Establishes that providers of adult day health care and managed long term care plans may elect to use transportation management brokers; provides that programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) are not required to use transportation management brokers.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6020A
SPONSOR: Paulin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the use of
transportation management brokers
PURPOSE:
To allow the Managed long-term care plans the option to use the trans-
portation management broker.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (b) of subdivision.4 of
section 365-h of the social services law as it relates to the management
of the transportation benefit in the managed long-term care program
Section 2 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) plans are a form of managed care organiza-
tion (MCO) specifically covering the delivery of long-term care services
to chronically ill or disabled New Yorkers on Medicaid. Until 2020,
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) services for Medicaid enrol-
lees were "carved in" to MCO benefits, meaning that the MCO was respon-
sible for procurement and provision of such services as part of the
enrollee's overall benefit. The 2020 MediCaid Redesign Team (MRT) then
authorized a statewide broker system under which a State-contracted
transportation broker would be solely responsible for NEMT delivery.
Due to the fragile nature of the MLTC population, MLTC. NEMT is histor-
ically subject to stricter standards than the general Medicaid NEMT
benefit, such as more restrictive background checks, extensive reporting
and accountability mechanisms, and other requirements reflecting the,
sensitivity of the population and significantly higher NEMT use in the
MLTC sector. Allowing, the plans to choose the way they want to manage
the benefit will allow for the plans to appropriately manage the benefit
in areas where it more beneficial for the plan enrollee.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: A.9944 - referred to Health
2023 A6020- referred to health and reported to Ways and Means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The MRT broker initiative estimated a cost savings of $49.1M for the
overall transition of NEMT benefits from MCOs to the broker, of which
$13.7M savings was specifically for the MLTC benefit. With delays in
broker implementation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, any fiscal benefit
of the broker for the MLTC population will likely not be realized until
at least.SFY 25-26. Once the plans make a decision, the exact fiscal
will be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6020--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 30, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the use of
transportation management brokers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of
2 section 365-h of the social services law, as added by section 2 of part
3 LL of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
4 (vi) [Responsibility for transportation services provided or arranged
5 for enrollees of] Providers of adult day health care and managed long
6 term care plans issued certificates of authority under section forty-
7 four hundred three-f of the public health law[, not including] may elect
8 to, but shall not be required to, use the services of the transportation
9 management broker. Provided, however, a program designated as a Program
10 of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) as authorized by Federal
11 Public law 1053-33, subtitle I of title IV of the Balanced Budget Act of
12 1997[, and, at the commissioner's discretion, other plans that integrate
13 benefits for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries based
14 on a demonstration by the plan that inclusion of transportation within
15 the benefit package will result in cost efficiencies and quality
16 improvement, shall be transferred to a transportation management broker
17 that has a contract with the commissioner in accordance with this para-
18 graph. Providers of adult day health care may elect to, but shall not be
19 required to, use the services of the transportation management broker]
20 shall not be required to use the services of the transportation manage-
21 ment broker.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
23 ments to subdivision 4 of section 365-h of the social services law shall
24 be subject to the expiration and reversion of such section pursuant to
25 subdivision (a) of section 40 of part B of chapter 109 of the laws of
26 2010, as amended, and shall be deemed to expire therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08103-02-3
