Partnership Plan Revised STCs - As amended April 14, 2014

January 23, 2014

Dear Colleague:

In July 1997, New York State received approval from the federal government for the Section 1115 waiver request known as the Partnership Plan. Approval of this waiver allowed the State to implement a mandatory Medicaid Managed Care program in counties with sufficient managed care capacity and the infrastructure to manage the education and enrollment processes essential to a mandatory program. On September 29, 2006, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) approved an extension of the Partnership Plan for the period beginning October 1, 2006 and ending September 30, 2010. CMS subsequently approved a series of short term extensions while negotiations continued on renewing the waiver into 2014. On July 29, 2011, CMS approved a renewal for the period August 1, 2011 through December 31, 2014.

This letter is to notify you that New York is seeking approval for a five year extension to the Partnership Plan, from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2019. This extension will allow currently existing Partnership Plan programs to continue, and anticipates reinvestment of federal savings generated by Medicaid Redesign Team initiatives to reinvest in New York's health care delivery system.

As you know, under the State's Section 1115 Demonstration programs, Native Americans with Medicaid coverage may enroll in managed care plans but are not required to do so. Under these amendments to the 1115 waiver, this exemption from mandatory enrollment for Native Americans will be continued. In addition, for Native Americans who choose to enroll in managed care plans, existing policies relating to tribal providers will be continued. We anticipate these changes will have minimal impact on Tribal Nations.

My office has scheduled a conference call to provide an overview of the waiver extension process and to take any questions you may have.

The call is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 10:00 A.M. If you would like to participate please use the following call-in information:

Call-in #: 518-549-0500
Conference Code: 965 05 906#

Please forward any additional comments or questions to the Waiver Management Unit email at: 1115waivers@health.ny.gov. We look forward to our continued collaboration.

Sincerely,

Jason A. Helgerson
Medicaid Director
Office of Health Insurance Programs

cc: Wendy Stoddart, DOH
Kalin Scott, DOH
Karina Aguilar, HHS
Venetta Harrison, CMS