CHARTS Patch 157 Documentation
This patch contains:
1) updates related to the NYC Sage and Sick Leave Law,
2) updates for VA Community Care billing,
3) sets the New York State SUI Contribution limit to $17,600 for 2026, and
4) provides additional CHARTS Census, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Payroll enhancements.
NYC’s Safe and Sick Leave Law Modifications
Overview of NYC’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act Changes
New York City recently amended its Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), expanding the law and the benefits it provides to employees. Importantly, effective February 22, 2026:
- Employers must provide 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time to covered employees, in addition to the paid sick and safe time that was already provided by the statute; and
- The covered uses of safe and sick time will also expand to reach new employee circumstances.
- The additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time are available immediately upon hire and are front loaded at the start of each year.
- An employer shall not re required to carry over any unused unpaid safe/sick time to the next calendar year pursuant to the Amendment.
- To comply with the ESSTA’s notice and record keeping requirements, the amount of available unpaid safe/sick time must be reported on an employee’s paystub or other written documentation provided to an employee each pay period. This requirement also can be satisfied by making this information available on an employee-accessible electronic system.
User Parameters (UP, 5)
The facility can add a new hours type in the Earnings/Deductions table (ATF, 10, 3 – Main Key 1-30) or can use the deduction code already being used for Unused Sick Pay.
The code being used should be indicated in the User Parameter Payroll Information screen.
Please note that when posting unpaid sick hours, CHARTS will not accept hours without an amount. Therefore, use an Override Amount of .01 dollars.
Printing Payroll Checks (PR,3)
When printing checks, the amount of NYC Unpaid Safe and Sick Time available will be displayed on the paystub for NYC facilities. The number of front loaded hours of Unpaid Safe / Sick Time available is 32.
Paid sick hours available should already be appearing on the paystub in the standard accrual section on the stub.
VA Community Care Billing
The Veteran’s Administration provides care to Veterans through community providers when VA cannot provide the care needed. Community care is based on specific eligibility requirements, availability of VA care, and the needs and circumstances of individual Veterans.
This update contains the required software to bill the VA based on the VA Community fee schedule and requirements.
The VA Community Nursing Home (CNH) Fee Schedule follows the Prospective Payment System (PPS) billing requirements found in Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 6 – SNF Inpatient Part A Billing and SNF Consolidated Billing with some exceptions. The following is a list of those exceptions and some clarifying payment policy statements.
VA will use the Patient Driven Payment Model-based (PDPM) pricing software using the following specifications:
- CNH day 1-100: multiply physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), speech language pathology (SLP), nursing, and non-case-mix component case-mix index (CMI) values by 0.93 in addition to any other adjustment factors.
- CNH day 101+: remove PT, OT, and SLP components (or set CMI adjustment factor multiplier to 0). Multiply nursing and non-case-mix component CMIs by 1.25.
- The non-therapy ancillary component will follow PDPM rules for days 1 – 100 (multiply CMI by 3.0 for the first three days and 1.0 for all remaining days). For days 101+ the non-therapy ancillary component will be multiplied by a 1.25 factor.
Add Table File (ATF,1,1) – Billing Codes
New York State Unemployment Insurance Wage Base Increase
For 2026 the New York State Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxable wage base has been increased to $17,600.
Under New York State Labor Law Section 518, the wage base for 2026 and subsequent years is now calculated as 18% of the state’s average annual wage, rounded up to the nearest $100. This 18% calculation method was established as part of the state’s plan to restore the UI Trust Fund to solvency after repaying federal loan debts.
(The NY State UI wage base had originally been projected to be $13,000 for 2026.)
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