Legislative Bulletin: 2020 Legislative Session Kickoff

Wednesday was an eventful day at the State Capitol, marking the first day of the 2020 Legislative Session and the governor’s State of the State Address. While the state legislature is clearly ready to get to work, much of our advocacy in the coming months is left to be determined by the governor’s Executive Budget Proposal.

Governor Cuomo Offers His State of the State Address

The 2020 Legislative Session got underway with the presentation of the governor’s State of the State Address, titled Making Progress Happen. The governor’s message was preceded by the release of 34 proposals outlining the governor’s agenda for 2020. While these advanced proposals did not specifically address long term care and aging services, there are a few that LeadingAge NY is following closely, including a proposal to lower prescription drug prices and a proposal to increase transparency in healthcare costs.

Much of the governor’s address was optimistic, laying out ambitious progressive goals for the year ahead. However, the moment also required Governor Cuomo to address the elephant in the room – a $6 billion budget gap. As has been thoroughly reported across the state in recent months, the governor said the deficit was “largely attributable to our Medicaid costs”. While he praised the State’s work to get all residents covered by health insurance, he said the growing costs are “unsustainable”. He noted that we have held local governments unharmed from increased Medicaid costs, at a cost of $4 billion to the State, and added that “we cannot separate administration from accountability.” The governor also hinted at another round of restructuring for the Medicaid program with the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT).

Other issue areas covered in the State of the State were:

Affordable Housing: Cuomo raised the issue of homelessness, saying, “we know what works and what doesn’t work” and said he will make “the largest commitment of funding in the history of the state to build affordable housing”.
Emergency Preparedness: Recognizing the increase in natural disasters – including “five, one hundred-year floods” in his lifetime, Cuomo said he would invest in the State’s emergency response infrastructure and resources.
$3 billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act to be approved by voters to help correct the environmental damage we have caused that have resulted in the increased natural disasters.
Middle Class tax cuts for individuals making up to $150,000 and up to $300,000.
Marijuana expansion:
- Work with adjoining states for a safe and fair system
- Legalize adult use of marijuana
- Create a cannabis and hemp research center

The State of the State has certainly set the tone for the legislative session ahead, but much is left to be determined by the governor’s Executive Budget Proposal, which we expect to be revealed as early as Tuesday, Jan. 14^th. The timeline is not set in stone, but as soon as it is available, LeadingAge NY will be closely reviewing the proposal and will provide a comprehensive analysis of the proposals impacting our member providers and plans.

Recap: The First Week of 2020 Legislative Session

The New York State Legislature officially began it’s 2020 session on Wednesday morning, formally welcoming the return of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. The first week of session got off to a strong start with lawmakers ready to get to work. On Thursday, the state Senate approved the latest package of election law bills meant to make it easier to vote in New York. One bill advanced by the Democratic-controlled chamber would create a system of automatic voter registration when a person interacts with the state Department of Health and Department of Motor Vehicles. Another bill requires early voting polling stations to be located in population centers. Meanwhile, the 2019 enacted bail reform laws which went into effect on Jan.1^st remained the focus of debate in the Assembly as Republicans pressed for amendments to the measure.

Things are expected to pick up even more next week with several committee meetings scheduled. As of now, none of LeadingAge NY’s priority bills are on next week’s committee agendas, however we will be watching closely over the weekend to see if any agendas are changed or new meetings announced.

LeadingAge NY tracks all committee agendas but the key committees for our issues tend to be Health, Aging, Housing and Labor. LeadingAge members are encouraged to review the members of Assembly and Senate committees to see if your lawmakers, or lawmakers from neighboring districts, are on these key committees.

Across-the-Board Cut to Medicaid Payments

Unfortunately, before whispers of the Executive Budget or state budget negotiations had even begun, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that Medicaid payments are being reduced across the board (ATB) by 1 percent for dates of service Jan. 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020 and each State Fiscal Year (SFY) thereafter. The 1 percent ATB reduction will be taken against Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) payments made to nursing homes, adult day health care programs, home care agencies, personal care providers, and Assisted Living Programs. A comprehensive article about the cut was published in this week’s Intelligence on Tuesday, Jan 7^th.

