This week, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) announced that it is currently accepting Letters of Interest (LOIs) for funding under the Safety Net Transformation Program. This program, enacted under Part S of the Health and Mental Hygiene bill in the 2024-25 Enacted New York State Budget, is designed to offer a single structure through which safety net hospitals may access the funding and regulatory flexibility needed to enact transformation projects. Such projects will have the goal of improving care, achieving sustainability, and encouraging clinical partnerships.
Awards may include capital funding, operating subsidies, or a combination of both. Applicants may also request waivers of state regulations if needed to more efficiently implement projects. However, DOH is not permitted to waive regulations that would affect patient safety and other rights, scope of practice, environmental protections, occupational standards, quality of care, safe staffing, and certain other areas.
Applications for this program must be jointly submitted by a safety net hospital and at least one partner organization. The partnership may, but is not required to, culminate in a merger, acquisition, management services contract, or clinical integration.
Eligibility
Eligible hospital applicants must be defined as a safety net hospital under New York Public Health Law by meeting at least one of the following four criteria:
- Be a public hospital, rural emergency hospital (REH), critical access hospital (CAH), or sole community hospital;
- Have at least 30% of its inpatient discharges made up of Medicaid eligible individuals, uninsured individuals, or dual eligible individuals and at least 35% of its outpatient visits made up of these populations;
- Serve at least 30% of the residents of a county or multi-county area who are Medicaid eligible individuals, uninsured individuals, or dual eligible individuals; or
- In the discretion of the Commissioner of Health, serve a significant population of Medicaid eligible individuals, uninsured individuals, or dual eligible individuals.
Applicants must identify at least one partner organization with which they will jointly apply for the program. Such partner organizations may include, but are not limited to:
- Health systems;
- Hospitals;
- Health plans;
- Residential health care facilities;
- Physician groups;
- Community-based organizations; and
- Other health care entities that can serve as partners in the transformation of the safety net hospital.
Application Process
The application for the Safety Net Transformation Program is forthcoming. In the meantime, DOH is requesting Letters of Interest from facilities interested in applying. The Letter of Interest will include:
- Basic Applicant Information, including details on the partner organization(s);
- Organizational Information;
- Regulatory Flexibilities Requested;
- Description of Collaborative Model Proposed Between the Safety Net Hospital and its Partner Organization(s);
- Description of the Anticipated Transformation Plan, including the estimated operating and/or capital funding to be requested; and
- Acknowledgment Regarding Necessity of Detailed Transformation Plan.
The full application will include a more detailed, five-year strategic and operational transformation plan, which will outline the roles and responsibilities of the safety net hospital and partner organization(s) and include a timeline for key financial, clinical, and quality metrics. The Transformation Plan must also include audited financial statements for the last three years from both the safety net hospital and the partner organization(s).
Additional details are available here. Questions may be sent to SafetyNetTransformation@health.ny.gov.