HANYS News

HANYS, Trustees Testify on Governance and Executive Compensation Legislation

2013-05-24T14:00:00-04:00

On Wednesday, HANYS and Healthcare Trustees of New York State jointly submitted testimony at a public hearing on three new bills that address not-for-profit governance policies and executive compensation oversight. The hearing was called by the State Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions.

Two proposals, S.3755-A, sponsored by Senator Michael Ranzenhofer (R-Williamsville) and S.5198/A.7337, sponsored by Senator Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman James Brennan (D-Brooklyn) and introduced at the request of the Attorney General, include new provisions regarding not-for-profit governance, board responsibilities and committees, and corporate policies.

The third bill (S.5197/A.733), also introduced at the request of the Attorney General, sponsored by Senator Carl Marcellino (R-Oyster Bay) and Assemblyman Stephen Englebright (D-Setauket), addresses executive compensation oversight and new governance provisions for trusts.

The legislation largely follows the best practice recommendations in the 2004 HANYS/HTNYS publication, Non-Profit Corporate Accountability: A Guidebook. For example, both governance bills require that an audit committee be established to oversee audit activities, retain and consult directly with external auditors, and develop and oversee a conflict of interest policy.

While the legislation is generally reasonable in its approach, the HANYS/HTNYS testimony focused on several specific concerns:

the very narrow definition of what constitutes an “independent” director;
the inclusion of another whistleblower law; and
provisions regarding standing board committees.

HANYS and HTNYS will continue to actively advocate on these issues. Contact: Mark Thomas

HANYS and HTNYS Hold a Workshop for Assistants to the President and Board Coordinators

2013-05-24T14:00:00-04:00

Assistants to the president and board coordinators from hospitals and health systems across the state gathered last week at HANYS' offices for the third annual workshop if its kind, to learn about strategies to manage the multiple, demanding priorities that they face daily.

Co-hosted by HANYS and Healthcare Trustees of New York State (HTNYS), the program covered current issues in health care, and strategies and best practices for managing executive offices in health care institutions. The workshop also enabled participants to develop relationships with HANYS and HTNYS experts as well as their colleagues from across the state.

The program began with a tour of the New York State Capitol, where the State Legislature and the Governor conduct their business, and a national historic landmark that has served as the seat of government for New York State since the 1880s.

Day two of the program began with a presentation by Dan Sisto, HANYS' President, on the transformation of the health care environment.

Participants also heard from other HANYS experts on population health, the legal and ethical implications of board meeting minutes, and how a hospital's quality of care effects reimbursement. In addition, the agenda included best practices on enhancing communication and teamwork skills. Plans for the 2014 program are underway. Contact: Molly Poleto

HANYS Urges New York Delegation to Support DSH Reduction Relief Act

2013-05-16T14:00:00-04:00

HANYS-endorsed legislation to delay the Medicare and Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cuts established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week. The DSH Reduction Relief Act of 2013 (H.R. 1920), authored by Representative John Lewis (D-GA), would delay the DSH cuts for two years until federal fiscal year (FFY) 2016.

Under ACA, Medicare and Medicaid DSH programs are scheduled to be reduced roughly by half from 2014 through 2019. The ACA reductions are based on the assumption that the need for DSH will decrease because of reductions in uncompensated care as coverage is expanded. However, HANYS has long maintained that the ACA DSH cuts are too deep to ensure patient access to care in all communities. Particularly in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that will lessen Medicaid expansion by about five million individuals, Congress should reconsider the timing and extent of DSH reductions.

DSH funds are vital to preserving access to care for all, and many safety net facilities that care for the most vulnerable populations depend on DSH funds to remain operational. HANYS projects that the ACA-mandated Medicare and Medicaid DSH reductions will cut approximately $6.8 billion from New York hospitals between 2014 and 2022. This includes Medicaid DSH reductions enacted in subsequent legislation to pay for two separate temporary “doc fixes.”

HANYS is advocating for the Medicare and Medicaid DSH payments to be protected until real coverage expansion takes hold and health insurance administrative simplification benchmarks are reached. Given the importance of DSH payments to New York State, congressional support for this legislation is crucial to ensuring that New York's hospitals can continue to care for uninsured and underinsured populations. HANYS is urging members of the New York State Congressional Delegation to cosponsor H.R. 1920.

