Legislative Bulletin: Key Issues for End of Session

Amplify Your Advocacy Message on Social Media

Happy June! As summer approaches and our end-of-session advocacy efforts get underway, LeadingAge NY would like to remind you that social media can be a powerful tool for amplifying your message and building support for important initiatives. It is your voice.

With the recent release of President Trump’s FY 2018 budget proposal, LeadingAge National is encouraging advocates to use Facebook and Twitter to show support for preserving the Medicaid program. As we reported last week, the plan “resurrects the $839 billion, ten-year cut in Medicaid spending” that was included in the amended American Health Care Act (AHCA) and “adds $647 billion in cuts to the program over the next decade.” This would be catastrophic for our nation’s seniors. Keeping this in mind, we encourage you to give social media a try and ask your congressional representatives to reject these harmful cuts. LeadingAge NY has written the following message for you to copy, paste, and send to your legislators:

Please reject the extreme #Medicaid cuts proposed in the FY 2018 budget! The well-being of seniors is at stake.

Key Issues for End of Session

The final stretch of the 2017 Legislative Session kicks off next week, and there are several priority issues that need your attention. With a number of LeadingAge NY’s key bills moving in the Legislature, it is even more imperative that you engage with your legislators and voice your support. Educate your lawmakers on how these bills will impact your organization and why they should sign on as co-sponsors. Our pre-written letters, tweets, and Facebook posts will assist you in this effort. Taking action is quick and easy – all you need to do is press send!

Please note that LeadingAge NY’s memos of support are linked in the titles below.

Integration of Individuals with TBI: A.1425 (Jenne)/S.517 (Young), legislation allowing the integration of individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained after the age of 21 into programs within the developmental disabilities service sector, has been placed on the Senate Finance Committee agenda for Tuesday. This bill 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. Click here to reach out to your lawmakers, urging them to sign on to the bill. There are currently two Senate co-sponsors: Larkin and Ritchie. There are no Assembly co-sponsors.
Role of the Nurse in Adult Care Facilities: We are hearing that A.2736-A (Gottfried)/S.4398-A (Hannon), a bill which would allow all adult care facilities (ACFs) and assisted living providers that employ nurses the option to provide nursing services directly, may be coming before the Assembly Health Committee soon! As this legislation prepares to move, your lawmakers need to know that you support it. Click here to take action. There are seven Assembly co-sponsors: Dinowitz, D’Urso, Galef, Lifton, Lupardo, McDonald, and Sepulveda. There are no Senate co-sponsors.
SSI Increase for ACFs: A.6715-A (Brindisi)/S.2137-A (Serino) would increase the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) rate for ACFs by $20 per resident per day over five years. You can send a pre-written letter, tweet, or Facebook post (all newly updated!) to your legislators here. There are 20 Senate co-sponsors: Amedore, Avella, Croci, DeFrancisco, Funke, Gallivan, Golden, Griffo, Hannon, Helming, LaValle, Little, Marcellino, Murphy, Ortt, Ranzenhofer, Ritchie, Robach, Savino, and Valesky. There are no Assembly co-sponsors.
ALP CON Process: A.7727-A (Lupardo)/S.5840 (Hannon) would convert the Assisted Living Program (ALP) from a competitive solicitation process to a certificate of need (CON) process that awards beds based on demonstrated community need and allow existing ALP providers to add up to nine beds through an expedited process. Click here to engage with your representatives. There is one Assembly co-sponsor: Gottfried. There are no Senate co-sponsors.
Capital Funding for Assisted Living Programs: A.1612-A (Magnarelli)/S.6319 (Hannon) would enable ALPs to access Vital Access Provider (VAP) and Health Care Facility Transformation Program funds allocated in the final 2017-18 State Budget. To connect with your lawmakers, please click here. There are no Senate or Assembly co-sponsors.
CCRC Revitalization Act: A.6450 (Schimminger)/S.5172 (Hannon) would reform Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) laws and regulatory oversight, eliminating many of the current barriers to developing, expanding, and efficiently operating CCRCs in New York State. LeadingAge NY’s CCRC economic impact report, featured last month in Politico New York, can be accessed here. Click here to encourage your legislators to sign on to this bill. There are three Assembly co-sponsors: Gottfried, Lupardo, and Morelle. There are no Senate co-sponsors.
Affordable Senior Housing and Services Program: A.6804 (Cymbrowitz)/S.5141 (Little) would establish an Affordable Senior Housing and Services Program with its own rules and scoring criteria and would also provide for optional basic healthy aging services for senior housing residents. You can contact your representatives and urge their co-sponsorship of this bill by clicking here. There are no Assembly or Senate co-sponsors.
TBI/NHTD Carve-out of Medicaid Managed Care: A.2442 (Gottfried)/S.1870 (Hannon) would make the two-year delay of the transition of the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Nursing Home Transition and Diversion (NHTD) waivers into Medicaid managed care a permanent carve-out. To engage with your representatives, please click here. There are six Assembly co-sponsors: D'Urso, Lopez, Lupardo, Lupinacci, Raia, and Ramos. There are five Senate co-sponsors: Boyle, Brooks, Larkin, Marchione, and Phillips.

