STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5020
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 21, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to certain authori-
zations to fiscal intermediaries
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4-a of section 365-f of the
2 social services law, as amended by section 4 of part G of chapter 57 of
3 the laws of 2019, subparagraph (vi) as amended by section 1 of part LL
4 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
5 (b) [Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section one hundred
6 sixty-three of the state finance law, or section one hundred forty-two
7 of the economic development law the commissioner shall enter into
8 contracts under this subdivision with eligible contractors that submit
9 an offer for a contract, provided, however, that:
10 (i) the department shall post on its website:
11 (A) a description of the proposed services to be provided pursuant to
12 contracts in accordance with this subdivision;
13 (B) that the selection of contractors shall be based on criteria
14 reasonably related to the contractors' ability to provide fiscal inter-
15 mediary services including but not limited to: ability to appropriately
16 serve individuals participating in the program, geographic distribution
17 that would ensure access in rural and underserved areas, demonstrated
18 cultural and language competencies specific to the population of consum-
19 ers and those of the available workforce, ability to provide timely
20 consumer assistance, experience serving individuals with disabilities,
21 the availability of consumer peer support, and demonstrated compliance
22 with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, including
23 but not limited to those relating to wages and labor;
24 (C) the manner by which prospective contractors may seek such
25 selection, which may include submission by electronic means;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09732-01-3
S. 5020 2
1 (ii) all reasonable and responsive offers that are received from
2 prospective contractors in timely fashion shall be reviewed by the
3 commissioner;
4 (iii) the commissioner shall award such contracts to the contractors
5 that best meet the criteria for selection and are best suited to serve
6 the purposes of this section and the needs of consumers;
7 (iv) all entities providing fiscal intermediary services on or before
8 April first, two thousand nineteen, shall submit an offer for a contract
9 under this section within sixty days after the commissioner publishes
10 the initial offer on the department's website. Such entities shall be
11 deemed authorized to provide such services unless: (A) the entity fails
12 to submit an offer for a contract under this section within the sixty
13 days; or (B) the entity's offer for a contract under this section is
14 denied;
15 (v) all decisions made and approaches taken pursuant to this paragraph
16 shall be documented in a procurement record as defined in section one
17 hundred sixty-three of the state finance law; and
18 (vi) the commissioner is authorized to either reoffer contracts or
19 utilize the previous offer, to ensure that all provisions of this
20 section are met.] The commissioner shall provide authorizations under
21 this subdivision to all fiscal intermediaries that timely submit a
22 request for authorization prior to January first, two thousand twenty-
23 four, and meet the requirements of this section. No entity shall
24 provide, directly or through contract, fiscal intermediary services
25 without having received an authorization as a fiscal intermediary issued
26 by the commissioner in accordance with this subdivision, or that has a
27 pending auithorization timely submitted and currently in processing,
28 review, appeal, or legal challenge.
29 (i) An application for authorization as a fiscal intermediary shall be
30 filed with the commissioner, together with such other forms and informa-
31 tion as shall be prescribed by, or acceptable to the commissioner. Such
32 information shall consist of the following:
33 (A) the name and employer identification number, of the entity,
34 including any subsidiary corporations, if applicable, and any name
35 under which the entity does business;
36 (B) all addresses at which the organization operates;
37 (C) the names, titles and contact information of all officers and
38 directors in a not-for-profit company or business, or managers in a
39 limited liability company, as well as the name and employment history of
40 the individual ultimately accountable for operation of the fiscal inter-
41 mediary; and for a not-for-profit entity, the number of director posi-
42 tions set by the company's by-laws, and how many are currently filled;
43 (D) a history of the organization, along with an overview of the
44 organization and all services it offers, including any relationships
45 with outside agencies that may influence in any way the ability of the
46 organization to provide fiscal intermediary services consistent with the
47 manner described in its application;
48 (E) all policies and procedures of the fiscal intermediary, including
49 any contracts or other documents used in communications with consumers;
50 (F) plans to solicit and consider input from the fiscal intermediary's
51 consumers, staff, personal assistants and other interested parties which
52 may be charged with roles including, but not limited to, quality assur-
53 ance review, referral, program monitoring or development or establishing
54 and responding to community needs; such input may be in the form of a
55 board of directors, committee, survey, or other mechanism, provided that
S. 5020 3
1 the majority of input obtained as part of this process must be from
2 individual consumers and consumer advocates of the fiscal intermediary;
3 (G) the organization's plan to address the needs of consumers and
4 their personal assistants in a timely manner, regardless of where they
5 live, including, but not limited to, input from consumers, obtaining
6 physicals and other health information from personal assistants, obtain-
7 ing time records for payroll, and timely processing of payroll; and
8 (H) a written sworn statement by an officer of the entity disclosing
9 any pending litigation, unsatisfied judgments or penalties, convictions
10 for fraud or sanctions imposed by government authorities.
11 (ii) The entity shall reasonably promptly notify the department of any
12 change in the information submitted to the department for authorization
13 under this subdivision.
14 (iii) The commissioner shall not withhold approval of any application
15 for authorization that demonstrates the fiscal intermediary's ability to
16 provide fiscal intermediary services, in accordance with the manner
17 required by this subdivision and the rules and regulations hereunder.
18 All such applications shall be approved by the commissioner.
19 (iv) If the commissioner denies an application for authorization, he
20 or she shall include a narrative explanation of the reason or reasons
21 for its denial and provide the fiscal intermediary with sixty days to
22 submit additional information for reconsideration by the commissioner.
23 (v) The commissioner shall consider and evaluate any response received
24 by the fiscal intermediary before reaching a final determination, which
25 likewise shall be accompanied by a narrative explanation, if the appli-
26 cation is still denied.
27 (vi) All orders or determinations under this subdivision shall be
28 subject to review as provided in article seventy-eight of the civil
29 practice law and rules.
30 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
31 have been in full force and effect on and after April 1, 2023.