By Maya Kaufman and Katelyn Cordero

More change is on the horizon for Medicaid’s consumer-directed personal assistance program.

The state Department of Health is tightening the eligibility criteria for new enrollees in the popular home care program and other in-home personal care services, POLITICO Pro’s Maya Kaufman reported last week.

The long-planned tweak, which dates all the way back to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration, is expected to save the state $300 million annually by slowing enrollment growth.

“This policy change will help ensure that New York’s Medicaid program remains fiscally sustainable and able to continue supporting high-quality home care for those with the greatest need,” said Danielle DeSouza, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, in a statement.

The announcement coincides with the ongoing transition of CDPAP to operate under the auspices of financial services company Public Partnerships, LLC, in lieu of hundreds of fiscal intermediaries statewide.

State lawmakers will scrutinize that process during an oversight hearing Wednesday on the issues that enrollees, workers and other stakeholders are experiencing as part of the consolidation effort.

The deadline for Medicaid recipients and their personal assistants to enroll with Public Partnerships — also known as PPL — has been repeatedly delayed as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by a group of consumers.

The parties in that case recently pitched a settlement agreement that would extend the deadline to Aug. 1 and require the state Department of Health to send informational letters to every consumer not enrolled by then, among other terms.

A judge now needs to decide whether to approve it.

ON THE AGENDA:

— Wednesday at 10 a.m. The Senate will hold a hearing on the state’s CDPAP transition.

— Wednesday at 2 p.m. The state Early Intervention Coordinating Council will meet.

— Thursday at 6 p.m. NYC Health + Hospitals holds a public hearing on a proposed community center in the Bronx.

GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@politico.com.

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— Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration unveiled its first-ever Master Plan for Aging last week . It is the culmination of years of work by hundreds of government officials, long-term care executives, health experts and aging-focused advocates to develop strategies to help New Yorkers maintain good health and remain in their communities as they age.

Its proposals included Medicaid rate reform, interagency integration of social and health care services, establishment of a benefits coordination office, a caregiver tax credit and reimbursement program, procurement of regional direct training centers, eviction prevention and guardianship improvements.

NOW WE KNOW — The health care industry is now the biggest employer in 38 states — and has remade the U.S. economy.

TODAY’S TIP — Eating beans can make you healthier.

STUDY THIS — Rates of irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive issues rose significantly during the Covid pandemic, researchers found.

— HHS devises a legal playbook for future grant terminations. (STAT)

— Tobacco report shows progress on anti-smoking policies worldwide. (Washington Post)

— A top FDA official overrode scientists on Covid shots. (New York Times)

— Via POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky, Andrew Howard and Elena Schneider: Republicans just cut Medicaid. Will it cost them control of Congress?

— Megabill hits health care for immigrants, including legal ones, hard, Amanda Chu reports.

— Judge rules HHS removal of online health guidelines was illegal, Lauren Gardner reports.

MISSED A ROUNDUP? Get caught up on the New York Health Care Newsletter.

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