Friday, November 8, 2024

Health Care Worker Bonus Program

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Program Info

New York’s important entrance line well being care and psychological hygiene staff have seen us by way of a once-in-a-century public well being disaster and turned our state right into a mannequin for battling and beating COVID-19.

To draw gifted individuals into the occupation at a time of such important pressure, whereas additionally retaining those that have been working so tirelessly these previous two years, we should acknowledge the efforts of our well being care and psychological hygiene workforce and reward them financially for his or her service. To take action, as a part of the Fiscal Yr 2023 New York State Govt Finances laws, $1.2 billion in funding has been allotted for the cost of bonuses for sure frontline healthcare staff.

Positioned inside Part ZZ of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2022, the HWB provision permits for the cost of bonuses to “recruit, retain, and reward well being care and psychological hygiene staff” assembly specified eligibility necessities. Bonus quantities will likely be commensurate with the variety of hours labored by eligible staff coated by the HWB Program throughout designated vesting intervals for as much as a complete of $3,000 per coated employee.

The official New York State press launch might be discovered on the following hyperlink: Governor Hochul Launches Health Care Worker Bonus Program.

Healthcare Employee Bonus (HWB) Program City Corridor Webinar
Friday, August 19, 2022 11:00 AM (Slide Deck) (Recording)

Certified Employers

Certified employers embody sure suppliers with not less than one worker, and that invoice for providers below the Medicaid state plan or a house or community-based providers (HCBS) waiver, suppliers which have a supplier settlement to invoice for Medicaid providers offered or organized by way of a managed care group or a managed long run care plan, and sure instructional establishments and different funded packages. These embody sure suppliers, amenities, pharmacies, and school-based well being facilities licensed below the state Public Well being Regulation, Psychological Hygiene Regulation, and Schooling Regulation, in addition to sure packages funded by the Workplace of Psychological Well being (OMH), Workplace for the Growing older, Workplace of Habit Companies and Helps (OASAS), and the Workplace for Folks with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).

Submission particulars for certified employers will differ based mostly on if they’re Medicaid or non-Medicaid employers.

Medicaid employers have to be presently enrolled and payable by way of eMedNY and have an lively MMIS ID to have the ability to submit on the HWB Program Portal. Suppliers who are usually not presently enrolled with eMedNY ought to go to the eMedNY website to study extra about tips on how to enroll.

Employers submitting for non-Medicaid workers ought to submit on the HWB Program Portal using their SFS Vendor ID. Employers who’ve workers eligible for bonuses, however ineligible for workforce bonuses below Medicaid ought to contact the suitable state company they function below for program particulars. The businesses with suppliers who would not have an lively MMIS ID (Non-Medicaid) could embody: Workplace of Psychological Well being, Workplace for Folks With Developmental Disabilities, Workplace of Kids and Household Companies, and the Workplace of Habit Companies and Helps.

The schooling portion of the bonus program will rollout in October.

Medicaid suppliers which might be certified employers however make use of staff paid by the State ought to work by way of their respective State company.

Employee Eligibility

Certified workers have to be “entrance line well being care and psychological hygiene practitioners, technicians, assistants and aides that present palms on well being or care providers to people”. An worker is barely certified in the event that they work for a professional employer (as described above) and below an Eligible Worker Title (as listed beneath).

Staff should meet the next eligibility standards:

  • Certified workers should repeatedly employed by a professional employer throughout not less than one vesting interval (see beneath)
  • Certified workers will need to have an worker title included on the listing of Eligible Worker Titles;
  • Certified workers should not exceed an annualized base wage (excluding any bonuses or extra time pay) of $125,000, as evidenced by an Worker Attestation, which they need to full and return to their employer;
  • Certified workers might be full-time, part-time or short-term workers in addition to unbiased contractors; and
  • Certified workers should not be suspended or excluded from the Medicaid program throughout the vesting interval.

Bonus Necessities

Qualifed employers are required to submit claims for bonus funds for his or her certified workers that meet the eligibility standards (as described above) for participation within the HWB program.

