New York’s Model for Investing in Quality Home Care Employers

PHI has released an issue brief examining New York’s unique model for investing in quality home care employers as Issue 5 in its #60CaregiverIssues campaign.

The Model

Beginning in FY2015, the state included a pool of funds in its Medicaid budget designated for quality home care employers. To qualify, a home care agency must meet all the following requirements:

• Compliance with base wage and benefit law;
• A negotiated minimum hourly rate between managed care plan and home care agency that meets a certain threshold;
• Training of home health aides that exceeds the minimum hour requirements of either entry-level or in-service training;
• A comprehensive health plan available to aides, with at least 30 percent of employees enrolled; and
• A written, implemented, and currently active quality assurance program.

Since New York Medicaid is administered by managed care plans, the money was passed to the plans, and then distributed to qualifying home care agencies.

Learnings

PHI analysis shows that success was limited by delayed and insufficient payments. However, if properly implemented, a quality incentive pool can provide states with a model for investing in high quality home care.