Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Inc.

New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program seeks to fundamentally transform the State’s Medicaid program with the primary goal of reducing avoidable hospital use by 25%.

To accomplish this, DSRIP is allocating more than $6 billion to Performing Provider Systems (PPSs) across the State, which will coordinate care through networks comprising hospitals, community health centers, provider practices, and community-based organizations (CBOs). Many CBOs have long-standing, trusted community relationships with and provide critical services to the population DSRIP is designed to engage. Although their services contribute to the success of PPSs, CBOs often report that they have not been meaningfully engaged in the DSRIP planning process. In 2015, NYHealth awarded a grant to the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Inc., (the Council) to work as an unbiased intermediary to better integrate CBOs in the DSRIP process via their PPSs on Long Island.

Under this grant, the Council advocated with and educated the PPSs on the importance of CBOs in attaining DSRIP goals. Specifically, the Council assisted in identifying potential CBO partners for each PPS. Similarly, the Council assisted CBOs in augmenting their staff skills and capacity; shifting their organizational culture; and enhancing their capacity to track metrics, data, and outcomes. It provided training and assistance to CBOs on value-based payment models and how these will ultimately affect their organizations financially. A final report was developed that calls attention at the State level to Long Island- and suburban-specific needs, challenges, and lessons learned of the DSRIP process.