Legislative Bulletin: Last Chance to Engage with Lawmakers on Key Budget Issues

Legislature Passes One-House Budget Resolutions

Budget season entered a critical stretch on Wednesday afternoon when the Assembly and Senate both passed their one-house budget resolutions. A summary of the Assembly’s proposals can be found here, with an overview of the aging services components also provided in a separate press release. The Senate’s priorities are summarized in its budget resolution. After sending out an initial overview of the Assembly’s proposals on Tuesday afternoon, LeadingAge NY emailed members a full analysis of both one-house budgets on Wednesday. To access that analysis, please click here.

We are very pleased to report that nearly all of our priority issues are reflected in at least one of the one-house proposals. This is a testament to the hard work of our members, our staff, and our lobbyists, Hinman Straub. Thank you for all that you have done to make sure your legislators are informed! We need you to continue this strong advocacy over the coming days to ensure that these successes are replicated in the final enacted budget. You will find advocacy materials below to assist you in your efforts.

Joint Budget Conference Committee Process Begins

On Wednesday, following the passage of the Assembly and Senate resolutions, the General Budget Conference Committee (the “Mothership”) convened to begin its work toward negotiating a final budget. At the Mothership meeting, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan reiterated the Senate’s priorities of affordability, opportunity, and security, specifically mentioning opioid treatment, agriculture programs, library funding, school safety, and workforce training. Likewise, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie highlighted the Assembly’s priorities, including investing in public education, housing, health care, and infrastructure. Other lawmakers in attendance were Senate Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) Leader Jeff Klein, Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, each of whom provided brief remarks.

The joint legislative budget subcommittees convened for the first time on Thursday morning. At the Health subcommittee meeting, Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried outlined a number of the chamber’s health priorities, including providing funding for a trend factor for Medicaid providers, increasing the total amount of health care capital funding by $100 million, rejecting the Governor’s proposal to consolidate and cut several public health programs, and building on the Governor’s proposal to expand the Assisted Living Program (ALP) by creating a system for adding future beds based on a need methodology. Assembly Aging Committee Chair Donna Lupardo highlighted the Assembly’s $4 million in appropriations for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) and Neighborhood NORCs as well as the restoration of funding for the Community Services for the Elderly (CSE) program. On the Senate side, Senate Aging Committee Chair Sue Serino joined Assemblywoman Lupardo in pushing for CSE funding, while Senator Marty Golden acknowledged the need to support nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and NORCs so that they do not “fall through the cracks.”

At the Environment/Agriculture/Housing subcommittee meeting on Thursday afternoon, Senate Housing Committee Chair Betty Little referenced the Senate’s $10 million appropriation for the Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program, which LeadingAge NY strongly supports, as a top priority.

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 expect to see the table targets announced in the next few days.

Last Chance to Engage with Lawmakers on Key Budget Issues

With the passage of the one-house budget resolutions and the start of the Joint Budget Conference Committee process, it is more important than ever for you to contact your lawmakers to reiterate your priorities and concerns. A budget agreement will need to be reached in the next week and a half so that bills can be passed by Fri., March 30^th, before the Passover and Easter holidays. Therefore, legislators need to hear from you now! Rather than focusing your efforts on proposals that both houses accepted or rejected, please concentrate on those areas where there is less agreement. Letters are less likely to get legislators' attention at this point, so we ask that you call and engage with them on social media to let them know how the budget proposals will impact your organization and the individuals you serve. If your lawmakers serve on the General Budget Conference Committee, the Health subcommittee, or the Environment/Agriculture/Housing subcommittee, it is especially important for you to connect with them and ask that they support our initiatives.

Below are the key issues, by service line, on which LeadingAge NY is requesting your advocacy. To assist you in your efforts, we have provided links to talking points as well as sample tweets and Facebook posts. You can find your legislators’ social media information by utilizing our Find My Legislators tool. Our one-house budget summary is available for your use as well.

