LAC 50:XIII.801. Nursing Recruitment and Retention Payments

A. General Provisions 1. Nurses that provide extended home health (EHH) services may be eligible to receive recruitment and retention bonuses through March 2025. 2. A nurse is defined as an individual who possesses and maintains a valid license as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or registered nurse (RN). 3. All payments shall be administered by the home health agency (HHA) that employs the nurse. If a nurse is employed at multiple agencies, only one HHA may pay the recruitment and retention payment. 4. HHAs shall submit an invoice and supporting documentation for each nurse that meets the requirements outlined in this Chapter on a monthly basis and shall comply with all other requirements established by LDH to receive a payment. 5. HHAs shall disburse the entire payment to the nurse and are prohibited from reducing the payment for any purpose other than required state or federal withholdings. 6. HHAs that provide the required documentation, comply with all applicable requirements, and have at least one nurse a month receiving a bonus payment will be eligible to invoice LDH for an administrative fee of $2,500 each month. B. Recruitment 1. Recruitment is the hiring of a new nurse who commits to providing a minimum of 120 hours of EHH services to beneficiaries under the age of 21 who are in a Medicaid waiver program in each calendar month. 2. A one-time, lump sum payment of $5,000 may be paid to any nurse who is hired by the HHA and commits to providing a minimum of 120 hours of EHH services to beneficiaries in a waiver program and has not received the retention lump sum bonus payment outlined in this Chapter. 3. Each nurse may only receive the lump sum recruitment bonus payment once. C. Retention 1. Existing nurses who commit to providing a minimum of 120 hours of EHH services to eligible waiver beneficiaries in a calendar month and have not received the recruitment or retention lump sum bonus payment will receive a $5,000 retention bonus. 2. Nurses who receive the recruitment or retention lump sum bonus payment shall be eligible to receive a monthly payment of $200 if they provided at least 120 hours of EHH services to eligible waiver beneficiaries during the previous calendar month.