Lend your voice as we urge Governor Hochul and the Department of Health to include ALL ALP workers in the Healthcare Bonus Program. Heritage operates an assisted living program (ALP), the only type of assisted living that is an eligible employer for the purpose of the NYS bonus program, unfortunately very few workers in our building are actually eligible, because:
a) home care aides working for home care agencies will be getting a wage increase through the home care minimum wage initiative and therefore are ineligible for the bonus, and;
b) the “other healthcare support workers” category—dining, maintenance, housekeeping, etc. is only being recognized in the nursing home and hospital. So, those workers in the ALP are not eligible.
This is incomprehensible, as these staff were critical to the operations of the ALP throughout the pandemic. We continue to urge the Commissioner, Governor and Division of Budget to re-think their position on this issue, but to date we have not seen a change.
Click here to send a letter to the Governor and DOH and urge them to change their stance on this issue so your staff that provide the aforementioned services are included in the bonus program.
On Oct. 1st, the window will re-open to submit claims for the second vesting period. Now is the time for the state to resolve this issue!
Please contact Sallie Williams, Vice President of Advancement with any questions at srwilliams@heritage1886.org.
About the NYS Healthcare Worker Bonus
Qualified Employers
Qualified employers include certain providers with at least one employee, and that bill for services under the Medicaid state plan or a home or community-based services (HCBS) waiver, providers that have a provider agreement to bill for Medicaid services provided or arranged through a managed care organization or a managed long term care plan, and certain educational institutions and other funded programs. These include certain providers, facilities, pharmacies, and school-based health centers licensed under the state Public Health Law, Mental Hygiene Law, and Education Law, as well as certain programs funded by the Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office for the Aging, Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
Worker Eligibility
Qualified employees must be “front line health care and mental hygiene practitioners, technicians, assistants and aides that provide hands on health or care services to individuals”. An employee is only qualified if they work for a qualified employer (as described above) and under an Eligible Worker Title (as listed below).
Employees must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Qualified employees must continuously employed by a qualified employer for the duration of at least one vesting period (see below)
- Qualified employees must have an employee title included on the list of Eligible Worker Titles;
- Qualified employees must not exceed an annualized base salary (excluding any bonuses or overtime pay) of $125,000, as evidenced by an Employee Attestation, which they must complete and return to their employer;
- Qualified employees can be full-time, part-time or temporary employees as well as independent contractors; and
- Qualified employees must not be suspended or excluded from the Medicaid program during the vesting period.