Comments on New York’s Proposed 1115 Waiver Amendment
New York State is proposing a new 1115 waiver amendment to be submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), titled: “Strategic Health Equity Reform Payment Arrangements: Making Targeted, Evidence-Based Investments to Address the Health Disparities Exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic” (SHERPA). During a recent public comment period, both HealtheConnections and the SHIN-NY submitted written comments urging the State to leverage the existing resource of the statewide health information exchange to support the technology infrastructure required to achieve the goals of the waiver.
The State is requesting $13.5 billion over five years for the new 1115 waiver, designed to address health disparities and systemic health delivery issues that were highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The amendment includes four main goals:
- To build a more resilient, flexible, and integrated delivery system that reduces health disparities, promotes health equity, and supports the delivery of social care;
- To develop and strengthen supportive housing services and alternatives for the homeless and long-term institutional populations;
- Redesign and strengthen system capabilities to improve quality, advance health equity, and address workforce shortages; and
- Create statewide digital health and telehealth infrastructure.
With more than a decade of experience in collecting and disseminating data at the regional level, Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), like HealtheConnections, and the SHIN-NY collaborative can be integral to the planning and implementation of the proposed waiver. The expertise of the HIEs can help determine the regional data strategy, governance and architecture; calculate measures; set standards; and support data movement.
To learn more, read the full waiver proposal.