Adult Care Facilities (ACFs)/Assisted Living

SSI Increase
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please include the Senate’s proposal to increase the SSI rate for ACFs by $20 per day per resident over five years in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Thank you for including an SSI increase for ACFs in your one-house budget proposal! Please continue this strong support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
ALP Medicaid Trend Factor
- Tell your Senator: Please include the Assembly’s proposal to provide a trend factor in the ALP Medicaid rate in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
ALP Expansion
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please ensure that the final budget agreement includes the Senate’s proposal to expand the ALP and establish a certificate of need process moving forward, to ensure rational expansion in areas where there is need. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
Capital Funding
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please ensure that the Senate’s health care capital transformation grant proposal, which includes a minimum of $25M for ALPs and hospice programs, is included in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors

Nursing Homes

Trend Factor
- Tell your Senator: Please include the Assembly’s proposal to provide a trend factor for Medicaid providers, including nursing homes, in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
Capital Funding
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please ensure that the Senate’s health care capital transformation grant proposal, which sets aside $60M for nursing homes, is included in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
Case Mix
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please follow the Senate’s lead and reject the Governor’s administrative budget proposal to reduce Medicaid patient acuity adjustments by $15M annually. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS)

TBI/NHTD Managed Care Carve-Out
- Tell your Assembly representative: Thank you for including language in your one-house budget proposal to delay the TBI/NHTD waiver transition into managed care. Please support the Senate’s proposal to make this a permanent carve-out! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Thank you for including language in your one-house budget proposal to permanently carve TBI/NHTD out of managed care! Please continue this strong support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
Public Health Priority Initiative for Home Care
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please support the Senate’s one-house budget proposal to implement a Public Health Priority Initiative, to facilitate and support the role of home care agencies in the health care continuum! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Thank you for providing for a Public Health Priority Initiative in your one-house budget proposal! Please continue this support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
N/NORC Funding
- Tell your Assembly representative: Thank you for including an additional $2M for NORCs and Neighborhood NORCs in your one-house budget proposal! Please continue this strong support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Please ensure that the Assembly’s request for $2M in additional NORC/Neighborhood NORC funding is included in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
Health Care Capital Transformation Grants
- Tell your Assembly representative: Thank you for including additional health care capital funding in your one-house budget proposal! Please continue this strong support, especially for long term care providers, during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Thank you for including additional health care capital funding in your one-house budget proposal, and for earmarking $25M specifically for home care! Please continue this strong support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
Trend Factors for Long Term Care
- Tell your Assembly representative: Thank you for including $230M for a trend factor for Medicaid providers in your one-house budget proposal! Please continue this strong support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Please include the Assembly’s proposal to provide a trend factor for Medicaid providers, including home care agencies, in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors

Housing

Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program
- Tell your Assembly representative: Please ensure that the Senate’s $10M request for an Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program is included in the final budget agreement! #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors
- Tell your Senator: Thank you for including $10M for an Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program in your one-house budget proposal! Please continue this strong support during final budget negotiations. #nybudget #SupportOurSeniors

Senior Housing Resident Assistant Bill Advances in Senate

On Wednesday, A.10017-A (Cymbrowitz)/S.7866 (Little), legislation that would create an Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program to complement the State’s historic $125 million commitment to senior housing and create a cost-effective model for seniors to age in place, advanced from the Senate Housing to the Senate Finance Committee. As previously mentioned, the resident assistant initiative has been one of LeadingAge NY’s top priorities over the last several weeks, and we were pleased to see the Senate include our funding request of $10 million in its one-house budget proposal. We now need to encourage lawmakers to include this funding in the final enacted budget and support the bill to put the program in statute. Click here to connect with your legislators via email, Facebook, and Twitter and here for LeadingAge NY’s memo of support.

