CDPAP Statewide Fiscal Intermediary Update: Miscellaneous Developments and Resources From April 2025
The Situation Report | April 28, 2025
Below is a list of recent developments (together with relevant links) in connection with the NYS Department of Health’s CDPAP Statewide Fiscal Intermediary (SFI) Transition process with Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL). To lend some organization to the high number of significant developments over the last few weeks, the list below is offered to provide easy access to the most relevant information all in one convenient location.
- Preliminary Injunction (PI). On April 10, a federal judge in the SFI case of Engesser v. DOH Commissioner James McDonald issued a Preliminary Injunction (PI) in favor of the Plaintiffs. Notably, the PI permits current CDPAP consumers to use their existing fiscal intermediary in certain limited circumstances. In addition, it also provides more time for consumers and personal assistants (PA’s) to register with the SFI (PPL) – i.e. consumers will now have until May 15 to complete registration with PPL and PA’s will have until June 6 to complete PPL registration. A copy of the judge’s order can be found here.
- DOH Guidance on the PI. On April 14, DOH issued new guidance relating to employment and payment of PA’s as a result of the PI. The DOH guidance provides more information on the proper processes to be used while the PI is in effect. The DOH guidance can be found here.
- FAQ’s on the PI. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document on the Preliminary Injunction was prepared by the law firm representing the Plaintiffs in the Engesser case and is available here.
- US DOJ Statement on the SFI Transition. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a “Statement of Interest” in the Engesser case expressing significant concerns about the SFI transition process. Among other things, DOJ stated that its interests in the case relate to whether NYS DOH is complying with federal Medicaid rules and whether material misrepresentations were made to consumers, PA’s, and the public. A copy of the DOJ court filing can be found here. Additional detail can be found here.
- DOH SFI Transition Data. As of April 14, DOH indicates that (a) 98% of CDPAP consumers (216,000) have begun (or completed) the PPL registration process, (b) 60,000 CDPAP consumers transitioned to personal care services, and (c) 245,000 personal assistants have started (or completed) the PPL registration. A copy of the DOH press release can be found here.
- DOH SFI Contact Information. To assist CDPAP consumers with SFI transition related questions, DOH offers an email address (
- DOH CDPAP Websites. DOH also maintains two different websites related to CDPAP and the SFI transition. Specific DOH guidance and policy documents can be found here. And, more general CDPAP information from DOH can be found here.
- PPL Resources. Public Partnerships, LLC (PPL) provides various information on its CDPAP-focused website. The site includes program documents, a list of facilitators, an events calendar, FAQ’s, and other relevant information. The website can be found here.
- PPL Timekeeping Resources. The PPL website also contains a separate informational section focusing on PPL systems, timekeeping, and payroll that can be found here.
- FI Administrative Rate Methodology. Regarding FI payment rates, on April 21 the DOH appealed a state court decision in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of NYS (CDPAANYS) v. DOH case that nullified the three-tiered administrative reimbursement rate methodology. A copy of the order nullifying the rate methodology can be found here and a copy of the DOH Notice of Appeal can be found here.
- CDPAP & NYS Budget. At the time of this writing, the NYS State Budget (due 4/1/25) is still not complete and the final proposed NY State Budget Bills have still not been released. At this time, it is not clear whether the state budget process will produce any changes, refinements, or improvements to the current CDPAP SFI transition process, or to the CDPAP program generally.
- CDPAP/SFI Legislation. NY Senate Bill 1189 (sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera) and NY Assembly Bill 2735 (sponsored by Assemblyman Al Stirpe) propose to repeal the SFI law and replace it with a FI licensure process together with various other requirements such as mandatory training and reporting. A copy of the bill can be found here. In the Senate, 44 out of the 63 state senators have co-sponsored this bill. In the Assembly, 39 out of 150 Assemblymembers co-sponsor the bill. The bill is currently in the Senate and Assembly Health Committees; it is not anticipated that the bill will advance. However, some state legislators are starting to take another look at the SFI transition and indicate that new legislation could be proposed after the state budget process concludes.
- Other SFI Litigation. At this time, over twenty (20) different CDPAP/SFI lawsuits have been filed in various state and federal courts. In addition to the Engesser and CDPAANYS cases mentioned above, there are a number of other CDPAP/SFI lawsuits that are still active and ongoing that could impact the SFI transition. For example, in Freedom Care v. NYS DOH, the Plaintiff recently filed an appeal of a state court’s decision that denied the Plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction. However, at the time of this writing, there have not been any preliminary injunctions granted or other significant decisions made in those other cases.
HCANYS will continue to provide relevant updates on CDPAP/SFI as information and news becomes available.