Legislative Bulletin: LeadingAge NY Advocates for Increased COVID-19 Funding for Providers

April 17, 2020

Executive Order No. 202.18

The Governor's most recent executive order includes a provision requiring nursing homes and adult care facilities to notify family members within 24 hours of a COVID-positive test result or COVID-related death. LeadingAge NY has clarified with the Department of Health (DOH) that facilities are required to notify only the affected resident’s family or next-of-kin, not the families of all residents of the facility. Please feel free to reach out to LeadingAge NY Policy staff with any questions or concerns regarding this executive order.

LeadingAge NY Urges HHS to Prioritize NY Providers for COVID-19 Funding

Last Friday, Health and Human Services began issuing COVID-19 stimulus payments to Medicare providers. This first wave of CARES Act funding distributed $30 billion to facilities and providers that received Medicare fee-for-service revenue in 2019, including nursing homes, CHHAs and Hospice.

On Wednesday, LeadingAge NY sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to urge that the distribution of the remaining $70 billion of Public Health and Social Services Emergency Funding authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) be more targeted, focusing on providers in areas particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, specifically New York’s struggling long-term care and senior services providers.

Additionally, on the issue of Patient Protective Equipment (PPE), LeadingAge NY signed-on to a letter to Megan Baldwin, Assistant Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, addressing the severe lack of PPE for home care workers.

We are following the distribution of future CARES Act dollars closely and will be sure to keep members informed of expected payments. In the meantime, we encourage members to contact Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and their Representative and thank them for their support in this important initiative!

Provider Relief Funding Attestation

Providers who are receiving COVID-19 Provider Relief Funds are required to agree to the terms and conditions related to the distribution by signing an on-line attestation within 30 days. The Department of Health and Human Services has established a portal for providers to do so here. The terms and condition document shared previously is available here. Members may want to have their counsel review the terms prior to signing the attestation if they have any questions or concerns. Funding recipients are required to complete the attestation within 30 days of receipt of payment. Members who had FFS Medicare revenue in 2019 but have not yet received the funding can check with HHS by e-mailing HOSPITALCOVID19@hhs.gov or calling (866) 569-3522.

State Lawmakers Scheduled to Return to Session on Monday

Under the 2020 legislative calendar, which was issued well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York, legislators were scheduled to return to session this Monday, April 20^th. The session was scheduled to conclude on June 2^nd.

As of this afternoon, neither Assembly nor Senate leadership have made an official statement on plans for the remainder of session. Legislative leaders appear to be evaluating their course of action on an ongoing basis. Meanwhile, individual legislators and advocates are calling for a return to session, via video conferencing or other remote formats.

If the Legislature does return to work next week it is unclear what the top legislative priorities will be, though it is likely that most work will be related in some way to Coronavirus. It is possible that the Legislature may move to codify actions that have been taken by executive order such as the expansion of absentee voting ahead of June primaries and rent payments missed during the pandemic.

Next COVID-19 Relief Package is on the Way – Contact Congress Now!
Congress is currently working on developing the next pandemic relief package, and LeadingAge has been advocating for specific allocations and actions that would support long term/post-acute care (LTPAC) and senior services providers.

Click on the links below to send a letter to your lawmakers, urging Congress to include LeadingAge priorities in the next coronavirus legislation!

CARES Act Small Business Loan Funds Depleted

The March 27th CARES Act provided a crucial source of support for small entities across the country in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a $350 billion forgivable loan program designed to cover payroll and other expenses for small businesses, certain not-for-profits and independent workers. There has been intense demand for these funds over the last several weeks, and on April 16 the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that the entire $350 billion allocation has been committed to small entities across the country.

According to an article published by LeadingAge National yesterday, many not-for-profit aging services providers were able to access the Paycheck Protection Program. However, due to delays in applying for the funding and/or general exclusions in eligibility for the program, many aging services providers did not receive the funding they hoped for.

Policymakers in Congress and the Administration generally support appropriating new funds for the PPP, however there is currently debate over how to do so and whether the program needs programmatic changes in addition to more money. LeadingAge is advocating both for more money to be appropriated to PPP, and for PPP to be even more inclusive of not-for-profit aging services providers.

LeadingAge NY encourages members that did not receive this round of PPP funding to continue to get their documentation and application for future small business loans in order. We anticipate more funding for the program to come in the next round of COVID-19 emergency legislation, and it will be beneficial to have the appropriate documents ready to go once those funds become available.

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.

Additionally, this week, LeadingAge NY launched a Social Isolation Resources page on our COVID-19 website. Social isolation and mental health are a concern for everyone in this unusual and stressful time – especially our seniors. We hope that sharing these resources with residents will provide a simple way to help them stay connected to the art, entertainment, and classes that make them feel fulfilled.

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