-six hundred seven and thirty-six hundred nine of this\narticle. The health systems agency shall provide to the commissioner\nthe recommendations of the advisory group regarding which grant\napplications meet regional and local needs, as well as the advisory\ngroup's prioritization of applications.\n 7. For the purposes of this section and sections thirty-six hundred\nseven and thirty-six hundred nine of this article, the commissioner\nshall approve applications for grants which meet the requirements of\nthis section pursuant to which the application is submitted and rules\nand regulations adopted pursuant thereto. In approving such\napplications, the commissioner shall take into consideration the\nrecommendations of the advisory group convened by the health systems\nagency in whose region the applicants are located and also take into\nconsideration other applications submitted by the same applicant for\ngrants submitted pursuant to such sections. The commissioner shall\nnotify each applicant in writing of his approval or disapproval and, if\ndisapproval, shall state the reasons for disapproval.\n 8. Grants approved for the purposes of this section may be made each\nyear for up to a two-year period or until the costs for such services\nprovided by virtue of receipt of the grant are included in rates of\npayment, whichever is sooner. Certified home health agencies which\nreceive grants pursuant to this section may reapply for grants and may\nbe approved if the applicant satisfies the requirements of subdivision\nfour of this section and rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this\nsection.\n 9. In the event that a public certified home health agency is approved\nfor a grant, pursuant to this section, funds provided under the grant\nshall not reduce the amount of aid otherwise reimbursable to such agency\npursuant to article six of this chapter.\n 10. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate such rules and\nregulations, in consultation with the state council on home care\nservices, as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.\nSuch rules and regulations may include, but not be limited to, minimum\nand maximum grant levels.\n 11. Recipients of grants shall submit to the commissioner reports on\nthe use of grants provided under this section at such times and in such\nformat as the commissioner may prescribe.\n * NB Effective June 30, 2029\n