Middlemen companies sue state to block changes to home caregiver program
Companies operating as middlemen between workers and the state in a popular home care program are suing to block changes to the system that would replace them with a single entity.
The companies have been big winners under New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which uses them to distribute Medicaid dollars to pay home care workers in exchange for a cut. But that arrangement is set to change soon, thanks to a push by Governor Kathy Hochul to reduce the number of so-called “fiscal intermediaries” down to a single firm.
The program was launched to allow people to more easily hire and train their own caregivers. The number of companies steering tax dollars to caregivers has ballooned to over 600 in recent years along with the cost of the program. In 2023, spending on the industry reached $9.1 billion, according to data from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.