New York State's Early Intervention Program Hit by Billing System Chaos
New York State's Early Intervention (EI) program, which provides vital services to infants and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays, is facing chaos due to a disastrous billing system update. Thousands of EI providers are struggling to receive regular pay, causing concerns about the program's effectiveness.
The new EI-HUB system went live in late October, but has been plagued by errors that range from payments being denied for no reason to HIPPA violations. Professionals like Dr. Melissa Stayton, a provider in Cayuga County, have reported difficulties accessing patient information and receiving paychecks.
"We are looking to the New York State Department of Health to address some of these concerns," said Deputy Health Director Erica Bird of Madison County. "We need the system to fix the errors so we can ensure that service providers get their billing and administrative side covered so they can focus on serving the children."
The state's inefficient EI program has been criticized by advocates, who say that lowpayment rates have contributed to the problem. Brigit Hurley, Chief Program Officer for the Children's Agenda, said that New York State ranks 50th in the nation when it comes to delivering early intervention services in a timely fashion.
"This hurts children; when they can receive care in their early years, it sets them up for success later in life," Hurley explained. "The state loses money by not getting to kids as soon as possible, given they will likely end up in special needs programs during their k-12 education journey."
A review of state data from 2021 found that most providers have not seen rate increases in decades, and some rates have even declined.
"Providers are leaving early intervention to work in schools or hospital settings because they're paid so poorly," Hurley said. "We have not funded this program in the way it needs to be funded."
Governor Kathy Hochul's office approved a five percent rate raise for EI services earlier this year, but it has yet to take effect. The New York State Division of the Budget has asked the Department of Health to find the money for the raises within existing programs, which could translate to service cuts.
The state agency has acknowledged problems with the system update and is set to pay at least $53.6 million for the contract after working with Public Consulting Group, a Massachusetts-based company.