Legislative Bulletin: Budget Season Enters Home Stretch
“Mothership” and Joint Legislative Budget Subcommittees Convene
On Monday, the General Budget Conference Committee (the “Mothership”) and joint legislative budget subcommittees convened for the first time to begin their work toward negotiating a final budget. At the Mothership meeting, Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan outlined the Senate Majority’s priorities, including investing in jobs, infrastructure, transportation, the environment, health care, and higher education. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie emphasized the Assembly Majority’s commitment to various issues such as college affordability, raising the age of criminal responsibility, and extending the millionaires’ tax to support senior centers and the prevention of homelessness. Each conference also voiced support for additional funding for direct care workers.
At the Environment/Agriculture/Housing subcommittee meeting, Senate Housing Chair Betty Little referenced the Affordable Senior Housing and Services Program, a proposal championed by LeadingAge NY, and emphasized looking to the future to identify emerging needs and gaps in programs that the state already offers. Assembly Housing Chair Steven Cymbrowitz discussed the need for an agreement on the $2.5 million housing plan as well as the proposed Elder Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) for New York City. The Assemblyman concluded his remarks by stating that “when it comes to our seniors, we have to think long-term,” and that the Assembly Majority was committed to working with lawmakers to meet the state’s housing needs.
At the Health subcommittee meeting, Senator David J. Valesky remarked that while the Assembly and Senate were both putting forth recommendations to increase health care capital funding, it was important to know how last year’s dollars would be allocated. Assembly Aging Chair Donna Lupardo voiced her support for protecting Community Services for the Elderly (CSE), N/NORCs, NY Connects, and other vital programs and services for seniors. Lastly, Assembly Health Ranker Andrew Raia stated that while the Assembly Minority Conference was pleased with additional health care capital funding, it would like to see more money dedicated to community-based providers.
The next step in the budget process is the Mothership’s announcement of “table targets,” the amounts of spending that each subcommittee can use to restore cuts, modify proposals, or fund new initiatives. We are hearing that the table targets may be announced as early as today, with a potential $20 million allocation for Health. The April 1st deadline is rapidly approaching, and with lawmakers currently in their districts, legislative staff will be working through the weekend to finalize the budget in time.
Budget Season Entering Home Stretch – Connect with Your Lawmakers Today!
As budget season enters the home stretch, it is more important than ever for you to contact your lawmakers and reiterate your priorities and concerns. Legislators need to hear directly from you today and Monday. Please call, tweet, and Facebook them to let them know how the budget proposals will impact your organization and those you serve. Social media posts are the quickest and most effective way to spread your message to a wider audience and recruit additional advocates. If your legislators are on the General Budget Conference Committee, the Health subcommittee, or the Environment/Agriculture/Housing subcommittee, it is especially critical for you to connect with them and ask that they support our initiatives.
As you reach out, we ask that you focus on the following five items:
- Please call, tweet, and Facebook your lawmakers with the following message: “Please support MLTC rate adequacy to ensure that plans and providers are able to meet wage mandates, and support a nursing home rate cell to meet the needs of nursing home residents and ensure quality care for all of our frail elders.”
- Please call, tweet, and Facebook your lawmakers with the following message: “Thank you for including an increase for SSI adult care facility residents in the one-house budget bill. Please work to include the $20 per day increase that the Senate budget has proposed in the final enacted budget.”
- Please call, tweet, and Facebook your lawmakers with the following message: “Thank you for including the $125 million appropriation for senior housing in the one-house budget. Please build on this by including language that would create a new dedicated Affordable Senior Housing and Services Program providing coordinated capital, rental assistance, and services funding. A separate program is the only way to ensure that enough independent senior housing with service coordination is built to meet the exploding demand expected in the coming years. I also urge you to add $10 million to the budget for the Senior Resident Service Coordinator Program, which would put up to 125 new service coordinators in new and existing senior housing around the state.”
- Please call, tweet, and Facebook your lawmakers with the following message: “Thank you for increasing funding for health care capital. However, it is critical that the final budget include a dedicated fund for long term care providers and include hospice and assisted living providers as eligible recipients. Long term care providers have only received about 1% of recent state capital grant awards – this will not change unless you commit a dedicated amount for long term care.”
- While LeadingAge NY is pleased that both the Assembly and Senate have rejected the MLTC transportation carve-out, we need to keep up the pressure to ensure that this is reflected in the final enacted budget.
- Please call, tweet, and Facebook your lawmakers with the following message: “Please reject and restore the cut associated with the transportation carve-out from the MLTC benefit package. Many of these providers have invested in their own vehicles to deliver transportation services, and others have long-standing contracts with high-quality transportation providers. They are able to deliver personally-tailored transportation to the frail elderly and disabled individuals whom they serve. Please ensure that rates are adequate, and plans are able to appropriately coordinate the care of their enrollees.”
LeadingAge NY continues to engage the Assembly and Senate on the SSI and housing with services issues, most recently in a series of meetings with legislative staff on Wednesday.
PEAK Lobby Day Recap
This week, LeadingAge NY staff and members attended the PEAK Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, participating in workshops, education sessions, and over a dozen Hill visits with the New York congressional delegation. Attendees spoke with members of Congress and top staff on issues such as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), Medicaid funding, regulatory reform, and senior housing. LeadingAge NY's federal issue brief, which we shared during our visits and encourage you to distribute, is available here. You can also access LeadingAge National’s issue briefs here.
House Set to Vote on AHCA Today
The House is expected to vote on the AHCA this afternoon, one day after Republican leadership postponed consideration of the bill due to lack of support. President Trump reportedly issued an ultimatum to House Republicans on Thursday night, telling them that he is done negotiating the bill and that if the AHCA does not pass, he will keep the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in place. An analysis released this week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the extensively-modified AHCA would cost billions more than the initial plan while still increasing the number of uninsured by 24 million over the next decade.
On Wednesday, Governor Cuomo issued a statement in which he criticized the AHCA as a reckless bill that would “devastate the New York Healthcare system,” leaving 2.7 million New Yorkers uninsured and cutting $4.7 billion from the state's Medicaid budget. The Governor also stated that New Yorkers would see a significant income tax hike if an amendment proposed by Congressmen Chris Collins and John Faso to shift county Medicaid costs to the state is successful. Additionally, in an email letter sent Wednesday morning, New York State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson urged advocates to call their congressional representatives and ask them to oppose the AHCA. According to Director Helgerson, the bill's passage would result in nursing home payment cuts of $401 million, home care payment cuts of $360 million, and hospital payment cuts of $355 million.
To connect with your congressional representative, please dial 202-224-3121. LeadingAge NY’s password-protected AHCA talking points are available here.
Senator Ortt and Predecessor Face Campaign Finance Charges
Lastly, an Albany grand jury on Wednesday indicted Senator Robert Ortt and his predecessor, George Maziarz, on felony election law violations. The indictment came as part of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's investigation into former Senator Maziarz’s campaign expenditures. Both men pleaded not guilty at their arraignments on Thursday.
Senator Ortt has been charged with three counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first-degree. Following his arraignment, he vowed to fight the charges and blasted the Attorney General’s probe as a “baseless and partisan attack” on his character.
Contacts:
Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8854
Jeff Diamond, jdiamond@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8821