On Jan. 6^th, LeadingAge NY, along with a broad coalition of provider and practitioner groups, signed-on to a letter urging Governor Cuomo to repeal this damaging cut. The cut is just another indication of the hard work we have ahead of us as the State and lawmakers establish a final budget for SFY 2020-2021.

Strength in Numbers – Registration is Open for LeadingAge New York Advocacy Days!

We are less than one month away from our first of two Advocacy Days and it’s time to begin scheduling your legislative meetings! Given the fiscal position of the state and the focus on Medicaid spending in particular, your advocacy is vital in accomplishing our budgetary and legislative goals. While it is important to connect with the legislators in your district throughout the year, organized Advocacy Days provide an opportunity to meet with legislators at the capital where important budget decisions are made.

We need your help educating lawmakers about the impact of budget cuts and mandates on your organization. We hope that you can join us for a full day of grassroots advocacy on either (or both) of the following dates:

Tuesday, February 4th - Focused on Medicaid issues for Nursing Homes, MLTC, Home Care, Hospice, Adult Day Health Care – Register Now!
Tuesday March 3th – Focused on Assisted Living, Housing, Aging Services (Social Day, NORC/NNORC) – Register Now!

Once you’ve registered for an Advocacy Day, make sure to reach out to your legislators to schedule meetings in Albany! You can find your lawmaker and their contact information here. If you have never scheduled meetings with your lawmakers before, we created a simple scheduling guide to help you get on their calendars. Once your meetings are scheduled, please forward your meeting details to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org. Additionally, members should not hesitate to contact Sarah with any questions about the day, advocacy strategies, or lawmakers they should reach out to.

LeadingAge NY Finalizes 2020 Policy Priorities

Although the State Budget and legislation involving a fiscal component will be the focus of our advocacy for the first few months of session, LeadingAge NY has a comprehensive 2020 Policy Agenda which will be pursued throughout the year. Members are encouraged to review the agenda and create their own advocacy plan focused on the issues that are most important to them! Additionally, visit LeadingAge NY’s Advocacy Action Center to send messages to your lawmakers today!

A Look at the 2020 Congressional Calendar

Following its holiday break, Congress went back to work for votes in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Jan. 7^th. Because 2020 is an election year, there are numerous Congressional district work periods (aka “recesses”). Every month but June and September include one, two or three weeks of district work periods. Congress expects to be in session in DC for four full weeks in both June and September.

The district work periods represent prime opportunities for LeadingAge members and aging services stakeholders to meet with their members of Congress in their districts. Members should review the 2020 Congressional Calendar and visit LeadingAge’s Advocacy Action Center for ways to get involved! Additionally, please consider joining us in Washington D.C. for the 2020 Leadership Summit, the 3^rd day of which serves as the National Lobby Day for LeadingAge.

As of now, Congress plans to wrap up its work by October 2, 2020 (before the November 3 elections) and to have a lame-duck session the week of November 16 just prior to Thanksgiving. For appropriations and fiscal year 2021 spending bills, the good news is that the December 2019 agreement on spending caps was a two-year agreement. The bad news is that the spending agreement only allows non-defense discretionary spending to increase by $2.5 billion across all federal programs from FY20 to FY21. The renewal of existing HUD rental assistance programs alone will exceed that amount. We expect the President’s budget request to be delivered to Congress the first week of February.

The election year could mean a flurry of activity on appropriations between February and July as Congress Members try to show constituents that they can get things done. Or, the elections may slow work down. During the last presidential election year, 2016, Congress did not enact a federal appropriations package until May 2017 (eight months into fiscal year 2017).

Contact: Ami Schnauber; 518.867.8854; aschnauber@leadingageny.org

Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org