Legislative Bulletin: Governor Unveils State of the State Proposals

State of the State Proposals

This week, forgoing a single speech to the Legislature, Governor Cuomo delivered a series of regional State of the State addresses. He outlined his vision for a Middle Class Recovery Act—focusing on jobs and infrastructure, access to education, and lower taxes—as well as a New York Promise agenda, which would “advance social justice and affirm New York’s progressive values.” In addition, the Governor laid out proposals for comprehensive ethics reform and initiatives to combat the state’s heroin and opioid epidemic. There are 35 key proposals in the Governor’s 2017 agenda, ranging from tuition-free college and an increased child care tax credit for middle class families to the development of a 750-mile walkway across the state.

Proposals related to seniors and aging services providers include:

Expanding needed assistance to 390,000 families across New York by keeping the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) season open year-round. Approximately 75 percent of households that receive SNAP benefits are also eligible for HEAP, and so this proposal would allow eligible families to immediately access the maximum SNAP benefit.
Leveraging federal funds to fight food insecurity through the development of a new SNAP Outreach Partnership Initiative, which would “engage foundations and community-based organizations in developing and implementing innovative ways to connect potentially eligible individuals with SNAP benefits.”
Protecting seniors from foreclosure by closing consumer protection loopholes—specifically “amending the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law and Civil Practice Laws and Rules to include reverse mortgages”—and directing the Department of Financial Services to “revisit and revise any rules and regulations pertaining to reverse mortgages.”
Executing the $2 billion homelessness and housing MOU, which would release funds appropriated in last year’s state budget for the creation of new affordable and supportive housing units in New York.
Protecting people from exorbitant prescription drug prices through a three-pronged plan
- First prong: effectively creating a “price ceiling for certain high cost prescription drugs reimbursed under the Medicaid program by requiring a 100 percent additional supplemental rebate for any amounts in excess of a benchmark price as recommended by the Department of Health’s Drug Utilization Review Board.” This would also “limit year-over-year price increases for generic drugs paid for by the Medicaid program.”
- Second prong: protecting consumers from the “abusive business practices” of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). The Governor’s plan would require that “PBMs register and obtain a full license from the State,” as well as that “PBMs disclose any financial incentive or benefit for promoting the use of certain drugs or classes or brands of drugs” and “pricing information regarding fee arrangements and rebates.”
- Third prong: imposing a “surcharge on high-priced drugs when they are sold into the state.” This surcharge would be “levied on the amount by which the price of these drugs exceeds the benchmark price recommended by the Drug Utilization Review Board in the Medicaid context.”
Advancing a “Health Across All Policies” approach to public health. This approach would identify “the ways in which decisions in multiple sectors can improve health and wellness while simultaneously advancing other goals, such as promoting job creation and economic stability, transportation mobility, and environmental sustainability, and leverage investment which can have complementary benefits in more than one area.” One example would be “examining whether there are opportunities in affordable and supportive housing developments to include space for health and wellness programs, rooftop gardens, or outdoor recreation areas.” Additionally, Governor Cuomo will task this effort with “implementing actions to make New York the first age-friendly state in accord with the eight Age Friendly/Livable Community Domains outlined by the World Health Organization and AARP.”
Leveraging technology to accommodate the needs of the aging. This proposal involves the development of five regional hotlines to “support older adults in the community or in institutional settings.” These hotlines would be available for New York seniors to call for “information, advice, or just a friendly conversation.” Governor Cuomo also proposes utilizing the HeroX platform “as a convener to kick start a collaborative effort amongst the State’s colleges and universities, innovators, and industry to create technological solutions, so that aging New Yorkers can live independently and age-in-place.”
Protecting seniors from financial exploitation through:
- An Elder Abuse Certification Program available for all New York banks. The Department of Financial Services would design the Certification Program, which would include “training bank employees on how to recognize the signs of financial abuse.”
- Legislation to empower banks to “place holds on potentially fraudulent transactions in order to protect their consumers, and be immunized for doing so in good faith.”
- Requiring banks to report to the appropriate state agencies to take action “once potential fraud is identified and a transaction hold is applied.”

