Regulatory Modernization Initiative

The health care landscape is fundamentally changing. Shifts in reimbursement policies are changing the way providers are paid; emerging technologies are allowing for new models of consumer-driven care; and medical advances are facilitating a shift towards ambulatory models. The rapid pace of health care innovation and reform has outpaced the ability of New York State's regulatory structure to adapt, resulting in a regulatory landscape that can be complex and outdated.

Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, New York State has made important advances in health for its residents, including expanding access to health insurance to historic levels. But we must do more to continue to facilitate an environment where providers, payers and patients are best positioned to ensure access, promote patient safety, and lower costs. To build on this progress, New York State will convene external stakeholders for a series of policy workshops to examine existing laws, regulations, and policies and recommend appropriate changes. Taken together, these recommendations will look to best position New York State to continue its historic work in ensuring quality outcomes for patients, while lowering the growth in health care costs.

In response to stakeholder input to date, the policy workshops will focus on the following key areas.

  • New Models of Care: New York State is committed to collaborating with providers and payers to further explore new and innovative models of care that increase access and lower costs. The State will ask stakeholders to examine how best to facilitate the integration of primary care and behavioral health services, including by streamlining state-level licensure requirements. Stakeholders will be asked to consider how the State can encourage the delivery of basic primary care services, in response to feedback that facilities standards are overly onerous for providers offering a limited array of preventive and low-risk outpatient services. Stakeholders will also examine whether there are opportunities to streamline existing regulations across state agencies with respect to the provision of telehealth services.
  • Long Term Care Services and Supports: With the goal of supporting the delivery of services across an integrated system of care, stakeholders will address how the state can modernize existing regulations to best meet the needs of the elderly and disabled. Stakeholders will examine how to adapt current regulations on post-acute care management in order to better enable providers to deliver services that are known to reduce readmissions and lead to better outcomes for patients. In response to feedback that service need methodologies and compliance standards for nursing homes, adult homes and other long-term care providers are outdated, stakeholders will consider whether current regulatory approaches can be adapted to better allow for the provision of innovative models of care to meet the needs of communities.
  • Certificate of Need Process: New York State continues to solicit and receive feedback on how we can adapt the existing Certificate of Need (CON) process to better achieve the core purposes of ensuring access and protecting patient safety. In response to community input, stakeholders will examine ways to increase community engagement and ensure transparency as part of the CON process when large-scale system-related transformations are under review. Stakeholders will assess the continued applicability of volume and geography based metrics for determining community service needs. Stakeholders will also be asked to recommend standards for the Department of Health to use in authorizing the establishment of new Free Standing Emergency Departments in order to ensure access to emergency services, especially in rural communities.

All meetings will be open to the public; Meetings will be noticed on a rolling basis.

Workgroups:

The Regulatory Modernization Initiative Cardiac Need Methodology Workgroup's 1st meeting will be Monday, October 16, 2017, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Empire State Plaza, Albany, in Meeting Room 6. Please RSVP at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov with Cardiac in the subject line.

The second meeting of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative Cardiac Need Methodology Workgroup will be Wednesday November 8, 2017 from 10:30-3:00 at 90 Church Street, New York City, in the 4th floor Conference Room A/B.

Please RSVP at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov with "Cardiac" in the subject line.

The Integrated Primary Care and Behavioral Health Workshop will provide feedback to the Department on potential regulatory reforms to facilitate the integration of primary care and behavioral health.

The second meeting of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative Integrated Primary Care and Behavioral Health Workgroup will be Friday October 13, 2017 10:30-3:00 in Meeting Room 6 of the Empire State Plaza in Albany. Please RSVP at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov.

Previous Meeting Agendas

Additional Resources

The first meeting of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative – Long Term Care Need Methodologies and Innovative Models Workgroup was Monday, November 20, 2017 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Meeting Room 6, Empire State Plaza in Albany.

The second meeting of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative – Long Term Care Need Methodologies and Innovative Models Workgroup will be Tuesday, December 12, 2017 from 11:00-1:30 in Meeting Room 6, Empire State Plaza in Albany.

The third meeting of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative – Long Term Care Need Methodologies and Innovative Models Workgroup will be Monday, January 8, 2018 from 1:00-3:00 in Meeting Room 6, Empire State Plaza in Albany.

Please RSVP at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov. with "LTC" in the subject line.

Inquiries should be sent to RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov with "LTC" in the subject line.

The Regulatory Modernization Initiative Off Campus Emergency Departments Workgroup's meeting will be Tuesday, October 10, 2017, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Empire State Plaza, Albany, in Meeting Room 6 and at 584 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, in the 3rd floor Conference Room. Please RSVP at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov with Off Campus in the subject line.

The second meeting of the Regulatory Modernization Initiative Post-Acute Care Management Models Workgroup will be on September 18, 2017 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, Room 20, New York City.

The Post-Acute Care Workgroup will focus on care management models that are emerging as a result of efforts to improve post-acute outcomes and reduce unnecessary hospital inpatient readmissions and emergency department visits.

Current Meeting Agenda

Previous Meeting Agendas

Additional Resources

The Regulatory Modernization Initiative Telehealth Workgroup's 2nd meeting will be Wednesday, September 27, 2017, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Empire State Plaza, Albany in Meeting Room 6 and at 584 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, in the 3rd floor Conference Room. Please RSVP at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov with Telehealth in the subject line.

Previous Meeting Agendas

Additional Resources

Archived webcasts and transcripts of meetings can be found here: https://www.health.ny.gov/events/webcasts/archive/

Contact Information:

Please contact the Regulatory Modernization Initiative at RegulatoryModernization@health.ny.gov.