The Latest From DOH - Late April 2025
The Situation Report | April 28, 2025
On April 24, 2025, HCANYS and other associations representing the long-term care continuum met with the state Department of Health (DOH) Office of Aging and Long Term Care (OALTC). The DOH holds meetings with the associations every two weeks to provide updates and give the participants the opportunity to raise any issues.
Some of the items discussed at this meeting included:
Surveys
Following the change to surveys for nursing homes and adult care facilities, Valerie Deetz, deputy director of OALTC, announced that the weekly surveys for home care providers will be changing in the next four to five weeks.
OALTC is looking at the questions being asked, such as the COVID reporting requirements and looking more closely at the type of patients being served and geography versus volume, adding some new meaningful questions and removing others. HCANYS has long advocated for the 13 COVID-related questions to be removed from the survey; we will continue our efforts to remove these specific questions.
DOH Lunch & Learn Education Series
Millie Ferriter, director of the Division of Home & Community Based Services Surveillance, announced that the next webinar, on tuberculosis, is scheduled on April 29 from 1-2 pm. Registration is available here. Webinars are planned for May and June; the June program is targeted for Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs). HCANYS will update members upon its announcement.
Archived webinars are now available here.
HCS Reminder
Ferriter said that they expect one member from each provider to log into the Health Commerce System daily. Providers are strongly urged to ensure complete profiles on the Health Commerce System, particularly up-to-date names of staff, cell phone numbers, and email addresses. It is imperative for the DOH to be able to reach a provider at any given time.
HCANYS likewise asks every HCANYS organizational member that enrolls in the HCS to please verify and, as necessary, update the information on your organization and your key contacts on the HCS site, especially the person or persons mandated for 24x7 contact availability. As HCANYS serves as a collaborative and contracted partner to the state and to NYC for health emergency preparedness, it is essential to role of the home and community-based services sector to maintain updated and fully functional HCS participation information.
If you are experiencing any issues with your HCS account or have been closed out, please contact
For further information on DOH’s most recent HCS changes, please email the HCS Account Management Unit (CAMU) at
Master Plan
Andrew Lebwohl, director of the Center for the Master Plan for Aging, announced that the final draft report is expected to be released after the budget passes. HCANYS looks forward to sharing the report with members once published.
PACE
Lynn Baniak, deputy director for the Center for Long-Term Care Licensure, Planning and Finance, said that comments on Draft Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) are getting closer towards finalization; she hopes they will be available for public release soon.