The landscape for hospitals and Medicaid-funded community organizations in New York is changing. Moving forward, facilities with at least 35% of patients associated with Medicaid will be using the new Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment in order to be reimbursed for Medicaid expenses—something that is surely to affect the healthcare job market in the upcoming years. While New Jersey has been implementing DSRIP reform changes for quite some time, and is already on its fourth and final stage of implementation, New York is just beginning, creating a whole new demand for specific skill sets.

DSRIP is a four-step, project-based program requiring hospitals to select one medical condition to focus improvements on—such as HIV/AIDs, cardiac care, asthma, diabetes, obesity, pneumonia, behavioral health, and substance abuse. The purpose of the program is to help hospitals lower costs while providing better healthcare for individuals and the population as a whole in regards to the selected condition. Certain components must be met to qualify for reimbursement, such as affiliating with another facility to obtain PPS status, or Performing Provider Systems.

According to the official DRSIP FAQs on health.ny.gov, “Being deemed a DSRIP safety-net  provider allows an organization to be an active participant who is eligible to not  only  lead, but also share in the full amount of potential performance payments  of a Performing  Provider System (PPS) in the DSRIP program.” With $8 billion in federal savings generated by Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) reforms up for grabs, hospitals and eligible non-hospital based providers are putting their best foot forward to qualify for reimbursement.

As a result, facilities are now looking for professionals with the proper skill sets in order to help assist with DSRIP implementation. Such professionals include those with:

• Project management skills
• A Bachelor’s Degree in public administration or a business-related healthcare study
• Experience gathering and analyzing data
• Familiarity/experience with Medicaid

To get an extra leg up on the competition, job seekers can also obtain the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. Professionals with experience in the condition the hospital chooses to focus the program on are also in demand.

“Healthcare facilities that are beginning to implement Stage 1 of DSRIP are especially in need of those with project management skills,” says Katie Niekrash, Senior Managing Director of the Healthcare division at The Execu|Search Group. “Stage 1 DSRIP activities include developing methodologies; developing health assessment and risk stratification tools; and procuring staff education, technical, data, and marketing/outreach needs. Those with project management skills and especially those certified in project management are best suited for these activities, and are becoming increasingly in demand at many healthcare facilities in New York as they begin the first stages of qualifying for reimbursement.”