The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Bureau of Waiver Management (BWM) will soon submit an application to the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to renew the three Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Bridges to Health (B2H) Medicaid Waiver Programs for children and adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), Developmental Disabilities (DD) or who are Medically Fragile (MedF). The OCFS B2H Waiver Programs have been in operation since 2008 serving children and adolescents who are or have been in the NYS Child Welfare System. They are extremely important components in the spectrum of services for New York State’s children with serious emotional disturbance, developmental disabilities, and who are medically fragile, by providing necessary support for these children and adolescents to remain in the community in the most integrated setting as an alternative to institutionalization.

There is one proposed change to the B2H Waiver Programs. Currently, the DD slots and the MedF slots are allocated to each of the 6 NYS Regions and managed by Home Office BWM B2H staff. The proposed change would pool together the DD and MedF slots currently allocated to the 5 Upstate Regions. Those pooled slots would then be managed by Home Office BWM B2H staff. This change does not affect the number of slots. Additionally, there would be no change to slots allocated to Region 6 – New York City.

We want to advise you of this opportunity to comment because feedback from the community is essential in our renewal process. The current B2H SED, DD and MedF waivers are available for viewing on the OCFS website at http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/b2h/. Comments may be forwarded within the next thirty days as we work toward the renewal of this important waiver program. Please direct all comments to:

Mimi Weber, Director, Bureau of Waiver Management, Office of Children and Family Services, 52 Washington St., Rensselaer, NY 12144, or e-mail: [email protected], (518) 408-4064

Kimberly Jefferson, Assistant Director, Bureau of Waiver Management, Office of Children and Family Services, 52 Washington St., Rensselaer, NY 12144, or e-mail: [email protected], (518) 408-4064

PURSUANT to the Open Meetings Law, the New York State Civil Service Commission hereby gives public notice of the following:

Please take notice that the regular monthly meeting of the State Civil Service Commission for May 2015 will be conducted on May 12 and May 13 commencing at 10:00 a.m. This meeting will be conducted at NYS Media Services Center, Suite 146, South Concourse, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY.

For further information, contact: Office of Commission Operations, Department of Civil Service, Empire State Plaza, Agency Bldg. 1, Albany, NY 12239, (518) 473-6598

Pursuant to 42 CFR Section 447.205, the Department of Health hereby gives public notice of the following:

The Department of Health proposes to amend the Title XIX (Medicaid) State Plan for non-institutional services to revise provisions of the Ambulatory Patient Group (APG) reimbursement methodology on or after July 1, 2015. The following changes are proposed:

The Ambulatory Patient Group (APG) reimbursement methodology is revised to mitigate fiscal disincentives for rendering multiple service visits at integrated service clinics certified pursuant to Part 404 Subchapter A of Chapter V of 10 NYCRR. Multiple minor changes to the APG reimbursement methodology will be implemented for these clinics which include eliminating multiple behavioral health service discounting and multiple Evaluation and Management (E&M) service consolidation so that the second E&M pays at a discounted rate rather than consolidating.

The estimated annual impact of these changes will be nominal since less than one percent of claims will be affected.

The public is invited to review and comment on this proposed State Plan Amendment. Copies of which will be available for public review on the Department’s website at http://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/state_plans/status.

Copies of the proposed State Plan Amendments will be on file in each local (county) social services district and available for public review.

For the New York City district, copies will be available at the following places:

New York County 250 Church Street New York, New York 10018

Queens County, Queens Center 3220 Northern Boulevard Long Island City, New York 11101

Kings County, Fulton Center 114 Willoughby Street Brooklyn, New York 11201

Bronx County, Tremont Center 1916 Monterey Avenue Bronx, New York 10457

Richmond County, Richmond Center 95 Central Avenue, St. George Staten Island, New York 10301

For further information and to review and comment, please contact: Department of Health, Bureau of Federal Relations & Provider Assessments, 99 Washington Ave. – One Commerce Plaza, Suite 1460, Albany, NY 12210, or e-mail: [email protected]

Pursuant to 42 CFR Section 447.205, the Department of Health hereby gives public notice of the following:

The Department of Health proposes to amend the Title XIX (Medicaid) State Plan for non-institutional services to revise provisions of the Early and Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) services related to the expansion of behavioral health services provided to individuals under age 21 years on or after May 1, 2015 by adding the following new services:

• Crisis Intervention;

• Other Licensed Practitioner;

• Community Psychiatric Supports & Treatment;

• Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services;

• Family Peer Support Services; and

• Youth Peer Support and Training.

The public is invited to review and comment on this proposed State Plan Amendment, a copy of which will be available for public review on the Department’s website at: http://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/state_plans/status.

For the New York City district, copies will be available at the following places:

New York County 250 Church Street New York, New York 10018

Queens County, Queens Center 3220 Northern Boulevard Long Island City, New York 11101

Kings County, Fulton Center 114 Willoughby Street Brooklyn, New York 11201

Bronx County, Tremont Center 1916 Monterey Avenue Bronx, New York 10457

Richmond County, Richmond Center 95 Central Avenue, St. George Staten Island, New York 10301

For further information and to review and comment, please contact: Department of Health, Bureau of Federal Relations & Provider Assessments, 99 Washington Ave. – One Commerce Plaza, Suite 1460, Albany, NY 12210, or e-mail: [email protected]

Pursuant to 42 CFR Section 447.205, the Department of Health hereby gives public notice of the following:

The Department of Health proposes to amend the Title XIX (Medicaid) State Plan for non-institutional services to revise provisions of the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) reimbursement methodology. The following changes are proposed:

Effective on May 1, 2015 and each October 1 thereafter, rates of payment for the group psychotherapy and individual off-site services will be increased by the percentage increase in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for FQHC providers only. Also, the reimbursement methodology for out-of-state FQHCs will be that the Department may use the currently approved FQHC rate of the provider’s home state. The estimated annual net aggregate increase in gross Medicaid expenditures attributable to this initiative contained in the budget for state fiscal year 2015/2016 is $2,417.

