DOH Holds Webinar on Health Care Worker Bonuses 

Situation Report | August 22, 2022 

 

On August 19, the state Department of Health (DOH) held a webinar on the Health Care Worker Bonus (HWB) program.  A recording for those who could not participate and the webinar slides are posted here. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are expected to be revised often and are also posted at this site. 

In addition, DOH plans to hold additional webinars on August 26 and September 2 (both from 11 am to 12 pm) and will send out invitations soon. 

The August 19 webinar covered: determination process; attestation clarifications; operational/portal questions; payment clarifications; using the HWB portal; and next steps and resources. 

As communicated to members, employees eligible for HWB payments provide hands-on health care services and can include certain front line health care and mental hygiene practitioners, technicians, assistants, support staff and aides. They must be receiving an annualized base salary (excluding any bonuses or overtime pay) of $125,000 or less, and can be full-time, part-time, or temporary. For home care providers, the following staff are eligible: nurses; social workers; speech, physical, occupational and respiratory therapists (OTs); speech-language pathologists; OT and physical therapy assistants. 

Home care aides, however, are not eligible for bonuses because, according to DOH, they will be eligible for increased minimum wage payments this and next year. 

On the webinar, in response to questions submitted by HCA and members, DOH clarified that clerical or office staff (including billing coordinators) at “certified home health” agencies are not eligible for bonuses.  DOH also stated that staff that work remotely, but serve in patient-facing roles such as telehealth nurses and social workers, and meet the other eligibility requirements can be eligible. 

Bonuses for employees will be determined by specific “vesting periods,” or hours worked during a consecutive six-month period between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2024. Note that the deadline for employers to submit claims for the first vesting period (October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022) is September 2, 2022. 

Some other important information from the August 19th webinar includes: 

  • Employers subject to Certificate of Need requirements, including Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs), Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs) and hospices, don’t have to meet the requirement that at least 20 percent of their patients are on Medicaid, but still must be Medicaid enrolled providers. 
  • Infusion nurses with LHCSAs can be eligible for bonuses. 
  • There is no specified amount of time a worker needs to perform “hands-on clinical” in order to be eligible for bonuses under an eligible title and meets other requirements. 
  • Patient Access Representative/Coordinator may be eligible for bonuses. 
  • Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in CHHAs/LHCSAs are eligible under the nursing title under the “front line health care and mental hygiene practitioners, technicians, assistants and aides that provide hands on health or care services to individuals.” 
  • Employers may be obligated to pay former employees that are eligible and vested while in their employment provided that the employee did not terminate his or her employment with the employer prior to the due date for payment of the bonus. 
  • If the employer terminates the employment relationship after the employee vests, the employer is still required to submit a bonus claim and pay the bonus amount to the former employee. 
  • Employee attestations can be submitted electronically to their employer. 
  • Bonuses are excluded from state and local income taxes; federal taxes, however, are not exempted from the bonus payment. 
  • Employers are not required to match 401k or other retirement accounts for the bonus payments. 
  • The HWB portal will provide a remittance each vesting period to employers noting the employees of that employer that received a bonus payment. Employers will be reimbursed for payroll and FICA taxes in the remittance that includes a list of eligible employees and their bonuses. 
  • The portal will not show employer bonus payments to employees from other employers. DOH will maintain responsibility to ensure that no employee receives more than $3,000 in bonus payments. 
  • Employers have no requirement to release the bonus payments as separate checks as long as the bonus payment is identifiable to the employee and can be verified on audit. 

Employers eligible for HWB program funding include providers participating in Medicaid with at least one employee, and other providers, facilities, pharmacies and school-based health centers licensed under the state Public Health Law, Mental Hygiene Law, and Education Law, as well as certain programs funded by the Office of Mental Health, Office for the Aging, Office of Addiction Services and Supports, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, and the Office of Children and Family Services.   

All providers are strongly encouraged to visit the following for more information: 

 Providers with additional questions may contact the Health Care Worker Bonus Call Center at (866) 682-0077 or via email at nysworkersbonus@health.ny.gov