FIVE THINGS TO KNOW: New York’s Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) Funding Opportunity
New York State has launched a landmark funding initiative under its Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), backed by a $212 million federal CMS award. The Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) initiative, the first of four program tracks, is designed to catalyze coordinated rural health partnerships across 48 eligible counties in New York State. For health […]
Rural Health Transformation in New York: What Federal Funding Means for Rural Providers, Hospitals, and FQHCs
How CMS is Sequencing Rural Health Transformation for Value-Based Care Success The next phase of rural health transformation is not being driven by a single payment model, but by the intentional interaction of multiple CMS initiatives, each designed to address a different barrier to value-based care. On December 29, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & […]
Key Considerations for Hospitals and Providers Amidst CMS Announcement of Cohort 3 AHEAD Awards
On October 28, CMS announced that Rhode Island and Downstate New York were accepted to participate into Cohort 3 of the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) model. Cohort 3’s first Performance Year is 2027. Downstate NY will consist of the following five counties: Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Westchester. AHEAD is a […]
New York State Social Care Networks Announced: 5 Essential Steps for Success
New York State has revealed the nine organizations awarded with Social Care Network (SCN) status under the 1115 Medicaid Waiver Amendment. One of the state’s main goals under the 1115 Waiver is to invest in the screening and delivery of Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) services to reduce health disparities and improve quality outcomes. SCNs will be […]
New York State 1115 Medicaid Waiver Amendment: Social Care Networks
One of the main initiatives in New York’s just under $7.5 billion 1115 Medicaid waiver amendment is the formation of 13 regionally based Social Care Networks (SCN) that will be responsible for building, maintaining and strengthening networks of Community-Based Organizations (CBO) to deliver health-related social needs (HRSN) services. The Request for Application (RFA) window to become an […]
Medicaid Global Budgets for Downstate New York Safety Net Hospitals
On January 9, 2024, CMS approved an amendment to New York’s Medicaid 1115 Waiver, allowing the state to make investments in Medicaid initiatives that expand access to primary and behavioral health, address health-related social needs (HRSN) to reduce disparities and promote health equity, and strengthen the healthcare workforce. The term of the demonstration amendment will […]
New York State 1115 Waiver: An Overview of Its Contents
On January 9, 2024, CMS approved a just under $7 billion amendment to New York’s Medicaid 1115 Waiver, allowing the state to make investments in Medicaid initiatives that expand access to primary and behavioral health, address health-related social needs (HRSN) to reduce disparities and promote health equity, and strengthen the healthcare workforce. The term of […]
5 Things for Upstate New Yorkers To Know About the CMS MCP Request For Application
On August 14, CMS published the Request For Application (RFA) for Making Care Primary (MCP), a progressive roadmap to value-based payment for primary care providers with little-to-no VBP experience. Both CMS and the State of New York have said that the program will be aligned with the upcoming New York 1115 Medicaid Waiver amendment which […]
What to Know About the Newly Submitted NY State Medicaid Waiver
The New York State Medicaid Redesign team has made a formal request to the federal government for a $13.52 billion investment over five years, starting on January 1, 2023, to continue to fund new amendments to its 1115 Waiver Demonstration. This will address the health disparities and systemic health care delivery issues that have been […]
What You Need to Know About the New York Medicaid Waiver Proposal and Concept Paper
The New York State Medicaid Redesign team this week released a concept paper for a new 1115 Waiver, including a request for $17 billion over 5 years from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to build an enhanced health care delivery system as part of New York’s overall efforts to “reimagine, rebuild, and renew” […]