Legislative Bulletin: House Approves Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill

April 24, 2020

Legislature Will Return to Session in the Coming Weeks

Although a specific date for a return to session has yet to be set, advocates and lawmakers are expecting the Legislature to get back to work within the coming weeks. The legislative calendar, which was set well before the COVID-19 outbreak, has largely been abandoned. However, both the Senate and the Assembly have indicated that they will be back to work soon and will adopt some form of remote voting and other virtual practices to prevent the spread of the virus.

It is more than likely that the pandemic will dictate a great deal of the remainder of legislative work. With that, it is critical that lawmakers understand the unique and overwhelming challenges that long-term care providers are facing as they work to protect residents and seniors from COVID-19. We strongly encourage members to educate lawmakers directly about your organization’s situation and what you are seeing on the front lines.

Please take a moment to send your lawmakers the following messages:

• Support Nursing Homes on the Front Lines of COVID-19
• Support ACF/AL on the Front Lines of COVID-19
• Support Senior Housing Providers on the Front Lines of COVID-19
• Support HCBS Providers on the Front Lines of COVID-19

If you have a few minutes, we also encourage members to give your legislators a call, reiterating your extraordinary challenges and concerns. Click here to find your legislator’s contact information. LeadingAge NY members can reference our talking points and fact sheet on COVID-19 fatality data while speaking with lawmakers and/or the press.   

 

NEW: Coronavirus Crisis Communication Planning and Guidance

LeadingAge New York has developed a comprehensive crisis communication document to help guide your efforts. Key factors to remember:

• There is a crisis and we can’t ignore it. Families and the press need you to demonstrate fact-based competency, dedication to residents, and responsiveness.
• If our/your message doesn’t get out, the press will fill in with other sources, especially critics. Consider how you can tell your positive story that is authoritative, informed, consistent, and caring.
• This document gives you tips, pointers and examples of communication messages. These should not be simply cut and pasted, but serve as a base for developing your own message.

We understand that your time is limited and your organization is facing obstacles from every direction. LeadingAge NY is here to help you with your communication to families and the press. Please contact Ami Schnauber (aschnauber@leadingageny.org) with questions. 

Second Wave of COVID-19 Provider Relief Funding Begins

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has begun to distribute the second wave of provider relief funding.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act dedicated $100 billion for healthcare provider relief.  $50 billion is being distributed formulaically as general relief to most providers, with the remaining funding to be distributed in a more targeted way. 

Distribution of the initial $30 billion began on April 10.  An additional $20 billion is being distributed starting today, April 24.   The funds should appear as a direct deposit in provider accounts and should be identified in a similar way as the initial distribution.  The calculation of the $20 billion distribution augments the initial $30 billion in a way that ensures that the entire $50 billion is allocated proportionately to providers based on the net patient revenue (all payers) reported on 2018 Medicare cost reports.  HSS is indicating that these second wave payments will be made on a rolling basis as the cost report information on which the distribution is based is validated.

Providers that already have sufficient 2018 Medicare cost report data on file with HHS will receive the second wave of funding automatically but will be required to submit some revenue information through a reporting portal yet to be established.  Providers without adequate cost report data on file will need to submit more comprehensive revenue information which will be the basis of their distribution.  As with the first wave of funding, recipients will be required to sign an on-line attestation agreeing to terms and conditions for accepting the funding and will eventually be required to submit documentation verifying that these funds were used for healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to coronavirus.

We strongly recommend that members develop and maintain a robust system for tracking and documenting COVID-related costs and revenue losses.   

We also remind members that although two key Coronavirus relief programs administered by the Small Business Administration (Paycheck Protection Program or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program) are currently unable to accept new applications, additional funding has been appropriated and we expect them to be re-activated as early as next week.

 

House Approves Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill

On Thursday, lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted on and passed the next round of federal relief legislation designed to aid small businesses, hospitals and farms. The package is the latest one to be approved amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The final legislation includes $310 billion more for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which ran out of money last week; more than $60 billion for other SBA emergency loans; $75 billion more for the fund we call the Provider Relief Fund; and $25 billion for testing, with federal, state and local obligations to identify how they will implement testing. The relief bill is expected to be signed by the President later today.

These are positive developments for LeadingAge membership, however, LeadingAge has a much broader agenda that we want Congress to address in future coronavirus related legislation that is still being drafted. Please continue to watch for advocacy alerts from LeadingAge national and share our stories with Congress.

 

LeadingAge on MSNBC
Every day, LeadingAge is speaking out in the media to give decision makers and the public accurate information on the novel coronavirus' impact on senior services. This week, President and CEO of LeadingAge Katie Smith Sloan  spoke to MSNBC about coronavirus and long-term care. See our growing list of press statements and coverage here.

 

LeadingAge & LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources

LeadingAge NY is closely following all COVID-19 news and doing our best to keep members informed of updates, recommendations and guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH). We encourage members to keep an eye out for email updates as well as visit our Coronavirus Resources page for the latest news and guidance. We also have re-organized our Member Q&A website so members can more easily navigate and search by service line. 

LeadingAge NY is hosting COVID-19 Weekly Update calls, which are held on Mondays from 11 am – 12 pm. You can click here to join the call from your computer, android or apple device. Or you can join the call by dialing in: 877 853 5257 (Toll Free); Webinar ID: 852 964 255.

LeadingAge National is also providing helpful resources to keep members informed of the latest. National resources include:

• Coronavirus Resources Page
• COVID-19 Group in the MyLeadingAge Member Community - LeadingAge members can hear from one another and share best practices for dealing with the coronavirus
• Coronavirus Daily Member Update calls at 3:30 pm ET. Past call recordings are available here and you can register here for calls scheduled through 4/26/20.

 

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

               Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org