The Situation Report | November 21, 2022
Last week, the state Department of Health (DOH) announced that the Healthcare Worker Bonus (HWB) Program has been expanded to include additional titles and eligible provider types.
However, this does not affect home care providers and affects hospices in a limited way. It also adds health homes. Qualified employers are advised to not yet submit the employees that are now eligible under this expansion.
There will be a special submission period, during which employers impacted by this expansion can submit their newly eligible workers. This special submission period will only be available to those employers and employees included in this expansion.
This submission period will begin in December (exact date is forthcoming) and will remain open for 30 days. During this special submission period, employers (including newly Qualified Employer) must submit their eligible workers for vesting periods 1 and 2. After this special submission period, these employees and employers will remain eligible and follow the same vesting period schedule as other employers for the remainder of the program.
New Qualified Employers
Qualified employers that can submit their eligible “Frontline Direct Care Health and Mental Hygiene Workers” now include:
- DOH-Funded Health Homes
- DOH-Funded Permanent Supportive Housing Agencies
New Eligible Titles
Titles included in “Frontline Direct Care Health and Mental Hygiene Workers” now include:
- Health home care managers (DOH)
The employers permitted to submit their “All Other Health Care Support Workers” is expanded beyond Hospital and Nursing Homes (Article 28 of Public Health Law) and now includes:
- OMH Psychiatric Centers (Article 7 of Mental Hygiene Law)
- OASAS Addiction Treatment Centers (Article 19 of Mental Hygiene Law)
- Residential programs operated or certified by OPWDD, OMH, and OASAS (Articles 16, 31, and 32 of Mental Hygiene Law)
- Medicaid Assisted Living Programs (PHL Article 46-B)
- Hospice Residences (PHL Article 40)
Note on “All Other Health Care Support Workers”: This title refers to other workers that are similar to the titles listed in this statute, and that support the provision of health care services to patients in front-line settings for these titles. Such workers must support patient-facing care provided within a patient care unit of a hospital or other institutional medical setting in support of treating and caring for patients.
More information is available here.