N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2826

§ 2826. Temporary adjustment to reimbursement rates. (a)\nNotwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, within funds\nappropriated and subject to the availability of federal financial\nparticipation, the commissioner may grant approval of a temporary\nadjustment to the non-capital components of rates, or make temporary\nlump-sum Medicaid payments, to eligible general hospitals, skilled\nnursing facilities, clinics and home care providers, provided however,\nthat should federal financial participation not be available for any\neligible provider, then payments pursuant to this subdivision may be\nmade as grants and shall not be deemed to be medical assistance\npayments.\n (b) Eligible providers shall include:\n (i) providers undergoing closure;\n (ii) providers impacted by the closure of other health care providers;\n (iii) providers subject to mergers, acquisitions, consolidations or\nrestructuring; or\n (iv) providers impacted by the merger, acquisition, consolidation or\nrestructuring of other health care providers.\n (c) Providers seeking temporary rate adjustments under this section\nshall demonstrate through submission of a written proposal to the\ncommissioner that the additional resources provided by a temporary rate\nadjustment will achieve one or more of the following:\n (i) protect or enhance access to care;\n (ii) protect or enhance quality of care;\n (iii) improve the cost effectiveness of the delivery of health care\nservices; or\n (iv) otherwise protect or enhance the health care delivery system, as\ndetermined by the commissioner.\n (d) (i) Such written proposal shall be submitted to the commissioner\nat least sixty days prior to the requested effective date of the\ntemporary rate adjustment, and shall include a proposed budget to\nachieve the goals of the proposal. Any Medicaid payment issued pursuant\nto this section shall be in effect for a specified period of time as\ndetermined by the commissioner, of up to three years. At the end of the\nspecified timeframe such payments or adjustments to the non-capital\ncomponent of rates shall cease, and the provider shall be reimbursed in\naccordance with the otherwise applicable rate-setting methodology as set\nforth in applicable statutes and regulations. The commissioner may\nestablish, as a condition of receiving such temporary rate adjustments\nor grants, benchmarks and goals to be achieved in conformity with the\nprovider's written proposal as approved by the commissioner and may also\nrequire that the facility submit such periodic reports concerning the\nachievement of such benchmarks and goals as the commissioner deems\nnecessary. Failure to achieve satisfactory progress, as determined by\nthe commissioner, in accomplishing such benchmarks and goals shall be a\nbasis for ending the facility's temporary rate adjustment or grant prior\nto the end of the specified timeframe. (ii) The commissioner may require\nthat applications submitted pursuant to this section be submitted in\nresponse to and in accordance with a Request For Applications or a\nRequest For Proposals issued by the commissioner.\n (e) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, general hospitals defined\nas critical access hospitals pursuant to title XVIII of the federal\nsocial security act shall be allocated no less than five million dollars\nannually pursuant to this section. The department of health shall\nprovide a report to the governor and legislature no later than December\nfirst, two thousand fourteen providing recommendations on how to ensure\nthe financial stability of, and preserve patient access to, critical\naccess hospitals.\n