Linda Clark, Health Care Controversies Team leader, is quoted in the Crain’s New York Business Health Pulse newsletter article “Here’s What’s in DOH’s American Rescue Plan Spending Outline for Home-, Community-Based Services.” The article explores what is included in New York State’s Medicaid spending plan, which is powered by the American Rescue Plan. The American Rescue Plan allows states to claim an additional 10 percent in federal assistance—$2.2 billion for New York State—for Medicaid programs from April 1, 2021, to March 30, 2022.
New York State’s Medicaid spending plan seeks to fund 43 programs across three categories: support for the direct-care workforce, an expansion of home- and community-based service capacity through systems transformation, and investments in digital infrastructure. The proposed plan’s funding, with the additional 10 percent, could exceed $5.3 billion.
The spending plan, while a step in the right direction, is not without its shortcomings. Linda, who represents the New York Advocates for Home Care, said the state should not be allowed to claim the 10 percent in extra dollars while dismantling its consumer-directed personal assistance program (CDPAP).
She goes on to explain that, under CMS rules, the state cannot use American Rescue Plan money to replace existing programs, but it had been cutting down access to the program by restricting its provider network.
Linda said, “They should take that money and actually broaden that program, instead of these additional proposals that work within their narrow framework.”