Legislative Bulletin: New Budget Advocacy Campaigns Up and Running

Advocacy Day Recap

LeadingAge NY, the Adult Day Health Care Council, and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State would like to thank all those who participated in our first 2018 Advocacy Day on Tuesday! Nearly 60 attendees met with over 50 legislators, including key committee chairs and leadership, and top staff. Members advocated on an array of issues related to nursing homes, home care, hospice, adult day health care (ADHC), and Managed Long Term Care (MLTC), including MLTC rate adequacy, safeguarding nursing homes from a proposed 1 percent capital rate cut, and ensuring that hospice programs and nursing home pharmacies do not bear the cost of a proposed surcharge on opioid prescriptions. LeadingAge NY and members had particular success advocating on the opioid surcharge issue, with Senate Finance Committee Chair Catharine Young raising the concern for hospice during the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Taxes the following day.

All materials utilized during Tuesday’s Advocacy Day are available here, and if you were not able to join us in Albany, we urge you to use them in meetings with lawmakers back in your district. LeadingAge NY now invites you to participate in our second Advocacy Day on Tues., March 6^th, focusing on issues related to housing, adult care facilities (ACFs), assisted living (AL), aging services programs, and Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs). Click here to register. Among the priorities to be discussed on March 6^th include increasing the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) reimbursement rate for ACFs that serve low-income seniors and providing a $10 million, five-year investment in a Senior Housing Resident Service Advisor Program.

New Budget Advocacy Campaigns Up and Running!

It is now time to begin engaging with your legislators through email and social media to ensure that our message on aging services issues is heard. LeadingAge NY has developed letters, tweets, and Facebook posts on several of our key budget initiatives:

Please take a few minutes to send these messages to your lawmakers, and ask your residents, colleagues, board members, and families to do the same. Help us ensure that the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities are properly represented in this year’s budget!

Human Services Budget Hearing Recap

On Tuesday morning, lawmakers convened the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Human Services. Representatives from the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), and the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) testified. Greg Olsen, Acting Director of NYSOFA, provided an overview of aging-related items included in this year’s Executive Budget. He stated that the Executive Budget maintains previous funding levels and proposes several new aging-related initiatives, including a Long Term Care Planning Council that would analyze, evaluate, and identify existing service gaps in the state’s long term care system. Using the evidence found in the evaluations, the Council would determine the most cost-effective interventions that should be made and issue a 10-year strategic plan. Olsen further explained that the Council would be managed with existing funding and be staffed by NYSOFA and Department of Health (DOH) employees.

Assembly Aging Committee Chair Donna Lupardo questioned Olsen about the $2 million in funding for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) and Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NNORCs) that has yet to be allocated. In response to her question, Olsen stated that NYSOFA did not have authority to allocate the $2 million for NORCs and NNORCs that had come from Mortgage Insurance Fund (MIF) reserves, and that he had been in discussions about how to resolve this problem. He stated that as recently as last week, he heard that the Division of the Budget (DOB) was working with Assembly staff to find a solution to this problem that could be included in this year’s budget. Assemblywoman Lupardo then followed up on the NORC and NNORC grant awards and said that she had been contacted by constituents about reductions in their grant amounts. Olsen responded by stating that when the Request for Applications (RFA) was withdrawn in October, all providers were told that funding would continue at its base level, and that at this time, all contracts had been awarded.

Assemblywoman Lupardo and Senator Liz Krueger both expressed interest in receiving more data about waiting lists for Community Services for the Elderly (CSE) and any unmet need for those services, and for demographic projections about the growth in need of the aging population. Several legislators and advocates also voiced concern over whether the Executive Budget’s allocation of $45 million for NY Connects over two years would be adequate to meet the demand and need for the program. While Olsen testified that the funding should be sufficient, legislators and advocates continued to raise the issue as a cause for concern.

