IHealth NYS

08/01/2024

03/27/2024

iHealth keeps advocating to legislators the importance of saving Health Home funding.

03/14/2024

Check out this op-ed in by Arnaldo Jara, VP of care management at , who makes the case for rejecting cuts in the NYS budget and instead investing in the model to support 170K New Yorkers living with chronic health conditions

Commentary: The "Health Home" model of health care management is a lifeline for vulnerable New Yorkers. Cuts to its funding have been devastating.

03/01/2024

iHealth is profiled in today’s NYM Media fighting the cuts to Health Homes (NY Non-Profit Media)

Matthew Lesieur, executive director of iHealth, discusses how the coalition of twenty-one community-based organizations providing specialized care management services is taking action.

02/21/2024

The Governor's proposed cut to Health Homes would nearly decimate the program. We thank Politico for covering this story.


Feb 21, 2024

BY MAYA KAUFMAN
DRIVING THE DAY

Community-based organizations are slamming the Hochul administration’s plan to further reduce spending on Medicaid Health Homes.

Hochul wants to “restructure” the program to focus on the most severe, acute patients and coordinate services with new care management programs under the state’s recently approved Medicaid 1115 waiver, according to budget documents.

That would yield annual savings of $125 million starting in the 2026 fiscal year, the executive budget notes.

The Health Home program was launched in 2012 to help coordinate care for Medicaid enrollees who have chronic medical and behavioral conditions, following a recommendation by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team.

There are 30 designated Health Homes serving about 170,000 adults and children statewide.

iHealth, a coalition of 21 organizations that provide Health Home services, is pressing the state Legislature to reverse Hochul’s cut in the final state budget.

The coalition is arguing the cut would be “disastrous” for the New Yorkers who rely on the program, which has been shown in recent studies to increase diabetes patients’ access to care and decrease hospitalizations for mental health and substance use concerns.

“The state is relying on the Health Home program in its newly approved 1115 Medicaid waiver, yet the budget cut would decimate the program. It makes no sense,” Matthew Lesieur, executive director of iHealth, said in a statement.

The potential cut is among over $1.2 billion in Medicaid savings initiatives floated by Gov. Kathy Hochul for the upcoming fiscal year.

Last year’s budget already slashed Health Home spending by $100 million over two years, which has forced some providers to disenroll clients who were not ready to leave the program, Lesieur said. An additional cut would result in the program “essentially ceasing to exist,” his coalition claims.

In a statement to POLITICO, Health Department spokesperson Danielle DeSouza said the program’s care management services play an important role in the health care system.

“The FY25 Executive Budget prioritizes funding for health homes that serve those New Yorkers most in need, while also ensuring responsible overall levels of Medicaid spending,” DeSouza said.

04/20/2023

Attending the Healthy NY Summit

03/14/2023

https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2023/03/10/my-home-health-care-cannot-disappear/69988545007/

We hope the governor will stand by her commitment to fortify New York’s health care system and improve the continuum of care.

03/10/2023

Health Home Care Coordination funding is under attack. Join us in urging the NY Senate and Assembly to reject harmful funding cuts to health homes.

Visit bit.ly/RejectRecalibration , enter your details, and help protect vulnerable populations.

02/09/2023

This week's magazine is live, featuring one of our Lifetime Achievement Award winners - S. David Wu, President of Baruch College - as our cover star.

Flip through all the pages with this link: https://bit.ly/3kSeFR9

08/03/2022

https://health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/providers/hwb_program/hwb_program_faq.htm

Health Care Worker Bonus Program FAQ

08/03/2022

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-launches-health-care-worker-bonus-program

Governor Hochul announced the launch of the Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus program.

03/08/2022

She is an amazing woman, dedicated to public health. I got to know her well when I was chair of the HIV Planning Council. She is one of the countless public health officials that work behind the scenes to make us all safer.

She was brutally attacked at a subway station on her way home from work. Please consider giving.

Dear Colleagues: As you may have heard, a member of our … Nina's colleagues in DMSC NYC DOHMH needs your support for Support Our DOHMH Colleague - Nina Rothschild