Legislative Bulletin: Governor Announces Executive Budget Proposal
The governor delivered his Executive Budget Address on Tuesday, outlining his FY 2021 budget proposal and announcing a second installation of the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT). LeadingAge NY is analyzing the details of the budget and gearing up for our 2020 Advocacy Days, the first of which is less than 2 weeks away.
Governor Cuomo Releases SFY 2021 Executive Budget
Governor Cuomo presented his Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget plan on Tuesday, titled Making Progress Happen. The proposed $178 billion budget, which covers the period April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021, closes an estimated $6.1 billion deficit while holding the State spending increase to under 2 percent and increasing State Medicaid spending by 3 percent to maintain the global cap. Importantly, the Governor’s proposal also reconvenes the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) to find $2.5 billion in Medicaid savings.
The budget bills and legislative memoranda are posted on the Division of the Budget’s (DOB) FY 2021 Executive Budget webpage. LeadingAge New York issued an initial summary on Tuesday afternoon, informing members of budget provisions affecting long term care, senior services, and housing providers. We are continuing our budget analysis and seeking further clarity on various provisions and will be providing members with a detailed summary on Tuesday, Jan. 28th. In the meantime, members can also review Hinman Straub’s 2021 Budget Overview for further insight on the Health component of this year’s budget.
Now that we are officially in the thick of the 2020 budget season, we need all hands on deck in our advocacy efforts. In the coming weeks, LeadingAge NY and our members will be sending letters to legislators highlighting concerns and initiatives that we hope to see reflected in the final budget. There will be meetings with Assembly and Senate leadership, moving budget bills, advocacy days and resources for LeadingAge membership along the way.
LeadingAge New York in the Press
Building off of last week’s virtual press conference, LeadingAge NY was featured in several major news outlets this week. On Monday morning, the Wall Street Journal published a story on the anticipated budget cuts that the health care industry has been bracing itself for. The article quotes Ami Schnauber, LeadingAge NY’s V.P. of Public Policy and Advocacy as she explained “the strategy on long-term care has been cut, cut, cut, and not strategic investments that will bend the overall cost curve”.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg Law also published a story on the state’s Medicaid program and the overhaul that was expected to come later that day in the Executive Budget Proposal. The Bloomberg article mentioned the 1 percent across-the-board (ATB) cut that was announced and made effective early this year. LeadingAge NY had the opportunity to explain to the press the effect that these types of cuts have on providers. “It’s difficult to be told what the reimbursement rates are going to be after the care has already been provided”, said Schnauber. “I absolutely think that you’re going to continue to see nursing homes close and most of it is related to the fact that they just can’t get the reimbursement that they need”.
In the third event of an active press week, LeadingAge NY was asked to comment on the FY 2021 Executive Budget Proposal for Crain’s Health Pulse. Following the announcement that the MRT would reconvene to generate $2.5 billion in Medicaid savings and close the over $6 billion budget gap, Crain’s published an article with insight from LeadingAge NY President and CEO, Jim Clyne. “We’re just concerned that the cut to Medicaid is going to come out of provider rate cuts,” said Clyne. “If he’s not going to do anything to beneficiaries or local governments [as was indicated in the governor’s address], what else is left?”
It’s Time to Schedule your Advocacy Day Meetings
We are less than two weeks away from our first of two Advocacy Days and it’s time to schedule your meetings with lawmakers! Advocacy days serve as great opportunities for LeadingAge providers to connect with legislators in Albany, where important budget decisions are made.
LeadingAge NY is hard at work analyzing what the exact impact of the 2021 budget proposal would be on our non-profit providers, but 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:
We hope that you will join us for a full day of grassroots advocacy on:
- 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!
LeadingAge NY is here to make advocacy as easy as possible for you! If you are new to Advocacy Days and need assistance in setting up meetings with lawmakers, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org. Additional resources for members to use in setting up meetings include the find your legislator tool and this simple scheduling guide to help you get on legislators calendars. Once your meetings are scheduled, please forward your meeting details to Sarah (sdaly@leadingageny.org).
Advocacy Day Prep Call Set for Jan. 31st
In preparation for Advocacy Day, LeadingAge NY and the Adult Day Health Care Council will be hosting a conference call for all attendees on Friday, Jan. 31st from 11 am to 12:30 pm We plan to go over our materials (which will be distributed prior to the call), review important logistics, and answer any questions that participants may have. To join, please dial 1-888-475-4499 and enter the Meeting ID: 187-280-167. You can also join the call via this link.
Health & Medicaid Budget Hearing Set for Jan. 29th
Following the Governor’s budget presentation on Tuesday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene Weinstein announced the schedule for the Joint Legislative Budget Hearings. These hearings provide an opportunity for the Legislature to hear from state agency heads and the public about the impact of the Governor’s budget proposal. LeadingAge New York plans to testify at the Health & Medicaid Budget Hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 29th and provide testimony for the Housing Budget Hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 5th.
Capitol Hill Insights and the Approaching Congressional Recess
LeadingAge National hosted its January Capitol Hill Insights call on Thursday, providing new updates on the CNA lockout legislation and other policy priorities. LeadingAge was excited to have Conor Sheehey, lead health staff person for U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), join the call and speak to the Senator’s long-term care agenda and their strategy to pass the CNA bill in the Senate.
In the first 20 minutes of the call, Conor demonstrated the Senator’s awareness and understanding of the challenges nursing home providers are facing. He explained that his office is taking a three-pronged approach to long term care; insuring access to quality care for seniors, regulatory relief for providers and alleviating financing challenges. Conor did concede, however, that the financing component is more of a long-term goal, while regulatory relief and ensuring access to quality care will be more attainable in the short-term.
The call was concluded with a reminder from LeadingAge staff that Congress is scheduled to have a February recess and members will be back in their districts from Feb. 16th through Feb. 23rd. Congressional recesses are an opportunity for providers to connect with their representatives back at home. We encourage you to invite congress members to visit your organization or see if there are congressional events happening in your district! The full 2020 Congressional Calendar, reflecting future recesses can be found here.
Contact: Ami Schnauber; 518.867.8854; aschnauber@leadingageny.org
Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org