Of note in the testimony from DOL Commissioner Roberta Reardon was the discussion of the proposed on-call staffing regulations raised by Senate Finance Committee Chair Catharine Young and Senate Social Services Committee Chair Jim Tedisco. Senator Young specifically mentioned her concern that these regulations would have a detrimental economic impact on nursing homes, nonprofits, and health care providers, and that there was a potential health and safety risk if such entities were unable to hire someone to cover a vacant shift. Commissioner Reardon responded that DOL had received over 800 comments during the public comment period, and that it hoped to issue regulations that would be fair and balanced for everyone after reviewing all comments. The Commissioner did not provide a timeline for the release of those regulations.

The entire Human Services Budget Hearing can be viewed here.

LeadingAge NY’s Ami Schnauber Discusses Long Term Care Budget Issues on Capital Tonight

On Wednesday, Ami Schnauber, LeadingAge NY’s Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy, appeared on Capital Tonight to discuss the pressing issues facing seniors and aging services providers this budget season. Among the issues she highlighted were the need to reverse the Governor’s proposed $407 million in Medicaid spending reductions and the need for the state to dedicate more capital funding to the long-term/post-acute care (LTPAC) sector. Click here to watch Ami’s segment.

DOH Creates Materials on Medicaid-Specific Budget Proposals

This week, DOH unveiled materials outlining the Medicaid-specific components of the Governor’s Executive Budget. The presentation by New York State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson and the Executive Budget Scorecard can both be accessed on the DOH website, with a recording of the presentation also available here.

ALP CON Bill Advances in Assembly

On Tuesday, A.9562 (Lupardo), legislation which would alter the state’s Assisted Living Program 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, advanced from the Assembly Health to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

LeadingAge NY has long advocated for an expansion of the ALP to create additional opportunities for Medicaid-eligible seniors and continues to support this crucial bill. Aspects of this proposal were included in the Governor’s Executive Budget; you can urge your lawmakers to support those provisions here.

Leaders Release Joint Legislative Budget Schedule

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Finance Committee Chair Catharine Young, and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene Weinstein on Tuesday announced an agreement on a joint legislative budget schedule that sets deadlines for the adoption of this year’s budget. Revenue consensus is expected on or before Thurs., March 1^st, and one-house budget bills are slated to be passed by Wed., March 14^th. It is imperative that lawmakers know your priorities as they develop their one-house bills!

On Wednesday, Senator Young and Assemblywoman Weinstein joined Susan Arbetter on “The Capitol Pressroom” to discuss the ongoing budget hearings. While the two acknowledged coming from different political and philosophical views, with the Senator representing a Republican district in Western New York and the Assemblywoman representing a Democratic district in Brooklyn, they agreed that coming together to help every New Yorker have the opportunity to succeed is ultimately what is most important. A recording of the interview can be accessed here.

LeadingAge NY, Other Groups Issue Letter on Proposed Public Health Program Consolidation and Cuts

This week, LeadingAge NY partnered with the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, and other public health groups on a letter urging lawmakers to reject the Governor’s proposal to consolidate several key health initiatives in a pooled appropriation and then reduce this pooled funding by 20 percent. The proposed consolidation and cuts include programs that allow individuals to remain in the community and out of nursing homes, including the Enriched Housing subsidy.

LeadingAge NY encourages Enriched Housing providers to call their legislators, share the letter, and urge their opposition. This will be a priority issue during our March 6^th Advocacy Day. We also invite you to attend and participate in a public health press conference outside the Senate Chamber on Wed., Feb. 14^th at 11 am. To RSVP, please click here.

Federal Government Reopens Following Temporary Shutdown

Congressional lawmakers voted early this morning to approve a two-year, $400 billion budget deal and reopen the federal government following a brief shutdown. Government funding had lapsed at midnight after Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) held up a vote on the measure and demanded consideration of an amendment that would maintain budget caps. The deal ultimately passed the House by a vote of 240 to 186 and the Senate 71 to 28.

Reminder to Register for LeadingAge PEAK Leadership Summit

Lastly, don’t forget to register for next month’s LeadingAge PEAK Leadership Summit in Washington, DC! The event will kick off on Sun., March 18^th and culminate in a full day of visits with the New York congressional delegation on Wed., March 21^st. Key issues to be addressed include the nurse aide training lock-out, hospital observation stays, and the repeal of Medicare Part B therapy caps.

Contacts:

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

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