Bill Text: NY A10493 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities, in collaboration with the commissioner of health, to develop a plan for reimbursement of transportation services to and from day habilitation programs for people with developmental disabilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-31 - referred to mental health [A10493 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A10493-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10493 IN ASSEMBLY May 31, 2016 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the reimbursement of transportation services to and from day habilitation programs for people with developmental disabilities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The legislature finds that reimbursement for day habili- 2 tation to and from transportation services is implemented and controlled 3 through a process knows as "rate rationalization." Through the rate 4 rationalization process these funds are provided to licensed day habili- 5 tation providers to assure that individuals with developmental disabili- 6 ties are safely transported within a reasonable amount of time from 7 their homes to licensed day habilitation sites. The implementation of 8 rate rationalization has lead to widespread complaints that since fund- 9 ing for transportation to and from day habilitation program sites is 10 based on financial data that is not contemporaneous with current costs, 11 providers are unable to reduce the length of time traveling to and from 12 day habilitation sites. In those situations where providers have reduced 13 travel time, for their day habilitation participants, their costs have 14 increased, resulting in unreimbursed costs for these services. Compound- 15 ing this problem, rate rationalization reimbursement is based on a per 16 day per person methodology, which is inconsistent with the many situ- 17 ations where providers must contract for transportation services paid 18 for based on a per vehicle per day charge. 19 § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 13.18 20 to read as follows: 21 § 13.18 Transportation reimbursement. 22 The commissioner of the office for people with developmental disabili- 23 ties, in collaboration with the commissioner of health, shall develop a 24 plan to assure that transportation reimbursement to providers of day 25 habilitation services for to and from transportation is based on provid- 26 er specific independently certified financial data that is from the 27 immediately preceding fiscal year, is reimbursed to the provider monthly EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15168-02-6A. 10493 2 1 based on one-twelfth of the amount expended during the immediately 2 preceding fiscal year, and is increased based on applicable trend 3 factors. Such plan shall be put into effect on April first, two thousand 4 seventeen, and shall be updated annually. The plan shall also include, 5 but not be limited to, proposals to address the following: 6 (1) Recognize the complexity of transporting individuals with develop- 7 mental disabilities, including the need for on-vehicle supervision; 8 (2) Recognize the need to reduce travel time to less than sixty 9 minutes for day habilitation participants; and 10 (3) Recognize the need for the training in and use of public transpor- 11 tation, as appropriate. 12 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
