Legislative Bulletin: Lawmakers Return to the District but LeadingAge NY Advocacy Continues
February 14, 2020
Both Congressional and State lawmakers are returning to their districts for a February Recess from Feb. 17th – Feb. 21st. Meanwhile, LeadingAge NY and its members must hunker down for a strong advocacy push against looming cuts to Medicaid and long-term care.
MRT II Holds its First Public Meetings
The second installation of the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT II) held its first public meeting in Albany on Tuesday, Feb. 11th. The meeting consisted of introductory and closing remarks by the co-chairs, Michael Dowling and Dennis Rivera and presentations by the Budget Director, Robert Mujica, Medicaid Director, Donna Frescatore, and DOH director Greg Allen. There were few questions or statements from MRT members and no public comment.
The meeting was intended to provide the MRT members and the audience with a common base of knowledge regarding Medicaid spending trends and to present the MRT schedule going forward. The presentations focused on the data underlying the Medicaid budget gap and sought to demonstrate that current growth trends are unsustainable. LeadingAge New York staff attended the meeting and published an MRT Meeting Memo for membership. The meeting slides from Tuesday are also available here.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, the MRT held a public webinar on Thursday night and a public comment forum this morning in New York City. The Team is also officially accepting Medicaid savings and reform proposals, which must be submitted electronically at this link before next Friday, Feb 21st at 12 pm. LeadingAge NY Members are encouraged to submit any proposals you might have for Medicaid savings and efficiencies to the MRT II using the Medicaid Redesign Public Proposal Intake Form.
Budget Letter to Lawmakers – No More Cuts to LTC!
LeadingAge NY is following the MRT II and its progress closely, but in the meantime, we need to use our grassroots advocacy to urge lawmakers to protect long-term care providers from deep, damaging cuts! We have created two tools to help members engage with their lawmakers on the looming Medicaid cuts expected to come from the MRT recommendations. Please use these tools to tell your story and help us send a strong message to the legislature and the executive!
- This new LeadingAge NY Budget One-Pager lays out some basic talking points that tell the story of why long-term care providers cannot sustain additional cuts. We encourage members to call their legislators and/or set up district meetings to voice these concerns.
- Send a Letter to your Lawmakers Urging them to Oppose Cuts to High-Quality Long-Term Care Providers in this Year’s Budget
- This easy-to-use online letter takes seconds to send! Once you’ve sent it, share the link with your staff and Board Members and encourage them to speak out against the looming cuts to long-term care providers.
Strength in Numbers - Register Now for March 3rd Advocacy Day!
Our second LeadingAge New York Advocacy Day is quickly approaching, and we need your help to send a strong message to the state legislature. Tuesday, March 3rd will be a day of grassroots advocacy focusing on housing, ACF/AL, aging services program, and NORC issues. Advocacy days are vital in demonstrating the negative impact of proposed cuts and we need your help to educate lawmakers during the final stretch of State budget negotiations.
Register today for our March 3rd Advocacy Day and contact your legislators’ offices to begin setting up meetings. You can click here to find your legislators. If you have never scheduled a meeting with your lawmakers before, we created a simple scheduling guide to help you get on their calendar. LeadingAge New York staff are happy to help arrange your meetings, coordinate with other members in your area, and even strategize which additional lawmakers you may want to connect with in your region. For questions or assistance setting up legislative meetings, contact Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org.
In addition, LeadingAge NY will be hosting an Advocacy Day Prep Call on Friday, Feb. 28th at 11 AM to review materials and logistics as attendees prepare for a great day of grassroots advocacy. Please visit our 2020 Advocacy Day page for full details of the day, including directions, parking, agenda and prep call information.
Legislators Return to the District for February Recess
If you missed this month’s Advocacy Day but are concerned about the budgetary issues impacting your organization, you’re in luck! The legislature is scheduled to have its February recess next week and lawmakers will be back in the district. The Feb. 17th-21st break is the legislatures only week-long recess before the finalization of the SFY 2020-2021 budget and therefore poses a great opportunity to connect with your lawmakers on the local level. You can engage with your lawmakers by setting up a district meeting or by attending a fundraiser or town hall.
In preparing for district meetings or events, we encourage members to use the materials from our February Advocacy Day. These materials will be relevant for conversations with lawmakers through-out this budget season, which is scheduled to conclude on April 1st. Click here to find your lawmakers contact information.
LeadingAge NY Submits Housing Budget Testimony
The Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Housing was held last week on Wednesday, February 5th. A recap of that hearing was shared in last week’s Legislative Bulletin. Early this week, LeadingAge NY submitted written testimony to the joint committees for review. A copy of that testimony can be is available on our website under Testimony.
National Action Alert: The President’s Budget Request is a Mixed Bag for Housing
The President’s delivery of his HUD budget request to Congress on Feb. 10 marks the start of the FY21 appropriations season. Unfortunately, the President’s request included a damaging 15% overall cut to HUD for FY21. LeadingAge strongly opposes such cuts. However, HUD’s Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program has been left unscathed. For Section 202, the President is seeking $100 million for new Section 202 homes, full funding for Project Rental Assistance Contract and Service Coordinator renewals, an extension of the about-to-end Integrated Wellness in Supportive Housing (IWISH) demonstration and more.
The funding process for the next Federal Fiscal Year is underway and LeadingAge needs your help to advocate for new Section 202 homes funding, new Service Coordinators, and an extension of the IWISH demonstration in the fiscal year 2021 (FY21) budget. There are Two Things You Can Do Right Now:
- Contact your members of Congress and urge them to support funding for new Section 202 homes, new Service Coordinators, and an extension of the IWISH demonstration.
- Sign your organization on to this letter for the highest possible funding to the HUD appropriations subcommittees.
For additional resources, members can review LeadingAge’s overview of President Trump’s recent budget request for HUD and LeadingAge’s policy priorities for affordable housing.
Contact: Ami Schnauber; 518.867.8854; aschnauber@leadingageny.org
Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org