AGING ICON

NYS Public Health & Health Planning Council

DOH Commissioner Shah addressed the council on February 2, 2012. He explained that the direction the Department is going is to provide more policy and less services. He said that the Governor’s budget highlights a transition to care management systems, a health insurance exchange which will provide a million people with health insurance, and the state takeover of local government administration, cutting 5500 County and City jobs, while adding 125 State jobs.

The Committee came out with an outline for the recommendations to the Governor for repurposing, streamlining, reforming and reconceptualizing the CON process with an eye on redesigning the public health system and the private health business.

There were about 5 dozen recommendations from statewide organizations, to the Health Planning Committee. To this, the committee has come up with 7 suggestions for review:

1- eliminate CON process for construction project

2- revise the process to facilitate the integration of physical and behavioral health services

3- consider co-location of D&TC’s with Nursing Facilities

4- streamline the process for amendments to CON’s

5- shift to self certification for architects/engineers

6- create a process to account for equipment which has become standard

7- create a timeline for reviews

Additional ideas proposed that require more discussion:

1- broaden the scope of CON to include physician practices that are built solely to avoid the regs

2- established providers should not have to file new 2A’s

3- the process needs to be more proactive, solicit applications, batch

4- strengthen local input/planning

5- It was brought up that there was a suggestion made from the oral health community that dental health should receive more attention and that was considered “not convincing.”

February 6, 2012 Posted by Aging Icon | Uncategorized | Health Planning, public health, transition | Leave a comment