The Governor’s formal State of the State book, with detailed descriptions of all his proposals, is available here.

Budget Proposal Due by Tues., Jan. 17^th

The Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal is expected to be released on or before Tues., Jan. 17^th. We expect the budget to provide more details on the proposals announced in the State of the State addresses. LeadingAge NY will provide members with an analysis of key budget issues once the documents become available.

Senate Announces Leadership and Committee Chair Appointments

Senate committee chairs, announced earlier this week, are unchanged from last session. Sen. Sue Serino will remain Chair of the Aging Committee, Sen. Kemp Hannon will retain Health (with Sen. David J. Valesky as Vice-Chair), and Sen. Betty Little will retain Housing. We look forward to continuing to work closely with these legislators this year.

Reminder: Register for Advocacy Day!

Have you registered for the LeadingAge NY/Adult Day Health Care Council/Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State Annual Advocacy Day on Tues., Feb. 7^th in Albany? We hope you will join us to ensure that long term care is properly represented in this year’s budget. Click here to register.

Once you are signed up, contact your legislators to schedule meetings with them—or, if they are not available that day, their top staff. Keep in mind that you can always meet directly with legislators “off the floor,” meaning that you will meet briefly with them right outside of the Senate or Assembly Chamber.

We will begin the day with a legislative briefing at 9 a.m. (following 8 a.m. registration and breakfast). Meetings with legislators should be scheduled between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. We will be hosting a luncheon with guest legislative speakers between noon and 1 p.m., so please avoid scheduling meetings during that time.

Advocacy Day materials, including issue briefs, talking points, and other information, will be distributed prior to the event. Additionally, LeadingAge NY will be hosting a conference call on Fri., Feb. 3^rd at 10:30 a.m. for all Advocacy Day attendees. More details are forthcoming.

Bill Introductions

Lastly, we are continuing to work through the hundreds of bills that have been introduced thus far. Several of our priority bills have now been reintroduced, and we need you to take action. Please visit our advocacy campaign pages and contact your legislators using the links provided.

Nurse Staffing Ratios: A.1532 (Gunther), known as the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act, would create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct-care staff in hospitals and nursing homes at a cost of approximately $1.06B to nursing homes statewide. LeadingAge NY is strongly opposed to this legislation and has developed this cost template to assist you in determining its financial impact on your facility. This will be powerful information to share with your lawmakers about the true impact of mandated staffing ratios. Click here to access our memo of opposition and here to send a pre-written letter directly to your lawmakers.
Independent Senior Housing Resident Freedom of Choice Act: The Independent Senior Housing Resident Freedom of Choice Act (S.535 (Young)) would clarify that individuals living in senior housing have the right to access and obtain the same services that they would if they were an individual residing in the community, from the provider of their choosing. These services include personal care, home care, case management, technologies, and other community services that support them to live independently in the community. Click here to access LeadingAge NY’s memo of support and here to send a pre-written letter directly to your lawmakers.
Integration of Individuals with TBI: A.1425 (Jenne)/S.517 (Young) would allow the integration of individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), sustained after the age of 21, into programs within the developmental disabilities service sector. It would ensure that individuals with a TBI living in urban, underserved, or rural areas, where caregiver shortages and a lack of TBI community resources often lead to placement into nursing homes, receive the support and services they need. LeadingAge NY’s memo of support is available here, and you can send a letter to your lawmakers here.
SSI Increase for ACFs: S.2137 (Serino) 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, 2018, and then again on April 1, 2018. The third and final $2.50 increase would occur on April 1, 2019. Click here to access LeadingAge NY's memo of support and here to send a letter to your lawmakers.
Capital Funds for Assisted Living Programs: Assisted Living Programs (ALPs) were excluded from the substantial capital and operational funding for Medicaid providers that was included in the 2016-17 State Budget. Like other Medicaid providers, ALPs are facing increasing workforce and operational costs, tighter budgets, and much-needed capital improvements. A.1612 (Magnarelli) and A.1650 (Magnarelli) would enable ALPs to access funds allocated in the budget. Click here for LeadingAge NY’s memo of support and here to send a letter to your legislators.

Contacts:

Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8854

Jeff Diamond, jdiamond@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8821