An important side note: as you help us build support for these bills, don’t forget about the ones that we need to stop! LeadingAge NY remains strongly opposed to A.1532 (Gunther)/S.3330 (Hannon), which would create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct care staff in hospitals and nursing homes at a cost of approximately $1.06 billion to nursing homes statewide. Our cost template, developed to assist you in determining the financial impact of this legislation on your facility, is available here. Click here to connect with your representatives, urging them to oppose the bill as well. If they have already signed on, be sure to educate and encourage them to remove their names.

There are 104 Assembly co-sponsors: Abbate, Abinanti, Arroyo, Aubry, Barnwell, Barron, Benedetto, Bichotte, Blake, Brabenec, Brindisi, Bronson, Buchwald, Butler, Byrne, Cahill, Carroll, Colton, Cook, Crespo, Cusick, Cymbrowitz, D'Urso, Davila, De La Rosa, DenDekker, Dilan, Dinowitz, Englebright, Errigo, Fahy, Farrell, Galef, Gjonaj, Glick, Gottfried, Graf, Harris, Hevesi, Hooper, Hunter, Hyndman, Jaffee, Jean-Pierre, Jenne, Johns, Jones, Joyner, Kavanagh, Kearns, Kim, Lavine, Lentol, Lifton, Lupardo, Lupinacci, Magee, Magnarelli, Mayer, McDonough, McKevitt, M.G. Miller, M.L. Miller, Montesano, Mosley, Niou, Nolan, O'Donnell, Ortiz, Otis, Paulin, Peoples-Stokes, Perry, Pheffer Amato, Pichardo, Pretlow, Ra, Ramos, Richardson, Rivera, Rosenthal, Rozic, Ryan, Santabarbara, Seawright, Sepulveda, Simon, Simotas, Skartados, Skoufis, Solages, Steck, Thiele, Titone, Titus, Vanel, Walker, Wallace, Walsh, Weprin, Williams, Woerner, Wright, and Zebrowski.

There are 23 Senate co-sponsors: Addabbo, Alcantara, Avella, Bailey, Bonacic, Breslin, Brooks, Carlucci, Comrie, Hamilton, Hoylman, Kaminsky, Kennedy, Krueger, Latimer, Murphy, Parker, Peralta, Persaud, Sanders, Serino, Serrano, and Stavisky.

Action Alert: Urge Congress to Reject Cuts to HUD Funding

Under the President’s FY 2018 budget proposal, funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would be cut by 15% compared to its FY 2017 funding level. Adequate funding for HUD’s programs, which help nearly 2 million seniors afford their housing, is one of LeadingAge’s top priorities. We need you to call your congressional representatives TODAY and urge them to reject these cuts. HUD’s FY 2018 funding needs to be sufficient to preserve all existing HUD-subsidized housing and expand resources available for new housing. There is much at stake!

LeadingAge National has made connecting with your member of Congress quick and easy. Please follow the steps outlined below:

Dial into this toll-free number: 877-413-2313. You will be prompted to enter your zip code to get connected to your lawmaker and leave a brief message. Feel free to use the key messages provided.
The automated system will first connect you to your representative’s office. Leave a message with the staff person who answers the phone.
After leaving your message, allow the staff person to hang up, and the automated system will then connect you to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand.

As a reminder, LeadingAge National’s Save HUD 202 Rally, co-hosted by Selfhelp Community Services, will be held on Tues., June 27^th from 1-2 pm on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. We hope you will join us as we advocate to prevent cuts to the 202 program, maintain 100% funding for those currently served by affordable housing, and expand funding to create new affordable housing for older adults. For more information about the rally and the Save HUD 202 campaign, please click here.

Assemblyman Moya Announces Candidacy for New York City Council

Lastly, Assemblyman Francisco Moya announced on Thursday that he will run for the New York City Council in the 21^st District, following incumbent Julissa Ferreras-Copeland’s decision not to seek re-election. In his announcement, the Assemblyman vowed, if elected, to fight for “the progressive values that define our city,” including “standing up for rights of immigrants, working families, and small businesses in the face of threats” from the Trump administration.

Contacts:

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

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