April 28, 2025 | Volume 10, Issue No. 16

State Leaders Signaling Budget Agreement Possibly Near

State legislative leaders and the Governor’s office are signaling that an agreement on a new state budget for the 2025-26 state fiscal year may finally be near.

2025 Annual Conference Is This Week!  

HCA's Annual Conference returns to Saratoga Springs this week! Will we see you there? 

The Latest From DOH - Late April 2025 

On April 24, 2025, HCANYS and other associations representing the long-term care continuum met with the state Department of Health (DOH) Office of Aging and Long Term Care (OALTC). The DOH holds meetings with the associations every two weeks to provide updates and give the participants the opportunity to raise any issues. 

CDPAP Statewide Fiscal Intermediary Update: Miscellaneous Developments and Resources From April 2025   

To lend some organization to the high number of significant developments over the last few weeks, this list is offered to provide easy access to the most relevant information all in one convenient location.  

National Alliance for Care At Home Seeks Public Input On Federal Regulations 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently issued a Deregulation Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on federal regulations that may be unnecessarily burdensome or outdated.

Social Care Networks Messaging 

The Department of Health issued a new document intended to guide Member-facing staff in responding to questions about the Social Care Networks. 

DOH to Host NY Nursing Summit

HCANYS strongly encourages our members to send key members of your team to this free event. It presents a unique opportunity to bring visibility to the key roles that nurses play in the home health and hospice setting that are often unseen.

HOPE Data Specs (FINAL) Effective October 1, 2025 

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently made available the final Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) data submission specifications (V1.00.1) in the “Downloads” section of the CMS HOPE Technical Specifications website. 

CMS Issues Latest OASIS FAQs 

Many of the questions and responses specifically address the upcoming all-payer OASIS collection and reporting requirements, set to take effect July 1, 2025. 

State OMIG Resumes Semiannual TPL Demand Billing Requests to Medicare 

The state Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) has resumed its semi-annual demand-billing process for the second half of Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024, as part of the Third Party Liability (TPL) appeals initiative.     

NGS Update on Home Health Claims Being Returned for Reason Code U5371 

National Government Services (NGS), New York’s principal Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for home health providers in Jurisdiction 6 is reporting that the common working file (CWF) can only hold the 36 most recent periods of care for any home health Medicare beneficiary.  

Influenza Report - Week Ending April 19, 2025 

During the week ending April 19, 2025 influenza activity was categorized as geographically widespread. This is the nineteenth week widespread activity has been reported this season.