State senators who pushed back a public hearing on a $9 billion Medicaid home care program said they agreed to the delay because they're confident New York state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald and other Health Department leaders will testify if given more time to prepare for lawmakers' questions.

Senate Health Committee chair Gustavo Rivera and Senate Investigations & Government Operations Committee chair James Skoufis announced Tuesday the planned public hearing to examine the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP, will take place Aug. 21 in New York City.

The hearing was originally scheduled to take place Wednesday.

"The Department of Health has made it crystal clear that they want to testify," Skoufis said. "[The department] clearly indicated they needed more time. They weren't ready, and at the end of the day, we want the Health Department's cooperation and testimony at this hearing."

Company Public Partnerships LLC, or PPL, took over the Medicaid program April 1 — replacing hundreds of smaller companies known as fiscal intermediaries. The program allows thousands of disabled or elderly people enrolled in it to choose their own home caregiver.

Rivera and Skoufis planned the joint hearing after reports of bid-rigging for the $9 billion contract, and subcontractors tasked with helping the transition claim the company isn't referring patients to them on purpose.

"We want to get to the bottom of what is happening, what is not happening, what is hearsay and rumor versus what is actual reality on the ground," Skoufis told Spectrum News 1.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to question now-closed fiscal intermediaries, health care union 1199 SEIU, which has been accused of scheming to profit from the transition, and workers who say the new company continues to disburse incorrect paychecks.

Skoufis said lawmakers may decide to take additional investigative steps after the hearing.

"This is intended to be an objective inquiry," he said. "From this hearing, it'll inform our next steps...I am particularly interested in the allegations around bid steering and how this one company PPL got the award that they got."

Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the switch to one company prevents Medicaid overspending, which budget officials estimate will lead to $500 million in savings this fiscal year.

"CDPAP savings are still on track, the state’s financial plan assumes $500 million in savings in FY 2026," state Division of the Budget spokesperson Tim Ruffinen said. "FY 2025 is still being calculated, but we anticipate meeting the projected $200 million in savings."

Federal regulators in the U.S. Department of Justice are reportedly investigating Hochul's CDPAP reforms, the bidding process and challenges with the transition.

"From the very beginning, we felt like this was a very tight transition timeline," said Bruce Darling, president and CEO of the Center for Disability Rights in Rochester. "We had grave concerns with the state's plan to move a couple hundred thousand people from one program to another place...We had soem very specific concerns about people falling through the gaps, losing services, being institutionalized and worse."

The Center for Disability Rights is one of 11 independent living centers contracted to help PPL serve hundreds of thousands of CDPAP consumers and their caregivers. 

Darling said while the majority of New Yorkers who rely on the program have enrolled with the new company, thousands have fallen through the cracks.

Darling argues that PPL is failing to refer program users to independent living centers, adding his center could serve 9,000 more people than it currently is.

"What you have is a group of nonprofit organizations who are in this for the mission [and] trying to negotiate with a large for-profit corporation that's owned by private equity," he said. "...Their goal is primarily, they're for-profit, [so] is to hold on to as much money as possible. Our job is to support disabled people to the best of our ability and those two things don't necessarily align."

The center had a meeting with PPL officials Monday about ongoing concerns of independent living centers being underutilized. They discussed potential solutions including educating employees about referring CDPAP users to independent living centers.

A spokesperson with PPL has said the company honors the request of all program users who ask for a change in facilitator, and will assign that person to the company they request, including independent living centers.

Independent living centers and PPL have exchanged letters disagreeing about the number of consumers the company has referred to other facilitators, inaccurate contract references, billing discrepancies and more.

New Yorkers who use or work under CDPAP have until Aug. 1 to enroll with PPL after a federal judge Monday extended a preliminary injunction for a third and final time.

At a hearing April 2, judge Frederic Block of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York said the Health Department had a responsibility to continue providing benefits to CDPAP recipients who did not have sufficient time to register with the new company under the initial April 1 deadline.

The Health Department has not admitted to wrongdoing or liability.

Health Department counsel negotiated the settlement over the last several weeks with the New York Legal Assistance Group, which represents independent living centers in the federal suit.

"As the department continues to transition the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, our focus remains on continuation of care for consumers and timely payments to and proper oversight of personal assistants," Health Department spokesperson Cadence Acquaviva said. "We're pleased the latest agreement in court allows the state to pursue our goal of protecting both access to care and program integrity.

"New York state prevented a fiscal crisis by cutting out hundreds of wasteful middlemen, preserving the future sustainability of CDPAP," she continued. "We have made great progress in transitioning to the new CDPAP model, with hundreds of thousands of consumers and personal assistants registered with PPL. The department looks forward to the opportunity to provide an update on these CDPAP reforms that are crucial to successfully maintaining the program for the New Yorkers who rely on home care."

*Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to clarify aspects of the lawsuit challenging the transition. Bruce Darling is the president and CEO of the Center for Disability Rights.