For more information on the impact of Medicare and Medicaid DSH reductions, members may visit the Health Care Reform Navigator Web site. Contact: Elyse Oveson

DataGen Presents at Beckers Annual Meeting in Chicago

2013-05-16T14:00:00-04:00

Becker's Hospital Review published an article on May 13 covering a presentation at its 4th Annual Meeting in Chicago on making hospital bundled payments work, by Kelly Price, Director, DataGen, and Jonathan Pearce, C.P.A., F.H.F.M.A., Principal, Singletrack Analytics. Their session, Leveraging Lessons Learned From Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Program, explained how data can be used to determine which procedures could be performed feasibly with bundled payments. Ms. Price and Mr. Pearce encouraged hospitals and health systems interested in participating in a bundled payment program to:

study available data to determine the feasibility of bundling payments;
understand how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is structuring its bundled payment demonstration programs;
determine if the facility's physicians are interested; and
be aware of potential costs related to readmissions.

DataGen and Singletrack have partnered to offer providers a new Medicare Bundled Payment Analytics service that enables hospitals to understand Medicare data, turning millions of unformatted inpatient, physician, and post-acute claims records into clear, actionable insights that:

identify high volume and high service variation patient conditions;
pinpoint Medicare payment variability associated with inpatient, physician, and post-acute services;
break down payments into categories for each episode of care, allowing for the evaluation of service utilization;
highlight strategic partnership opportunities; and
benchmark payment and utilization mix to regional and national averages.

Contact: Gloria Kupferman

PCMH Advisory Services Staff First to Certify as Medical Home Content Experts"

2013-05-16T14:00:00-04:00

Nicole Harmon, M.B.A., C.C.E., Director, HANYS Solutions PCMH Advisory Services; and Stacey Mallin, M.P.A., C.P.H.Q., C.C.E., PCMH Advisor, were among the first 100 health care professionals in 29 states to earn certification as National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Content Experts™.

The Certified Content Experts completed two rigorous PCMH education seminars and passed a comprehensive exam validating their knowledge of NCQA recognition standards and guidelines, application procedures, survey processes, and documentation requirements.

According to NCQA, “Content Expert Certification gives practices seeking NCQA PCMH Recognition a way to gauge the qualifications of the growing numbers of consultants and other professionals available to help practices prepare for NCQA PCMH evaluation. By bringing measurement and transparency to the marketplace that has developed around NCQA's PCMH program, Content Expert Certification helps the medical home model spread and improve the human care delivery system.”

HANYS Solutions PCMH Advisory Service helps outpatient primary care practices develop or enhance their PCMH initiatives. Engagements are fully customized to meet the needs of the hospital and practices. For more information, contact Nicole Harmon, Director, PCMH Advisory Services, at nharmon@hanys.org or at (716) 201-1170. Contact: Terry August

HANYS-supported Bill to Extend MDH/LVH Programs Introduced in House and Senate

2013-05-08T14:00:00-04:00

At HANYS' request, Senators Charles Schumer (DNY) and Charles Grassley (RIA), and Representatives Tom Reed (RNY) and Peter Welch (DVT), have introduced the Rural Hospital Access Act of 2013 (S. 842/H.R. 1787). The legislation would extend through federal fiscal year 2014 the Medicare Dependent Hospital (MDH) program and current eligibility criteria for the Medicare Low-Volume Hospital (LVH) Payment Adjustment. HANYS is grateful to Senator Schumer and Representative Reed for their continued leadership on behalf of New York's small community and rural hospitals in working to extend these two key policies.

In some communities across New York State, rural and small community hospitals are the only major providers of many vital health care services, particularly to those who are uninsured, elderly, and experience high rates of chronic diseases. Several of these hospitals benefit from special Medicare designations that help ensure they have the necessary resources to preserve patient access to health care services. The MDH program supports small, rural hospitals for which Medicare patients make up a significant percentage of inpatient days or discharges, and the current LVH program provides a payment adjustment to hospitals with fewer than 1,600 discharges and further than 15 miles from the nearest like hospital. Under current law, each program will expire September 30 absent passage of this legislation.

HANYS is urging members of the New York State Congressional Delegation to cosponsor the Rural Hospital Access Act of 2013 and will continue to work in partnership with the bill's champions, the American Hospital Association, and other associations to build support for this legislation.

HANYS' Impact Analysis of the expiration of the MDH and Medicare LVH programs in New York is available on HANYS' Health Care Reform Navigator Web site, along with updated resources and advocacy tools. Contact: Elyse Oveson

HANYS News

HANYS, Trustees Testify on Governance and Executive Compensation Legislation

HANYS and HTNYS Hold a Workshop for Assistants to the President and Board Coordinators

HANYS Urges New York Delegation to Support DSH Reduction Relief Act

DataGen Presents at Beckers Annual Meeting in Chicago

PCMH Advisory Services Staff First to Certify as Medical Home Content Experts"

HANYS-supported Bill to Extend MDH/LVH Programs Introduced in House and Senate

DataGen Presents at Beckers Annual Meeting in Chicago