New York Association on Independent Living

New York State intended to implement the Community First Choice (CFC) option, a provision under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that offered states an opportunity to provide a comprehensive benefits package that met the physical, cognitive, and social needs of individuals with disabilities and older adults living in the community.

The CFC program would affect 1 million individuals who may also be a part of ongoing State initiatives that focus on care coordination, such as mandatory enrollment into managed care and health homes. With NYHealth support, NYAIL conducted a two-year policy analysis and technical assistance project to ensure that the CFC program was designed and implemented in a streamlined and cohesive manner.

The first year of the project focused on assisting and influencing the development of the State’s CFC program model and Medicaid State Plan Amendment. Year two focused on monitoring and evaluating the progress of CFC implementation, as well as identifying barriers and successes encountered by the State, health plans, and key providers in the delivery of CFC-covered services. NYAIL worked with the Center for Disability Rights to provide recommendations to the State on these issues, and produced four policy reports. NYAIL also hosted meetings throughout the two-year period for providers, consumer advocates, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders on this ACA provision, and produced two technical assistance guides regarding implementation.