Legislative Session Ends Next Week, Advocacy Numbers, and Advocacy Materials/Updates

Legislative Session Ends Next Week

Three session days remain and so now is the time for the last second push on a number of issues that need your attention. With so few legislative session days to go (three to be exact), we ask that you call your legislators directly to discuss the issues mentioned below to let them know how important these issues are to your organization.

Legislators left Albany yesterday and should be reachable in their district offices today. Find your legislators contact information here on our website. All of the issues mentioned below are available in list form here on our advocacy page and we ask that you take action on all of them.

How are we doing? Your advocacy matters. Take a look at the number of emails sent to legislators on our key issues so far. 

Issue	Emails
Staffing Ratios	882
Role of the Nurse	645
TBI and DD integration	39
Housing Freedom of Choice	18
CCRC Revitalization	21
Capital Funding for ALP	18
SSI Increase	882
Advanced Home Health Aide	21
Housing MOU	90

 

1. Nurse Staffing Ratios:  The Coalition for Safe and Affordable Care, of which LeadingAge NY is a member, sent a letter to legislators this week opposing the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act bill A.8580-A (Gunther)/S.782 (Hannon).Here are or updates and advocacy materials on our key advocacy issues.

The bill has now been placed on the Assembly Ways & Means Committee Agenda to be considered next Tues. and it appears as though the Assembly is prepared to pass the legislation next week. We urge you to call your Assembly representatives and tell them you oppose the bill. Take a moment to fill out our cost template  to estimate the cost impact the proposed ratios would have on your facility and share this information with your legislators along with our Issue Brief.

You can take action now by visiting our campaign page or by simply texting RATIOS to 52886 to access our advocacy tools.

2. Support Advanced Home Health Aide Legislation: The governor and legislative leaders are actively negotiating amendments to legislation, A.7188-A (Glick), which would authorize Advanced Home Health Aides (AHHAs) to provide advanced tasks under the supervision of a registered nurse and pursuant to an authorized practitioner’s ordered care. Under the current proposal, AHHA would be authorized in home care and hospice settings as well as the enhanced assisted living residence. This new role would advance the field of direct care workers, provide critical access to consumers living in the community and increase efficiencies in the delivery of care. Please visit our AHHA advocacy page to contact your lawmakers today and urge them to pass AHHA before the end of session next week.

3. SSI Increase Update: We have a significant step forward to report! The Senate has passed S.7333 (Serino)/A.10224 (Brindisi), which would implement an increase in the SSI rate for ACFs by $7.50 per day, phased in over two years. If passed, the first $2.50 per day increase would happen on Jan. 1, 2017, and then again on April 1, 2017. The third and final $2.50 increase would occur on April 1, 2018.

With session coming to a close soon, we are asking you to call your Assembly representatives now to ask them to pass S.7333 (Serino)/A.10224 (Brindisi). Visit our advocacy page here to let legislators know how important this legislation is to your facility.

4. Sign the Memorandum of Understanding for Housing (MOU):  Nearly $2B was approved in the state budget for affordable housing programs. The funds cannot be released until the Governor and legislative leaders agree on a plan for how to spend the funds. If an agreement is not reached by the end of session, it is possible that the MOU will not be signed for many months, causing unnecessary delays for affordable housing developments across the state.

Please take action by visiting our advocacy page to let legislators know how important it is that the final MOU includes a specific program for senior housing and is signed by next week.

5. Integration of individuals with TBI into DD services in rural counties: The bill A.9146 (Russell)/S.6655 (Young) authorizes the integration of individuals with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), sustained after the age of twenty-one, into programs within the developmental disabilities service sector.

The bill has passed the Senate, but has not moved out of the Assembly Health Committee. Please take the time to call your representatives and urge them to sign onto and support this bill by visiting our campaign and be sure to share our memo of support.

6. Capital Funding for ALPs and hospice: Assisted Living Programs (ALPs) and hospice providers were excluded from the substantial capital and operational funding for Medicaid providers that was included in the recently passed State Budget. Like other Medicaid providers, ALPs and hospice providers are facing increasing workforce and operational costs, tighter budgets, and much needed capital improvements. A.10522 (Magnarelli)/S.7718 (Hannon) and A.10517 (Magnarelli)/S.7711 (Hannon) would enable ALPs and hospice providers the opportunity to access funds allocated in the budget, and your support is needed to ensure that these bills are passed. Visit our advocacy page to make sure legislators know how important this legislation is to your facility.

7. Independent Senior Housing Resident Freedom of Choice Act: Bill A.10243 (Cymbrowitz)/S.2276-A (Young), also known as the Freedom of Choice Act has advanced to the Assembly floor calendar, but still remains in the Senate Aging Committee.

Please check out our campaign page to contact your lawmakers and ask them to support and help pass this bill in the Assembly and also to advance it in the Senate. You can also share our memo of support with your lawmakers. 

8. Role of the Nurse in an ACF:  A.10384 – (Gottfried)/S.7974 –(Hannon) would allow all Adult Care Facility (ACF) and assisted living providers that employ nurses the option to provide nursing services directly. This is vital to prevent unnecessary spending for your facility.

We urge you to let your lawmakers know how important this legislation is for your facility by calling them and/or sending a message urging them to sign onto and support this bill. You are able to contact legislators by visiting our advocacy page and don’t forget to share this with anyone that you think would like to see this legislation passed.

9. Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) Revitalization Act: We are pleased to report that our CCRC revitalization legislation will soon have an Assembly Sponsor. We expect the bill to be introduced any day now listing Schimminger, Gottfried and Morelle as sponsors.  Please contact your legislators and ask them to sign onto S.7778 (Hannon) as a sponsor of this legislation. This legislation is crucial to ensure that the requirements and duplicative oversight of CCRCs are changed in the statute.

View our full memo of support and be sure to visit our advocacy page to make sure your lawmakers know what is at stake for CCRCs.

DFS and DOL Appointments Move Forward

A number of Gov. Cuomo’s nominees were considered by the Senate this week, including Maria Vullo, acting leader of the state’s Department of Financial Services. Ms. Vullo spent more than two hours with two state Senate committees fielding questions from the chamber’s insurance and banking commissions on everything from encouraging financial institutions to locate in low-income communities to auto insurance fraud. The leaders expressed confidence she would be confirmed as superintendent before the Legislature adjourns next week.

Acting Labor Commissioner and former SAG-AFTRA Co-President, Roberta Reardon was also considered for confirmation and was interviewed by the Senate Labor Committee on Tues. AFL-CIO employed Reardon as a special liaison for common sense economics. Additionally, Reardon was the president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists for five years.