Legislative Bulletin: Legislature Returns to Albany
Legislature Returns to Albany to Finish Out Session
With budget season and a two-week recess officially in the books, the Legislature returned to Albany on Monday for the last leg of session. Though Governor Cuomo was reported as saying that most of the legislative work is complete, several health, housing, and long term care bills remain very much up in the air. Lawmakers introduced and debated various pieces of legislation this week, and LeadingAge NY is continuing to monitor the committee agendas for any priority bill movements.
Key legislation relating to staffing ratios, the role of the nurse in adult care facilities, and the NHTD/TBI managed care carve-out remained stagnant this week. As always, we will keep members posted on any important developments.
Action Alert: Troubling Bill Requiring RNs in Assisted Living Placed on Assembly Floor Calendar
Calling all advocates! A.2360 (Gottfried), legislation requiring a registered nurse on staff at Enhanced Assisted Living Residences (EALRs) and Special Needs Assisted Living Residences (SNALRs), has been placed on the Assembly Floor Calendar for Mon., May 1st. LeadingAge NY opposes this bill because the Department of Health (DOH) is already required to approve each facility’s plan for the types of residents it will serve and the kind of staffing it will provide to meet residents’ needs. Nurse staffing requirements for the EALR and SNALR are therefore unnecessary and would waste scarce resources, drive up the cost of care for consumers, and make the model itself not viable.
Please call your Assemblymember TODAY and urge him or her to oppose this bill when it comes up for a vote. Then, follow up your call by emailing or faxing your representative our memo of opposition.
Action Alert: Help Us Overcome Block of Important TBI Legislation
We just received word that Assembly Health Chair Richard Gottfried is unwilling to advance one of our priority bills, A.1425 (Jenne)/S.517 (Young), that 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. In many areas of the state, particularly rural areas, there is a severe shortage of caregivers to support individuals with TBI in the community. Many times, this leads to the unfortunate placement of people into nursing homes. Oftentimes, these individuals could be served by local providers of developmental disabilities services, unless their TBI was suffered after age 21. This important bill would allow these individuals to access developmental disabilities services, ensuring they can be served in a more community-based setting. Since individuals with TBI already receive Medicaid, this bill would provide no additional cost to the state and may in fact save Medicaid dollars by keeping individuals out of higher cost nursing home settings.
Please contact your lawmakers and ask them to (1) sign on to this important bill; and (2) urge Assemblyman Gottfried to move the bill out of the Health Committee.
Federal Advocacy Needed on HUD Funding and AHCA
HUD: This has been a busy week for federal advocacy! LeadingAge, in collaboration with other national housing and community development organizations, held a call-in day on April 26th to urge Congress to maximize 2017 funding for senior housing under continuing appropriations legislation that must pass by next Fri., May 5th. The Continuing Resolution was initially due to expire at midnight tonight, but Congress approved a one-week, stopgap spending bill this morning to give lawmakers more time to negotiate a deal.
Without a FY 2017 funding bill by next Friday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may continue to be funded at FY 2016 levels, which would result in major challenges for senior housing communities by the time this fiscal year ends on Sept. 30th. The clock is ticking! Please call your congressional representatives TODAY and ask them to enact a FY 2017 bill to fully fund HUD’s critical programs.
AHCA: We also urge you to ask your lawmakers to oppose the latest efforts to modify the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill’s new MacArthur amendment, a compromise between moderate House Republicans and members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, would allow states to apply for waivers to: (1) the “community rating” requirement, which prevents insurers from charging premiums based on enrollees’ health; and (2) essential health benefits, which require all insurers to cover certain services such as mental health, maternity, and prescription drugs. We have heard nothing to suggest that this amendment or other revisions to the AHCA under discussion would revise the proposed Medicaid provisions, which would have major impacts on New York’s Medicaid program.
Governor Cuomo Launches Seventh Round of REDC Competition
On Tuesday, the Governor launched the seventh round of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative. This year’s competition will award more than $800 million in state economic development resources, including $225 million in performance-based grants and tax credits from Empire State Development and approximately $575 million from two dozen state agency programs. Per the Governor’s announcement, the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) will open to applicants on Mon., May 1st, “enabling businesses, municipalities, not-for-profits, and members of the public to begin applying, through a single application, for assistance from dozens of state programs for projects that create jobs and help to revitalize communities.” The deadline is Fri., July 28th at 4 pm.
As stated in the press release, Regional Council priorities for 2017 include “identifying projects for the state’s burgeoning life sciences cluster; identifying workforce development strategies, including collaboration with industry and educational institutions; implementing strategies through the project pipeline; and measuring the performance and progress of the strategic plan.” Click here for more information.
Governor Announces Additional Administration Appointments
Following a similar announcement last week, the Governor on Tuesday made several additional appointments to his administration:
- Maria Comella, Chief of Staff
- Roger Parrino, Commissioner, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
- Robert Williams, Deputy Secretary for Gaming
- Robert H. Samson, Chief Information Officer, Office of Information Technology Services
- Kelli Owens, Director of Women’s Affairs
- Noah Rayman, Speechwriter for the Executive Chamber
Comella, a former aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and other top Republicans, will succeed Melissa DeRosa, who was recently named Secretary to the Governor.
Governor Drives in Style to Kosciuszko Bridge Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Lastly, on a lighter note, the Governor made a “classic” entrance to Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City. He arrived in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1932 Packard, which he had removed from the New York State Museum last month and restored. In his remarks at the ceremony, the Governor stated that he wanted to “bring the spirit of FDR” to the new bridge.
Contacts:
Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8854
Jeff Diamond, jdiamond@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8821