Claims have to be submitted for certified workers inside 30-days after the division publishes a vesting schedule for accomplished vesting intervals, and thereafter inside 30-days after the top of every extra vesting interval. An worker vests if they’ve labored for the employer for your entire period of a vesting interval in an Eligible Worker Title.

Upon worker vesting, Certified employers should present workers with an Employee Attestation Form and request this be returned to the employer previous to the claims due date of the declare (i.e., 30 days after vesting).

Certified employers should pay bonuses to eligible worker no later than 30 days after the bonus quantity is paid to the certified employer.

Certified employers can pay bonus quantities to certified workers based mostly on the variety of hours labored throughout the vesting interval as outlined beneath:

  • Certified workers who work not less than 20 hours however not more than 30 hours per week are eligible for a bonus of $500;
  • Certified workers who work not less than 30 hours however not more than 35 hours per week are eligible for a bonus of $1,000; and
  • Certified workers who work not less than 35 hours per week are eligible for a bonus of $1,500.

A certified worker is eligible for as much as two vesting intervals per employer. The utmost any worker could obtain is $3,000.

Vesting Durations

A vesting interval is outlined as a collection of six-month intervals between the dates October 1, 2021, by way of March 31, 2024. A vesting interval should entail a consecutive six-month interval. Employers will declare for all eligible workers whose 6-month vesting interval ends inside the outlined vesting intervals as outlined beneath









Vesting
Interval
Vesting Interval
Begin Date
Vesting Interval
Finish Date
Employer Submission
Begin Date
Employer Submission
Shut Date
One October 1, 2021 March 31, 2022 August 3, 2022 September 2, 2022
Two April 1, 2022 September 30, 2022 October 1, 2022 October 31, 2022
Three October 1, 2022 March 31, 2023 April 1, 2023 Could 1, 2023
4 April 1, 2023 September 30, 2023 October 1, 2023 October 31, 2023
5 October 1, 2023 March 31, 2024 April 1, 2024 Could 1, 2024

The Vesting Interval Schedule can also be accessible for obtain as a PDF.

Penalties

A certified employer who fails to establish, declare, and/or pay any bonus for greater than 10 p.c of bonus eligible staff could also be topic to penalties of as much as $1,000 per violation of the HWB Program.

The Workplace of the Medicaid Inspector Common (OMIG) will audit funds launched by eMedNY to make sure funds had been appropriately claimed and dispersed.

Employer Submission Course of

Certified employers are required to say the bonus on behalf of their workers. An worker will not be capable of declare bonuses independently.
The next attestations will likely be required for a whole declare submission:

The employer should create an account utilizing a legitimate MMIS ID, on the HWB Program Portal by enrolling on or after Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
Employers submitting for non-Medicaid workers ought to submit claims utilizing the HWB Program Portal using their SFS Vendor ID.

As soon as enrolled, employers should both:

  1. obtain a submission template that can permit for bulk information submissions, or
  2. could select to submit through handbook entry.

The Technical Portal Information directions might be discovered on the HWB Program Portal.

Eligible Employee Titles for the Bonus

Worker employee titles eligible for the bonus embody sure staff that present hands-on help with well being providers (i.e., scientific) or care providers (i.e., non-clinical). To be front-line, such staff should present or immediately help the availability of well being or care providers to sufferers in sure settings and work below one of many titles listed within the statute. These eligible employee titles are listed below SOS § 367-w(2)(a)(i) and (ii) and mirror titles from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job listings and the State’s Consolidated Fiscal Reporting and Claiming (CFR) handbook or below the authority offered by SOS § 367-w(2)(a)(iii).

Observe on “All Different Well being Care Help Staff”: This title refers to different staff which might be much like the titles listed on this statute, and that help the availability of well being care providers to sufferers in front-line settings for these titles. Such staff should help patient-facing care offered inside a affected person care unit of a hospital or different institutional medical setting in help of treating and caring for sufferers.

The total listing of Eligible Employee Titles are listed within the desk beneath:

Extra Info

Extra info might be discovered on the HWB Program Portal or by calling the Well being Care Employee Bonus (HWB) Name Heart at: (866) 682-0077

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