HLT-41-16-00005-P Compounded Trend to Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for Direct Care Workers

10/12/16 N.Y. St. Reg. HLT-41-16-00005-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXVIII, ISSUE 41

October 12, 2016

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. HLT-41-16-00005-P

Compounded Trend to Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for Direct Care Workers

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

This is a consensus rule making to amend Subpart 86-10 of Title 10 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Public Health Law, section 201; Mental Hygiene Law, section 43.02; L. 2014, ch. 60, part I, section 2

Subject:

Compounded Trend to Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for Direct Care Workers.

Purpose:

To update the methodology to reflect a compounded cost of living adjustment and to remove a superfluous component.

Text of proposed rule:

Subparagraph (xi) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 86-10.3 is amended to read as follows:

(xi) Provider average general and administrative component, which shall mean the sum of insurance-general and agency administration allocation for the base year for a provider, such sum to be divided by (the sum of total program/site costs and other than to/from transportation allocation less the sum of food, repairs and maintenance, utilities, expensed equipment, household supplies, telephone, lease/rental equipment, depreciation equipment, [insurance – property and casualty,] total property-provider paid, housekeeping and maintenance staff, salaried clinical dollars, and contracted clinical dollars for the base year for a provider). The provider average direct care hourly rate-excluding general and administrative, as computed in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph, shall then be divided by (one minus the applicable provider average general and administrative quotient), from which the provider average direct care wage hourly rate-excluding general and administrative, as computed in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph, shall be subtracted.

Subparagraph (xi) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 86-10.3 is amended to read as follows:

(xi) Provider average general and administrative component, which shall mean the sum of insurance-general and agency administration allocation for the base year for a provider, such sum to be divided by (the sum of total program/site costs and other than to/from transportation allocation less the sum of food, repairs and maintenance, utilities, expensed equipment, household supplies, telephone, lease/rental equipment, depreciation equipment, [insurance – property and casualty,] total property-provider paid, housekeeping and maintenance staff, salaried clinical dollars, and contracted clinical dollars for the base year for a provider). The provider average direct care hourly rate-excluding general and administrative, as computed in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph, shall then be divided by (one minus the applicable provider average general and administrative quotient), from which the provider average direct care wage hourly rate-excluding general and administrative, as computed in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph, shall be subtracted.

Subparagraph (xi) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 86-10.3 is amended to read as follows:

(xi) Provider average general and administrative component, which shall mean the sum of insurance-general and agency administration allocation for the base year for a provider, such sum to be divided by (the sum of total program/site costs and other than to/from transportation allocation less the sum of food, repairs and maintenance, utilities, expensed equipment, household supplies, telephone, lease/rental equipment, depreciation equipment, [insurance – property and casualty,] total property-provider paid, housekeeping and maintenance staff, salaried clinical dollars, and contracted clinical dollars for the base year for a provider). The provider average direct care hourly rate-excluding general and administrative, as computed in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph, shall then be divided by (one minus the applicable provider average general and administrative quotient), from which the provider average direct care wage hourly rate-excluding general and administrative, as computed in subparagraph (x) of this paragraph, shall be subtracted.

Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 86-10.5 is amended to read as follows:

(ii) April 1, 2015 increase. In addition to the compensation funding effective January 1, 2105, providers that operate supervised IRAs, including supervised community residences, supportive IRAs, including supportive community residences, and group day habilitation will receive a compensation increase targeted to direct support professional and clinical employees to be effective April 1, 2015. The compensation increase funding will be inclusive of associated fringe benefits. The April 1, 2015 direct support professionals compensation funding will be [the same, on an annualized basis, as that] compounded on the amount which was calculated for the January 1, 2105 compensation increase and will be an augmentation to the January 1, 2105 increase.

Paragraph (d) of Section 86-10.8 is amended to read as follows:

(d) April 1, 2015 increase. In addition to compensation funding effective January 1, 2105, the fees for specialized template population funding will revised to incorporate funding for a compensation increase to direct support professional and clinical employees to be effective April 1, 2015. The April 1, 2015 direct support compensation funding will be [the same, on an annualized basis, as that] compounded on the amount which was calculated for the January 1, 2015 compensation increase and will be an augmentation to the January 1, 2015 increase.

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Katherine Ceroalo, DOH, Bureau of House Counsel, Reg. Affairs Unit, Room 2438, ESP Tower Building, Albany, NY 12237, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Same as above.

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

This rule was not under consideration at the time this agency submitted its Regulatory Agenda for publication in the Register.

Consensus Rule Making Determination

Statutory Authority:

Public Health Law Section 201, Mental Hygiene Law Section 43.02 and Section 2 of Part I of Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2014.

Basis:

There are two types of technical amendments proposed. The first amendment, to various subdivisions of 10 NYCRR Part 86-10.3 removes the insurance-property and casualty subcomponent from the Provider Average General and Administrative component. The removal of the insurance-property and casualty subcomponent does not impact provider reimbursement, as the amounts intended to be reimbursed by such subcomponent are in fact reimbursed by other subcomponents within the Provider Average General and Administrative component. The inclusion of the insurance- property and casualty subcomponent within the Provider Average General and Administrative component was an error and has never been reimbursed.

The second amendment, made to 10 NYCRR Part 86-10.5 and 10 NYCRR Part 86-10.8 are clarifications that the two percent cost of living adjustment mandated by Section 2 of Part I of Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2014 are to be compounded annually. The compounding of such cost of living adjustment is mandated by such statute.

Job Impact Statement

No Job Impact Statement is required pursuant to section 201 a(2)(a) of the State Administrative Procedure Act. It is apparent, from the nature of the proposed amendment, that it will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities.