Big news is expected today in a federal lawsuit challenging New York's transition to a single company running its Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP. Parties in the suit were given a deadline of midnight Tuesday night to agree to a preliminary injunction that may put on pause part of the transition, and it's expected to be finalized in court Wednesday.
We'll have the latest on this as it develops on our website at btpm.org/news, but this week on the Disabilities Beat, we wanted to share a quick overview on where things stand so far with the program's transition.
We will also have an exclusive live one-hour interview with PPL's president later this month on BTPM NPR's Facebook and BTPM's YouTube page. You can find out more and how to submit your questions for PPL at btpm.org/dbliveppl.
UPDATE AS OF 11:45 P.M. TUESDAY: Since we first prepared this story, a letter to the judge in the case has been filed in the federal court system. The letter was filed late Tuesday night, asking for a brief extension of negotiations through Wednesday afternoon.
The plantiffs' attorneys report that both sides met on Tuesday for over 13 hours and are close to a mutually-agreed preliminary injunction. The lawyers indicated that a joint agreement may be reached by 2 p.m. and if not, the plan is for all parties to meet with the judge at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
TRANSCRIPT:
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins, and this is the Disabilities Beat.
Big news is expected today in a federal lawsuit challenging New York's transition to a single company running its Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP. Parties in the suit were given a deadline of midnight last night to agree to a preliminary injunction that may put on pause part of the transition, and it's expected to be finalized in court today.
We'll have the latest on this as it develops on our website at btpm.org/news, but here's a quick overview on where things stand so far.
The Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP, allows disabled people to hire, train, and self-direct personal assistants who are paid using Medicaid dollars through a fiscal intermediary, or FI. But last April, Governor Kathy Hochul announced something that surprised many New Yorkers as part of the final budget agreement. The state would move from over 600 fiscal intermediaries administering the program to only one.
Governor Kathy Hochul: That's how we ensure that the people really need it get the best quality care, while eliminating the waste, fraud, and abuse.
Emyle Watkins: The goal, cut costs in the program by reducing how many organizations the state would have to oversee and regulate. But in the months since, the transition has hit snags.
The state gave a timeline of three months, from January through March of this year, to transition the 250,000 disabled people and their workers over to the new single fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL. Within the first week of the transition, there were already a few challenges and changes.
Previously, people could choose from a for-profit agency or a nonprofit agency, with many of the nonprofits being independent living centers, or ILCs, which are led by disabled people. ILCs also had a role in creating the program, so in early January, they were added as subcontractors to PPL. Here's what New York State Medicaid Director, Amir Bassiri, told Buffalo Toronto Public Media at the time.
Amir Bassiri: We do believe it is inclusive of an approach that takes into account the needs of the individuals in these communities, the types of individuals in those communities who may or may not be in CDPAP, just based on their limited English proficiency, and making sure that consumers are getting consistent, accurate information about what this transition means for them or their workers.
Emyle Watkins: But many New Yorkers have continued to express confusion and concerns with the transition, and a considerable amount of legal challenges, including one in early January, left users of the program with more questions than answers.
And while a 30-day extension on the transition has been granted, consumers still feel they are stuck in the middle.
Western New Yorker, Renee Christian, has used CDPAP for over a decade.
Renee Christian: For the month of April, I have approximately somewhere between 27 and 30 shifts not full.
Emyle Watkins: She says at least three of her workers have quit since she switched to PPL. She's down to four workers, and not all of them have been accepted as employees by PPL yet.
Renee Christian: If things continue the way they're continuing, it's going to not only jeopardize me staying in my home with my daughter, but it's going to jeopardize so many people and their health.
Emyle Watkins: Christian is one of many consumers who are wondering if the preliminary injunction expected in court today may provide some relief.
The case initially led to a temporary restraining order that ran through yesterday, allowing the FIs that were supposed to close to continue serving consumers who hadn't yet transitioned. But for consumers like Christian, there's a hope that a preliminary injunction, which would set rules for all parties in the case to follow until the case is heard, would include a pause in the transition for all consumers who have not had every aspect of their case moved to PPL. She's hoping she can go back to the ILC that handled her workers before until this is all figured out.
Renee Christian: Pause the transition until we figure it out.
Emyle Watkins: Again, we'll have the latest on this as it develops on our website. We'll also have an exclusive live one-hour interview with PPL's president later this month on BTPM NPR's Facebook and BTPM's YouTube page. You can find out more on our website and how to submit your questions for PPL at btpm.org/news.
You've been listening to the Disabilities Beat from Buffalo Toronto Public Media. You can listen to the Disability Speed Segment on demand, view a transcript in plain language description for every episode on our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