CCRC Cybersecurity Regulations Exemption Bill Introduced in Senate

This week, at LeadingAge NY’s request, Senate Insurance Committee Chair James Seward introduced legislation to clarify that the cybersecurity regulations adopted by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in March 2017 do not apply to continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). These regulations require most banks, insurers, and other financial institutions within DFS’s regulatory jurisdiction to protect their customer information from cyberattacks. All covered entities are required to annually certify to DFS that they are complying with the regulations, with the first yearly compliance certification due Feb. 15, 2018. Although CCRCs are authorized to operate by the CCRC Council and the Department of Health (DOH), DFS clarified in writing for the first time last month that CCRCs are considered covered entities and are subject to the regulations.

LeadingAge NY has pushed back strongly against DFS’s interpretation, arguing that the regulatory requirements would pose an undue burden on CCRCs and could lead to large increases in resident fees. We were pleased to see that the Senate’s one-house budget proposal included language to exempt CCRCs from the regulations, and we encourage CCRC members to contact their Assembly representatives to ask that they include it in the final budget. Members are also urged to call or meet with their Assembly representatives and Senators to urge their support for the Seward bill.

TBI/NHTD Managed Care Carve-Out Bill Passes Senate

On Tuesday, A.2442 (Gottfried)/S.1870 (Hannon), a bill that 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, passed the Senate by a vote of 60-0. The bill now moves on to the Assembly, where it has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee. As we reported to members this week, a permanent waiver carve-out was included as part of the Senate’s one-house budget proposal, while the Assembly proposal contained language to further delay the transition until Jan. 1, 2022. Though LeadingAge NY appreciates the Assembly’s effort, we prefer the Senate’s permanent carve-out and ask that members call and encourage their legislators to support it. Our memo of support for the Gottfried/Hannon bill is also available here.

Donna Frescatore to Succeed Jason Helgerson as State Medicaid Director

On Thursday, it was announced that Donna Frescatore, Executive Director of NY State of Health, will succeed Jason Helgerson as State Medicaid Director when he steps down next month. Frescatore, who first arrived at DOH in 1998, has led the State’s online health insurance exchange for the last five years, with previous stints as Medicaid Director under former Governor David Paterson and as Deputy Director of Health Care Redesign under Governor Andrew Cuomo. She is expected to continue in her role at NY State of Health as well while officials conduct a search for a permanent Medicaid Director, who will take over in 2019.

Many LeadingAge NY staff have known and worked with Donna Frescatore for many years, and we are very pleased to see this appointment. We look forward to working with her on issues of importance to long term care providers.

PEAK Hill Visits Are Next Week!

The 2018 LeadingAge PEAK Leadership Summit will kick off in Washington, DC early next week, with a full day of Hill visits set for Wednesday. LeadingAge NY staff and members will be participating in a series of meetings with the New York congressional delegation, beginning with Senator Schumer’s office at 10:30 am and ending with Congressman Eliot Engel’s office at 4:30 pm. As we previously reported, LeadingAge National hosted a “Know Before You Go” webinar last week to prepare advocates for these meetings, covering important details such as the background on our key agenda items, the importance of using your story in your advocacy efforts, and other logistics for the day. Participants are encouraged to review the webinar recording again and are reminded that additional training and information will be provided during the Lobby Day breakfast briefing on Wednesday morning.

LeadingAge National has also circulated three issue briefs, all linked below, that provide background on our key issues and describe our legislative asks. These documents, a New York-specific issue brief, and our tentative Lobby Day meeting schedule will be emailed directly to advocates prior to Wednesday.

If you are unable to join us in Washington next week, there’s no need to worry! You can still reach out to your lawmakers and let them know about the issues most important to you and your organization.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Dies at 88

Finally, news broke early this morning that Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25) had passed away following a fall in her Washington, DC home last week. She was 88 and had served in the House of Representatives since 1987.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi remembered the Congresswoman as a “trailblazer” who “embodied the very best of the American spirit and ideals.” House Speaker Paul Ryan called her a “giant in the people’s House” and ordered that the flags above the U.S. Capitol be lowered to half-staff.

Contacts:

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

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