The state Health Department reached an agreement late Wednesday that will give New Yorkers who rely on a $9 billion Medicaid home care program more time to register with its new management company and avoid disruptions in care or worker pay.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York will decide Thursday to grant or deny an updated order that would give thousands of disabled and elderly people who rely on the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program for home care until May 15 to register with new company Public Partnerships LLC. 

CDPAP workers will have until June 6 to complete registration. Pending approval, the Health Department will have to continue working with nearly 600 fiscal intermediaries the state is forcing out of business until then.

“The $10 million dark money campaign by shady business groups has failed to stop New York state's much-needed CDPAP reforms, which will protect CDPAP for people who need it and put an end to runaway bureaucratic spending in this taxpayer-funded program," Gov. Kathy Hochul's spokesperson Sam Spokony said in a statement. “This proposed agreement supports the state’s ongoing CDPAP transition and ensures our reforms will proceed in full."

Attorneys with the Health Department and New York Legal Assistance Group agreed to the new preliminary injunction after negotiating over the last several days. 

PPL will proceed as New York’s sole fiscal intermediary, per state law. The new proposed order assumes program recipients and caregivers will fully register with the new company.

"The proposed agreement will have no impact on hundreds of thousands of consumers and workers who have already completed registration with PPL," Spokony said. "It provides a limited window for additional consumers and workers to complete their registration with PPL. The Department of Health will continue working with all stakeholders to ensure that CDPAP consumers and workers receive the care and support they need."

The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a statement of interest against the Health Department on Wednesday night — indicating the federal government is monitoring the pending litigation.

"The United States has a significant interest in ensuring fair treatment and continued, uninterrupted and critical care for the thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers in the CDPAP program affected by this transition," according to the document. "The United States will monitor this litigation to ensure that this interest is served by the CDPAP program."

Six CDPAP users and two independent living centers filed a federal lawsuit at the end of March alleging the state's planned transition violates the 14th Amendment and the Medicaid Act, which requires Medicaid recipients to have timely notice before they lose service.

“Plaintiffs’ counsel believes that this joint proposal will make a huge difference to CDPAP participants," said Elizabeth Jois, NYLAG's supervising attorney and one of the attorneys litigating the case. "This proposal, which is currently in front of Judge [Frederic] Block for his consideration, would allow many Personal Assistants who haven’t been able to register with PPL to be employed by their prior Fiscal Intermediary during this transition. We know this has been an incredibly stressful time CDPAP participants, and we believe this is a critical step forward in maintaining access to care.” 

The Temporary Restraining Order and the clarifying April 2 order remain in effect through April 14.

“The Department of Health is fully admitting that PPL is not up to the job and that thousands of consumers are facing disruption of care," Alliance to Protect Home Care Executive Director Bryan O'Malley said in a statement. "Considering PPL has screwed this up since the beginning, what makes anyone believe this will be any different with another two months?"

The Alliance to Protect Home Care is one of the advocacy groups the Health Department has cited for spreading misinformation throughout the transition.