In late August, the AFH Council and DSHS participated in an arbitration hearing to determine the final rates for AFH Medicaid payments for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The arbitrator’s final decision has been announced.
The decision provides the single largest contract increase, by dollars, or percentage of increase, ever awarded to the adult family homes. The result is an average increase to the base daily rate of 29%.
Additionally, the award corrects outdated county designation. The new contract will have two county categories: Central Puget Sound Region (CPSR) that includes King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties; all other counties will be considered standard.
There are still steps to finalize the contract, and funding must be authorized by the state legislature, but based on the award from the arbitrator, these are the proposed rates to be paid next year.
| CPSR* | Standard |
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| CPSR* | Standard |
Classification | 1-Jul-23 | 1-Jul-23 |
| CLASSIFICATION | 1-Jul-24 | 1-Jul-24 |
A Low (1) | $ 121.13 | $ 110.73 |
| A LOW (1) | $ 123.95 | $ 113.34 |
A Med (2) | $126.08 | $ 115.02 |
| A MED (2) | $ 129.00 | $ 117.72 |
A High (3) | $ 137.60 | $ 125.00 |
| A HIGH (3) | $ 140.75 | $ 127.90 |
B Low (4) | $ 123.69 | $ 112.95 |
| B LOW (4) | $ 126.57 | $ 115.61 |
B Med (5) | $ 135.04 | $ 122.78 |
| B MED (5) | $ 138.14 | $ 125.64 |
B Med H (6) | $ 147.06 | $ 133.21 |
| B MED H (6) | $ 150.41 | $ 136.27 |
B High (7) | $ 151.50 | $ 137.06 |
| B HIGH (7) | $ 154.93 | $ 140.20 |
C Low (8) | $ 137.26 | $ 124.71 |
| C LOW (8) | $ 140.40 | $ 127.60 |
C Med (9) | $ 159.09 | $ 143.64 |
| C MED (9) | $ 162.68 | $ 146.91 |
C Med H (10) | $ 162.85 | $ 146.89 |
| C MED H (10) | $ 166.51 | $ 150.23 |
C High (11) | $ 166.78 | $ 150.30 |
| C HIGH (11) | $ 170.51 | $ 153.70 |
D Low (12) | $ 146.89 | $ 133.06 |
| D LOW (12) | $ 150.23 | $ 136.12 |
D Med (13) | $ 162.51 | $ 146.60 |
| D MED (13) | $ 166.16 | $ 149.93 |
D Med H (14) | $ 186.53 | $ 167.42 |
| D MED H (14) | $ 190.66 | $ 171.17 |
D High (15) | $ 197.62 | $ 177.04 |
| D HIGH (15) | $ 201.98 | $ 180.98 |
E Med (16) | $ 214.40 | $ 191.58 |
| E MED (16) | $ 219.08 | $ 195.81 |
E High (17) | $ 230.18 | $ 205.27 |
| E HIGH (17) | $ 235.18 | $ 209.77 |
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*Central Puget Sound Region includes King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties | ||||||
ECS increases equate 66% increase over the biennium. The rates are a flat fee and paid regardless of county or classification.
July 1, 2023 = $221.91
July 1, 2024 = $232.39
SBS increase to $165 for both years of the biennium an 8% increase
HIV/AIDS Housing increases by 56%
July 1, 2023 = $151.13
July 1, 2024 = $158.15
Community Integration increases 115%
July 1, 2023 = $4.07
July 1, 2024 = $5.13
Meaningful Day increases 33%to $40 per day
In total the contract increases Medicaid spending by more than $325 Million.
The contract also will require the DSHS and The Council to work to improve the overpayment process, clarify the ETR (exception to the rule) process, and improve communication between providers and DSHS.
The arbitration award is a positive step in improving rates for adult family homes. There is much that we still need to do to secure the funding for the contract. Additionally, there are services and issues not resolved by this decision. Some of these issues we will take to the state legislature, others, we will wait until we bargain the contract again in 2024.
To read the full decisionof the arbitrator, follow this link
12 Responses
Awesome. good job!
Thanks to the entire team for working tirelessly to improve the base rate.
Well done. Thank you.
Well done. Thank you so much.
Good news! Excellent job.
Thank you so much 🙏
Thanking AFH council for resilience i pursuit of this cause. You worked so hard to get us this deal. We can now hope to steer away from break-even to improved cash flows
It has been very hard to make ends meet.
Thank you for all your efforts!!
Outstanding achievement from our devoted council leaders led by John. We really appreciate your sacrifice for us all.
Thank you for your hard work and continued support! You have come a long way in turning my opinion of your efforts from pre-2013.
Thank you so much for all you do for the adult family homes around the state!
Words are not enough to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude towards your relentless efforts in achieving this insurmountable task. Hoorays!!!! Go team!
Thank you to the Council’s hard work of advocating for all the AFH providers. Your hard work of negotiation paid off and we’re grateful for that.
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