Situation Report | May 17, 2021
Last week, State Senator Rachel May introduced legislation (S.6640) to repeal the Licensed Home Care Services Agency (LHCSA) Request for Offers (RFO) process that is being advanced by the state Department of Health. The bill is a companion to A.7304, which was introduced the week prior by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried.
As extensively reported, the LHCSA RFO process would determine which LHCSAs can operate in New York State. It follows a similarly dysfunctional path as the RFO for fiscal intermediaries (FI), which the Legislature amended in this year’s state budget process and which HCA is seeking to further amend with language that would allow qualified FIs to continue operating.
The Legislature amended the FI RFO for many of the same concerns that are present in the LHCSA RFO. Therefore, legislative action is needed to avoid access-to-care issues, system upheaval, and the potential discontinuation of long-experienced, quality organizations due to arbitrary contracting limits self-imposed by state officials.
With the measure now carried in both houses, HCA urges providers to act today in support of this repeal using our Legislative Action Center to contact your elected representatives. This process takes less than a minute of your time and you should urge your colleagues to act as well. Just enter your name and contact information to send a customizable pre-written message.
Click here to send an email to your state Senator and Assembly Member.