Bond wins Article 78 petition against the Department of Health

October 15, 2019

On October 11, 2019 New York State Supreme Court Justice Christina L. Ryba granted an Article 78 Petition filed by Bond on behalf of its clients, The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State, The New York Association on Independent Living, New York State Association of Health Care Providers, and 11 separate Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs).  The victory is significant because it prevents the Department of Health from implementing a new method of rate reimbursement that would have financially crippled FIs and severely impacted the elderly and disabled population (“Consumers”) in New York State.

The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (“CDPAP”) is a New York State Medicaid program that enables chronically ill and/or disabled individuals to receive significant home care services from personal assistants, allowing them to remain independent and productive members of their communities.  The FIs play a dynamic and vital role in the CDPAP program as they provide administrative support services to the Consumers and interface with the New York State Medicaid Program.  

Bond filed an Article 78 petition seeking to invalidate the new rate methodology on the basis that the Department of Health violated the New York State Administrative Procedure Act, acted arbitrarily and capriciously, and violated the New York State Constitution.  The Court entirely dismissed DOH’s opposition stating that “an agency cannot grant itself sweeping discretion to circumvent or supersede the requirements of SAPA by merely including such broad language in its own regulations.”  The Court’s ruling was noteworthy as it ordered the Department of Health to immediately revert to the previous rate methodology declaring the new rate methodology “null and void.”  

Read the entire decision here.

The Bond team included Hermes Fernandez, John F. McKay, III, Justin C. Tan and Logan Geen.