Situation Report | May 24, 2021
The state Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that that the portal for submitting Wage Parity certification forms will not be closed on the June 1 deadline date. It has also posted a clarification on its expectations for managed care plans.
If a provider will not be able to submit the attestation on time, however, they should e-mail hcworkerparity@health.ny.gov and outline the circumstances for the delay.
HCA has repeatedly requested that DOH delay the June 1 deadline for submission of Wage Parity Certification forms as the state just released the forms and guidance on May 11 and we have heard from some members who are having difficulties in submitting the forms via the eMedNY portal.
In response to our request that late submitters not face sanctions, DOH stated that it will consider the circumstances around late submissions, especially given that this certification process is being inaugurated this year, and it will not take adverse action when the circumstances warrant leniency.
However, DOH said that it does not have the authority to issue a blanket waiver for penalties, citations, or other sanctions.
HCA has also requested that DOH provide training on how to utilize the portal. DOH will provide such training (see below) and eMedNY has posted instructions for obtaining access and utilizing the portal.
DOH Clarification
On May 20, DOH issued the following clarification to address concerns from managed care plans about their responsibilities to ensure that their contracted providers are in compliance with the wage parity law:
In response to questions and feedback on the Annual Certification of Compliance with Home Care Wage Parity (the Wage Parity Certification) from Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) that are required to certify under Section 3614-c of the Public Health Law, the Department hereby clarifies that with regard to Paragraph 1 of the Wage Parity Certification an MCO should continue to certify as to whether its payments to contracted providers, including licensed home care services agencies, certified home health agencies, fiscal intermediaries and long-term home health care programs (if any), are in compliance with the Home Care Worker Wage Parity law, and may appropriately continue to rely on sub-certifications issued by, or other information collected from, these contracted providers. Such certification need not be based on personal knowledge as to whether the compensation paid by contracted providers to their employees is compliant.
HCA reminds agencies that certifications must be completed for each entity that is enrolled in Medicaid and providing Medicaid-reimbursed services (i.e., if a parent organization owns or controls more than one agency, the certification must be signed for every separately incorporated entity and for every provider enrollment type).
For example, if a parent company owns or controls separately incorporated and enrolled entities that provide Medicaid services as a CHHA, LHCSA and an FI, they would log in and complete three certifications—one for each entity based on their type of Medicaid enrollment.
Similarly, if a parent company owns or controls four LHCSAs, they would log in and complete four certifications.
Finally, if a single legal entity is enrolled as a CHHA and as a LHCSA, then it would complete two certifications — one as a CHHA and one as a LHCSA, even though it is a single legal entity.
The state Wage Parity law affects agencies that provide aide services in New York City, Long Island or Westchester.
HCA Webinar
HCA reminds members that we are holding a May 26 webinar at 1 p.m. on the Wage Parity changes. Registration is here.
DOH Webinar
In response to HCA’s request, DOH will also be conducting a training webinar that will go over how to complete the Wage Parity Attestation certifications via the online portal.
The DOH webinar will be held on May 26 at 10 a.m.
You can register here (if you don’t have an NPI/MMIS Identification number, just enter “none” in that field).