Monday, February 24, 2014

Fiscal Intermediary Entities and Licensure - Medicaid Funding of Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Programs

Fiscal Intermediaries, that receive Medicaid funds to pay personal care vendors, are  the only entities in the health care industry that are not regulated in any form.

Historically, the Local District Social Services (LDSS) of New York State, or in New York City, the Human Resources Administration (HRA), served as the “gatekeeper,” determining the criteria by which they would offer contracts to fiscal intermediaries.

The implementation of managed care and managed long term care has led to the gradual degradation of this process.  Licensed Home Care Service Agencies are entering into contracts to offer consumer directed services with no understanding of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program model  or how it works.

CDPAANYS (Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State) has the expertise to implement criteria and can work with the Department of Health to implement standards using a time tested paradigm.

Many licensed agencies that are purportedly offering the program do not even know the basics:
*Some are using the Personal Care Aides in the same manner they would in traditional personal care;
*Some are setting schedules FOR the workers, instead of allowing the consumer to establish the days               and hours that will be worked. It it a crucial distinction since it deprives the consumer of the autonomy of making his/her own decisions on a daily basis.

CDPAANYS (Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Accociation of New York State) has the expertise to implement criteria and can work with the Department of Health to implement standards.

Many licensed agencies that are purportedly offering the program do not even know the basics:
Some are using the Personal Care Aides in the same manner they would in traditional personal care;
Some are setting schedules for the workers, instead of allowing the consumer to establish the days and hours that will be worked.

This leads to a dangerous situation where home care agencies are able to circumvent the laws that are put in place to protect consumers when an agency is in charge of their care.  Consumer Direction only works because it is the consumers that recruit, hire, train, supervise and terminate their workers.

We know that some agencies have used Consumer Directed Personal Assistance as a loophole to avoid honoring their labor contracts and the living wage law passed by the Legislature.

Licensure will establish basic protections for consumers, so they know that if they sign up with a fiscal intermediary it has the expertise to assist them in running their program successfully. Fiscal Intermediaries serve the consumer, it is dangerous when the philosophy behind consumer direction is broken and the consumer answers to the fiscal intermediary.

Fiscal Intermediaries that operate properly also protect the system from potential misuse. They can properly monitor the consumer to ensure that the program is being run successfully, they can protect against fraud and abuse, and they can assist consumers and workers as they work together to implement a complex program.  Once such fiscal intermediary with a proven track record is Concepts of Independence based in New York City.

Two other provider types are being licensed in the budget:  urgent care centers and office based surgery centers.  A service that allows people to live independently in their own homes, avoiding a more expensive nursing home deserves the same priority consideration as the other types of center.

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