Hochul’s homecare program havoc leaves workers unpaid as federal court steps in

 Gov. Kathy Hochul’s attempt to overhaul a costly Medicaid program is leaving homecare workers without pay and vulnerable people in jeopardy as a federal court steps in to try and mitigate the situation.

A last-minute court intervention by non-profit Independent Living Center groups resulted in an agreement by the state to extend timelines for aides and consumers in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, CDPAP, to work their way through the beleaguered registration process with the state’s new hand-picked firm.

“The state needs to take action immediately. At this point, most people have been negotiating with their workers to get assistance during this crisis so we haven’t yet seen people go to emergency rooms,” said Brooke Erickson, Vice President for Programs at Regional Center for Independent Living (RCIL), one of the plaintiffs, wrote in a statement.

The company at the center of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial homecare transition says only about 100,000 homecare aides submitted “compliant timecards” during its first payroll run, as thousands of people are caught in limbo.James Messerschmidt

Meanwhile, all signs are pointing towards massive errors in pay for homecare aides.

One aide, Tara Murphy, told reporters Friday that she and her consumer have faced issues registering with Public Partnerships LLC, the new hand-picked firm in charge of paying aides, and that she received a pay stub for $0 last week for completing a training.

I wasn’t paid by PPL this week. I don’t know if I’m going to be paid by the PPL,” Murphy said.

Another 30-year recipient in the program told The Post two of his three aides weren’t paid for their correct hours last week.

He was able to front one of the aides $200, but critics worry thousands of the program’s nearly 280,000 original consumers will be left without care as they and their aides face far more dire situations.

A spokesperson for PPL told The Post the company paid only about 100,000 aides who submitted “compliant timecards” last week, out of about 160,000 aides who have fully transitioned to PPL, according to the Department of Health’s latest figures.

The company did not pay aides who submitted timecards after a strict midnight deadline and those with outstanding paperwork issues, according to the spokesperson. The company also dismissed Murphy’s $0 pay stub as an error likely caused because she chose to have taxes withheld.

It’s unclear how many of the 60,000 who weren’t paid out by PPL may be getting paid out by their previous homecare intermediary, given the court’s injunction over the transition.

Federal prosecutors suggested the Department of Health may have “misled” consumers and aides about the potential impact of the transition to PPL on their healthcare status. Health Commissioner Jim McDonald is pictured.YouTube / New York State Department of Health

“We have not identified errors from the payroll process,” the PPL spokesperson said.

The lawsuit has also drawn the attention of federal prosecutors with the consumer protection branch at the U.S. Department of Justice, who wrote a statement to the court indicating they’re keeping an eye on the situation.

“Our much-needed reforms are putting an end to years of runaway bureaucratic spending. This transition ensures that workers who submit timecards in compliance with program rules will be paid,” Hochul spokesperson Sam Spokony wrote in a statement.

“We’ve made great progress as hundreds of thousands of consumers have access to services they rely on, and personal assistants are registered and logging hours with PPL and receiving their first payments from PPL,” Health Commissioner Jim McDonald claimed in a statement.

https://nypost.com/2025/04/13/us-news/hochuls-homecare-program-havoc-leaves-thousands-of-workers-unpaid-as-federal-court-steps-in/