Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
Authorizes providers of developmental disabilities services. eMedNY requires OPWDD authorization before Medicaid enrollment.
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New York provider enrollment
How to Become a Medicaid Waiver Provider in New York
What New York requires before you can deliver home and community-based waiver services, in the order the state actually requires it. Every claim links to the official page it came from.
Provider rules change often — confirm fees and deadlines against the linked sources before you rely on them.
Overview
Becoming a waiver provider in New York
New York's sequence is unforgiving in one specific way: you are at financial risk if you render services to Medicaid beneficiaries before completing enrollment, and the enrollment itself has a 45-day clock. An application not submitted within 45 days is deleted, and an application left unanswered for 45 days is withdrawn and has to be started over. Budget the $750 application fee and get the documents together before you open the application rather than after: the ETIN certification statement for new enrollments, the prior conduct questionnaire where it applies, a copy of your provider agreement with the State, the IRS assignment letter for your EIN — the Form SS-4 letter specifically, since a W-9 is not accepted — EFT authorization, and the provider compliance certification. The step that takes real time comes before all of that, though: OPWDD authorization, which is where your program is actually judged.
Who certifies you
The agencies that decide
eMedNY — Provider Services Portal (PSP)
Where enrollment, revalidation, reinstatement, ownership changes, and receivership reporting are submitted.
1-800-343-9000Visit siteBefore you apply
What has to be true first
OPWDD authorization is the prerequisite
eMedNY states that providers must obtain authorization from the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities before enrolling as an OPWDD waiver provider.
SourceThe IRS letter, not a W-9
The enrollment requires the IRS assignment letter for your employer identification number — the Form SS-4 letter. A W-9 is not acceptable in its place.
SourceServices before enrollment are at your own risk
Providers are at financial risk if they render services to Medicaid beneficiaries before successfully completing the enrollment process.
SourceCompliance certification is part of the packet
The provider compliance certification (forms EMEDNY-490602 or 490601) is filed with the enrollment, alongside the ETIN certification statement for new enrollments and the prior conduct questionnaire where applicable.
SourceEnrollment
How to enroll in New York
Get OPWDD authorization, then enroll through eMedNY's Provider Services Portal with the required attachments and the $750 application fee, inside the 45-day window.
Application system: eMedNY Provider Services Portal (PSP)
- Obtain OPWDD authorization
This is the substantive review of your organization and services, and eMedNY will not enroll an OPWDD waiver provider without it.
Source - Start the application in the Provider Services Portal
PSP handles initial enrollment as well as revalidation responses, reinstatement and reactivation, ownership changes, and receivership reporting.
Source - Attach the required documents
ETIN certification statement (new enrollments), prior conduct questionnaire if applicable, a copy of the provider agreement with the State, the IRS Form SS-4 assignment letter, EFT authorization, and the provider compliance certification.
Source - Pay the $750 application fee
eMedNY's application fee page carries the current amount and the circumstances in which it applies.
Source - Submit inside 45 days
Applications not submitted within 45 days are deleted, and applications left unresponsive for 45 days are withdrawn — after which you reapply from the beginning.
Source
Fees, screening, and renewal
$750
An application fee of $750 applies; eMedNY publishes the details and any exceptions on its application fee page.
SourceService types
What you can be approved to deliver
OPWDD HCBS waiver services
OPWDD Home and Community Based Services 1915(c) Waiver
The waiver's purpose shapes what gets authorized
The waiver lets New York use Medicaid funds to support people with developmental disabilities in community settings rather than institutional facilities — the frame OPWDD applies when it authorizes providers.
SourceTimeline & cost
What this actually takes
$750, plus whatever OPWDD authorization costs you in time
The Medicaid fee is fixed and published; the variable is the OPWDD authorization that has to precede it.
SourceTwo 45-day traps
An application not submitted within 45 days is deleted; an application you do not respond to within 45 days is withdrawn and requires reapplication. Neither is recoverable by asking nicely.
SourceAfter approval
Staying compliant
Revalidation runs through the same portal
Providers responding to revalidation letters submit through PSP. EFT authorization may be waived at revalidation if it is already established and no changes are requested.
SourceOwnership changes are reportable enrollment events
Changes of ownership require documentation such as a bill of sale or transfer agreement, filed through PSP like any other enrollment action.
SourceConfirm by phone
What the state does not publish
New York does not publish these in a form we could verify, so we have not guessed at them. Ask directly — and if an answer here would help other providers, tell us and we will add it with its source.
- What does OPWDD authorization require for your service type — character and competence review, Article 16 clinic approval, or agency approval — and how long does it take?
Ask: Your OPWDD regional office
- Is OPWDD currently authorizing new providers for your service and region?
Ask: Your OPWDD regional office
- How does Care Coordination Organization service planning affect when you actually start receiving referrals?
Ask: Your OPWDD regional office
- What screening level and revalidation cycle applies to your provider category?
Ask: eMedNY Call Center, 1-800-343-9000
Key contacts
New York provider contacts
eMedNY — OPWDD Waiver Provider enrollment
The prerequisite, the forms and attachments, the 45-day rules, and the portal itself.
1-800-343-9000Visit siteeMedNY application fee
The current fee and when it applies.
Visit siteOPWDD — Medicaid and OPWDD services
How Medicaid funds OPWDD services, from the authorizing agency's side.
Visit siteFAQ
New York provider questions
Can I enroll with Medicaid first and get OPWDD approval later?
No. eMedNY requires authorization from OPWDD before you enroll as an OPWDD waiver provider — the state agency's judgment comes first, and Medicaid enrollment implements it.
How much is the application fee?
$750, with the current details and any exceptions published on eMedNY's application fee page.
Can I submit a W-9 for my tax identification?
No. eMedNY requires the IRS assignment letter — Form SS-4 — and states that a W-9 is not acceptable.
What are the 45-day rules?
An application not submitted within 45 days is deleted, and an application left unresponsive for 45 days is withdrawn, requiring you to reapply. Start the portal application only when you have the attachments ready.
Can I start serving people while enrollment is pending?
You would be doing it at your own expense. eMedNY warns that providers are at financial risk if they render services to Medicaid beneficiaries before successfully completing enrollment.
Looking for the family-facing guide? Browse state waiver guides