Proposed cuts to the Medicaid-funded Consumer Directed Personal Assistance program (CDPAP), which enables the elderly and disabled to be cared for in their homes with the caretakers of their choosing, would result in lost wages statewide, according to a survey conducted by the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State (CDPAANYS).
The survey polled approximately one-fifth of fiscal intermediaries that would be impacted by the an overhaul of the program proposed in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget. The data indicates that the impact of $75 million in cuts would exceed $500 million in lost wages, according to CDPAANYS.
The proposal to consolidate hundreds of fiscal intermediaries – non-profit organizations that are authorized to register, train, and process payments for caretakers, who are frequently family members of consumers – has caused alarm for families dependent on these services.
Cuomo’s offices says that budget cuts are specifically targeted at intermediaries, not consumers or caretakers, known as “personal assistants.”
Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy, said that the state has legitimate reasons for improving the way the home-care program is run and reeling in its fiscal intermediaries.
“Hundreds of these organizations have popped up in the last few years,” Hammond told the Times Union earlier this month. “That indicates that the program is a money-making opportunity.”
CDPAANYS estimates that the cuts would endanger the ability of 70,000 seniors and disabled New Yorkers to receive these services in their communities and threaten the jobs of more than 100,000 personal assistants.
The advocacy group says it spoke with one-fifth of the fiscal intermediaries (FIs) in its membership in each of the state Senate and Assembly districts throughout the state.
The group speculates that more than 13,000 consumers would be left without a means to properly receive their care, and approximately 20,000 personal assistants would be out of work.
And while both state Senate and Assembly members showed support for the program in their respective one-house budget bills, its future is uncertain.
“This has become a life and death situation for the tens of thousands of New Yorker who receive services through this program,” said Bryan O’Malley, executive director of CDPAANYS. “As we get closer to April 1 budget deadline, these consumers and their families need to know that their livelihoods will be protected, and they will be able to continue to receive the care they need in the manner they need it.”
The consolidation is intended to increase oversight and accountability in the program which is sometimes abused, according to the governor’s office. Last year, the CDPAP program was the subject of an audit by the state Inspector General, which found that that the state may have been overpaid about $75 billion in Medicaid disbursements associated with the program.
© 2019 Times Union
You may also like
Hospitals, nursing homes face another Medicaid cut during pandemic
Michael Gormley
ALBANY — The state told hospitals and nursing homes this week that they will be hit with another cut in Medicaid funding as the health care system reels from costs related to fighting the COVID-19 virus and state revenue plum Read More
Medicaid cuts make the state budget, with some tweaks
Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the conservative-leaning think tank the Empire Center, suggested this is because the proposed cuts are meant to slow the otherwise rapid growth in Medicaid spending, which means an increase is still possible. Read More
Editorial: Cuomo’s problematic Medicaid maneuvers
“It’s everything that’s wrong with Albany in one ugly deal,” Bill Hammond, a health policy expert at the fiscally conservative Empire Center, told The Times. Read More
NYS Healthcare Costs Rise Amid Report Of Pay-To-Play Allegations
Earlier this year, another fiscal watchdog group, The Empire Center, found that Cuomo’s budget office had delayed a $1.7 billion Medicaid payment from the previous fiscal year into the current fiscal year. Because of the delay, the governor was able to keep within a self imposed 2% yearly spending cap. Read More
More New Yorkers covered by health insurance: report
An analysis by Bill Hammond of The Empire Center for Public Policy said the continued drop bolsters the case against the Albany Legislature passing a new law imposing a state government-run health insurance, which Democratic candidates for president are pushing for on a national level. Read More
Cuomo’s claim on property taxes omits mandates
In 2015, the state capped the local Medicaid share, saving local governments more than $3 billion per year. "Even with the freeze, Medicaid remains one of the largest expenses faced by local governments in New York—and one they have little or no means to control," wrote Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy, which is fiscally conservative. Read More
State proposal would shake up charity-care funding
As part of his 30-day amendments to the budget, the governor set a cap on how much charity-care funding profitable downstate hospitals can receive. Facilities in New York City, Long Island and Westchester that earn—or are part of a system that earns—at least $68 million in operating income or have an operating margin of at least 2.98% would be capped at $10,000 in indigent-care payments. The move would save $138 million in state funding, leaving $719 million, wrote Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the Empire Center, in an analysis of the health budget Friday. Read More
Report shows Chemung County among hardest hit by Medicaid cost
A report issued this summer by the Empire Center for Public Policy, a nonpartisan think tank based in Albany, indicates Chemung County is one of two counties that shoulder the heaviest Medicaid burden in upstate New York. Read More