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Healthcare worker bonus program

August 19, 2022

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Program information

New York’s frontline medical and mental health workers survived a once-in-a-century public health crisis and turned our state into a model for fighting and defeating COVID-19. .

To attract talented people to the profession and to retain those who have worked tirelessly over the past two years at a time of great strain like this, we must recognize the efforts of health care and mental health workers and should be financially rewarded for their service. To that end, as part of the New York State Executive Budget Act for Fiscal Year 2023, he was allocated $1.2 billion in funds to pay out bonuses to certain frontline healthcare workers.

The HWB provisions in Part ZZ of Chapter 56 of the Law 2022 enable the payment of bonuses. “Recruiting, Retaining, and Rewarding Health Care and Mental Health Workers” Meet certain eligibility requirements. The bonus amount will total up to $3,000 per eligible worker depending on the number of hours he worked for eligible workers covered by the HWB program during the designated vesting period.

The official New York State press release can be found at the following link. Governor Ho Chul Launches Healthcare Worker Bonus Program.

Health Worker Bonus (HWB) Program Town Hall Webinars August 19, 2022 (Friday) 11:00 am (slide deck) (recording)

qualified employer

Eligible employers include certain providers that have at least one employee and bill for services under a Medicaid state plan or Home- or Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver. Managed care organizations or managed long-term care plans, and certain educational institutions and other funded programs. These include certain providers, facilities, pharmacies, and school-based health centers licensed under state public health, mental health, and education laws, and funded by the Office of Mental Health (OMH). contains certain programs that have Office of Aging, Addiction Services and Support (OASAS), and Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).

Eligible employer submission details vary depending on whether you are a Medicaid or non-Medicaid employer.

Medicaid employers must be currently registered, payable through eMedNY, and have a valid MMIS ID that can be submitted on the HWB program portal. For healthcare providers not currently enrolled in eMedNY, please visit her website on eMedNY for more information on how to enroll.

Employers submitting non-Medicaid employees must use the SFS Vendor ID to submit on the HWB Program Portal. Employers with eligible employees who are not eligible for Medicaid employee bonuses should contact the appropriate state agency where they work for more information about the program. Agencies with providers who do not have an active MMIS ID (non-Medicaid) include the Department of Mental Health, the Department for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Addiction Services and Support.

The educational portion of the bonus program will roll out in October.

Medicaid providers who are eligible employers but employ state-paid workers must work through their respective state agencies.

worker eligibility

Qualified employees are “Frontline health care and mental health practitioners, technicians, assistants, and aides who provide hands-on health or care services to individuals.”An employee is only eligible if he/she is working under a qualified worker title (as shown below) for a qualified employer (as shown above).

Employees must meet the following eligibility criteria:

A qualified employee must be continuously employed by a qualified employer for at least one vesting period (see below).

Eligible employees must have their employee title on the list. Eligible Worker Title;

Eligible employees must not have an annualized base salary (excluding bonuses and overtime) exceeding $125,000, as evidenced by an employee certification.

Eligible employees are full-time, part-time, temporary employees and independent contractors.When

Eligible employees may not be suspended or removed from the Medicaid program during the vesting period.

bonus requirements

Eligible employers must submit claims for bonus payments for eligible employees who meet the eligibility criteria (as set forth above) for participation in the HWB program.

Claims must be submitted to eligible employees within 30 days of the department’s issuance of the Vesting Schedule for the completed Vesting Period. Employees will vest if they have worked for their employer for the full vesting period of the eligible employee title.

Upon vesting of an employee, an eligible employer must provide the employee with an employee certification form and require it to be returned to the employer before the claim deadline date (30 days after vesting). I have.

Eligible employers are payment Pay bonuses to eligible employees within 30 days after bonus amounts are paid to eligible employers.

Eligible employers will pay eligible employees bonus amounts based on the number of hours worked during the vesting period defined below.

Eligible employees working more than 20 hours and less than 30 hours per week are eligible for a $500 bonus.

Eligible employees working 30 to 35 hours per week are eligible for a $1,000 bonus.When

Eligible employees who work 35 hours or more per week are eligible for a $1,500 bonus.

Eligible employees are eligible for up to two vesting periods per employer. The maximum amount an employee can receive is $3,000.

Vesting period

The Vesting Period is defined as a series of six-month periods from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024. The vesting period must be accompanied by consecutive six-month periods. The employer will invoice all eligible employees whose six-month vesting period ends within the defined vesting period, as outlined below.

Vesting Period	Vesting period start date	Vesting period End date	Employer Submission start date	Employer Submission End date
1	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	May 1, 2023
four	April 1, 2023	September 30, 2023	October 1, 2023	October 31, 2023
five	October 1, 2023	March 31, 2024	April 1, 2024	May 1, 2024

of Vesting period schedule You can also download it as a PDF.

penalty

Eligible employers who fail to identify, claim, and/or pay bonuses to more than 10 percent of their eligible workers may be subject to penalties of up to $1,000 per violation of the HWB Program.

The Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) audits payments released by eMedNY to ensure funds are properly claimed and distributed.

Employer Submission Process

Eligible employers must claim bonuses on behalf of their employees. Employees cannot claim bonuses on their own.The following proofs are required for the submission of a complete claim:

Employers must create an account with a valid MMIS ID. HWB Program Portal By registering on or after Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
Employers filing for non-Medicaid employees must use the SFS Vendor ID to submit claims using the HWB Program Portal.

After registration, employers must either:

Download a submission template that enables bulk data submission, or

You can also submit manually.

of Technical Portal Guide For instructions, HWB Program Portal.

Job title of the worker eligible for the bonus

Employee positions eligible for bonuses include certain workers who actually support medical services (clinical) or nursing care services (non-clinical). Such workers must provide medical or care services or directly assist patients in certain situations and work under one of the positions listed in the law in order to be on the front lines. . These eligible worker titles are listed in SOS § 367-w(2)(a)(i) and (ii), in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job listings and state consolidated financial statements and Reflects the billing (CFR) title. Under the authority provided by the Manual or SOS § 367-w(2)(a)(iii).

Note for “All Other Healthcare Support Workers”: This position is similar to the positions described in this decree and refers to other workers who are at the forefront of these positions and support the delivery of medical services to patients. Such workers are required to support patient-facing care provided within a hospital patient care unit or other health care facility to support patient treatment and care.