The public is invited to review and comment on this proposed State Plan Amendment. Copies of which will be available for public review on the Department’s website at http://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/state_plans/status.

Copies of the proposed State Plan Amendments will be on file in each local (county) social services district and available for public review.

For the New York City district, copies will be available at the following places:

New York County 250 Church Street New York, New York 10018

Queens County, Queens Center 3220 Northern Boulevard Long Island City, New York 11101

Kings County, Fulton Center 114 Willoughby Street Brooklyn, New York 11201

Bronx County, Tremont Center 1916 Monterey Avenue Bronx, New York 10457

Richmond County, Richmond Center 95 Central Avenue, St. George Staten Island, New York 10301

For further information and to review and comment, please contact: Department of Health, Bureau of Federal Relations & Provider Assessments, 99 Washington Ave. – One Commerce Plaza, Suite 1430, Albany, NY 12210, (518) 474-1673, (518) 473-8825 (FAX), or e-mail: [email protected]

Pursuant to Title 9, Article 54 of the Environmental Conservation Law, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation hereby gives public notice of the following:

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Section 49-0305 (9) of the Environmental Conservation Law, that the State of New York acting by and through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation intends to acquire a Conservation Easement from the following: Finger Lakes Land Trust, Inc. in Town of Spafford, Onondaga County, New York; D&H Canal Historical Society, Inc. in Town of Marbletown, Ulster County, New York; County of Erie in City of Buffalo, New York.

For further information, contact: Beatrice Gamache, Regional Grants Administrator, Bureau of Grants Management, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Albany, NY 12238, (518) 473-3321, Fax: (518) 486-7377

Pursuant to 42 CFR Sections 441.304(e) and 447.205, the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the New York State Department of Health hereby give notice of the following:

The State proposes to change the methods and standards for setting Medicaid payment rates effective June 1, 2015, by changing requirements for filing cost reports and the rates that are subject to a penalty for failure to file. Existing State regulations require that providers file cost reports no later than 120 days after the last day of the reporting period, and allow for one 30 day extension for providers that are unable to meet the 120 day deadline. Existing regulations also include provisions that require OPWDD to provide written notice to the provider when the provider fails to meet the applicable deadline, and allow a 15 day grace period for the provider to respond to the notice before being subjected to a reduction in reimbursement penalty. Lastly, existing regulations allow for a waiver of the penalty if unforeseeable circumstances beyond the provider’s control prevent the provider from complying with applicable deadlines.

The State proposes to amend existing regulations to automatically impose the penalty after 120 days if the provider does not apply for a 30 day extension; and to eliminate both written notice of failure to file a cost report and the 15 day grace period.

The State also proposes to make corresponding changes to timeframe requirements for requesting a waiver of the penalty. Currently, providers request a waiver of the penalty during the 15 day grace period after receiving notice of failure to submit a cost report. The State proposes that the request for a waiver be received by OPWDD prior to the original due date (120 days after the last day of the reporting period) or the revised due date (150 days after the last day of the reporting period), depending on when the circumstances beyond the provider’s control occur that will prevent the provider from complying with the applicable deadlines.

The State proposes to expand the rates subject to the penalty to include those for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver services that have been created in recent years and whose rates are not now included in the penalty. These services include Intensive Behavioral services, Pathway to Employment, Community Transition Services, and Individual Directed Goods and Services.

The State does not expect this change to result in any aggregate increases or decreases in Medicaid expenditures.

The reasons for the proposed changes are as follows: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have taken the position that a 150 day timeframe should be the maximum timeframe allowed for submission of a cost report, unless there are unforeseeable circumstances beyond the provider’s control that prevent submission by the deadline, and that the additional 15 day grace period beyond the 30 day extension in current regulations is not necessary. Consequently, CMS has directed OPWDD to eliminate the 15 day grace period in existing regulations, resulting in a change in timeframe requirements for imposition of a penalty.

Requests for a waiver of the penalty need to be received by OPWDD within specified timeframes so that OPWDD has sufficient time to consider the request and to avoid situations in which a penalty is imposed before the request is received.

14 NYCRR section 635-4.1 already requires providers of all HCBS services, including newly established HCBS Waiver services, to submit cost reports As OPWDD broadens its service delivery framework, it is critical that existing penalty provisions are amended to incorporate its new services so that requirements are applied in a fair and consistent manner to all providers of services in the OPWDD system.

Outside New York City, a detailed description of the changes is available for public review at the following addresses:

In New York City, a detailed description of the changes is available for public review at the following OPWDD Office locations:

Metro New York

25 Beaver Street

3rd Floor

New York, New York 10004

Bernard M. Fineson

80-45 Winchester Blvd.

Administration Building 80-00

Queens Village, New York 11427

Brooklyn

888 Fountain Avenue

Brooklyn, New York 11208

Metro New York

2400 Halsey Street

Bronx, New York 10461

Staten Island

1150 Forest Hill Road

Staten Island, New York 10314

The text of the regulations may also be found on the OPWDD website at http://www.opwdd.ny.gov/regulations_guidance/opwdd_regulations/CFR-PenaltyAmendments or on the NYS Department of State website.

The public is invited to review and comment on these proposed changes. Notice of public hearings on these changes was given in the March 11, 2015 State Register.

For further information and to review and comment, please contact: Regulatory Affairs Unit, Office of Counsel, Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, 44 Holland Ave., Albany, NY 12229, (518) 474-7700, or e-mail: [email protected]