Legislative Bulletin: State Approaches April 1st Budget Deadline

March 27, 2020

The Final Budget for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2020-2021 is due this Wednesday, April 1^st and both the Governor and the Legislature appear to be committed to delivering an on-time budget. We have gained some insight on what may be included in a final budget, and now, it is our last chance to ensure that our budget concerns are heard!

Call to Action: Oppose Medicaid Cuts to Long-Term Care Providers

The State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2020-2021 Budget is due this Wednesday, April 1^st and we are days away from a vote on a final budget agreement. LeadingAge NY is hearing that the legislature will be in Albany on Sunday to vote on an emergency resolution and is then expected to vote on a final budget on Tuesday, March 31^st. We also are anticipating that more across-the-board (ATB) cuts to Medicaid providers will be included in the final budget.

This is our last chance to ensure that our budget concerns are heard! We must urge elected officials to reject any cuts to long-term care providers, especially given the current public health crisis providers are facing. Please take action today!!

Post on Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.): Please share the following message on all social media accounts held by your organization - and don’t forget to tag your legislators!

Facebook/Instagram:

[@legislator], long-term care providers are caring for our state's most vulnerable in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are short-staffed and are being asked to increase capacity while trying to keep their current residents safe. A cut to Medicaid is a cut to the providers on the front lines and will inevitably impact the health and safety of elderly and at-risk populations. I urge you to REJECT ANY CUTS TO LONG-TERM CARE PROVIDERS, including an across-the-board cut to Medicaid rates and any cuts in capital funding. #SupportOurSeniors

Twitter:

.[@legislator] Long-term care providers are caring for our state's most vulnerable in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I urge you to REJECT any Medicaid cuts that would impact aging services providers that are on the front lines! #SupportOurSeniors

*We strongly encourage members to also post these messages on personal accounts and encourage staff, families and board members to do the same.

Call Your Legislators!

We strongly encourage members to call your legislators today and urge them to oppose any cuts to long-term care providers, who are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

Click here to find your lawmakers’ phone numbers and contact information.

Based on what we are hearing might be included in the final budget, specific items of opposition include:

An ATB cut to Medicaid providers
A 5% reduction in the capital component of nursing home rates (effective 4/1/20)

Tell your lawmakers:

What you are seeing on the front lines as the state manages the spread of COVID-19 (try to keep it relatively brief)
What additional cuts would do to your organization

The Final Days of 2020 State Budget Negotiations

The final days of the 2020 State Budget cycle have been unprecedented. What had been scheduled to be a full week of session days and budget work was instead a week of coronavirus mitigation and minimal three-way (Executive, Senate, Assembly) budget discussions via conference call.

In the current situation, it is hard to know exactly what is going to happen with the SFY 2020-21 State Budget. However, we have heard that Senate and Assembly Members are expected to return to Albany on Sunday to pass a specific legislative resolution, which would allow for remote legislative work during a state of emergency. The resolution is a response to the COVID-19 outbreak and would permit the legislature to vote electronically on budget bills and other necessary legislation that may arise in the coming weeks. The resolution is necessary as more Members of the Assembly test positive for COVID-19 and the State continues to pursue an on-time budget, which is due April 1^st.

Meanwhile, in this morning’s daily press conference the Governor said that the state has “no revenues to speak of” and will have to dramatically cut state expenses to meet the loss of revenue, which is now projected to be $10-15 billion below initial estimates. While the federal government’s emergency relief package will provide the state with $3.5 billion in COVID-19 funding, the Governor has persisted that it is not enough, and said that Education Aid will have to be cut, calling it the state's number one expense.

The loss in revenue and the instability of the state’s fiscal projections has also prompted the Governor to suggest giving the budget more flexibility, allowing for spending adjustments to be made throughout the year, on a scheduled basis, to provide funding to entities according to actual revenues. "It's frankly the only way we can do this budget when you have so many unknowns," said Cuomo.

As for the substance of this year’s budget, the exclusion of the one-house budget process has largely left the public in the dark regarding what might be the focus of three-way negotiations and where the Legislature stands on big issues such as Medicaid. It is also still unclear how comprehensive this year’s budget will be. Whether the legislature will pass a “bare-bones budget” or a budget including some larger policy initiatives remains to be seen. Much will be learned over the weekend, as the legislature is expected to remotely vote on final budget bills this Tuesday, March 31^st.

U.S. Senate Passes Emergency Relief Package – “CARES” Act

Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate passed a $2.2 trillion emergency relief package in its second response to the economic and public health impact resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. The Senate voted unanimously in support of the final bill (H.R. 748), known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) which offers the largest fiscal emergency relief in U.S. history. The bill will now go to the House where it is expected to pass as soon as today. New York is slated to receive $3.5 billion in emergency funding from the package.

LeadingAge National has published an article summarizing recent Federal coronavirus actions and how they apply to Medicaid providers. The article is available here.

LeadingAge & LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources

LeadingAge NY is following all COVID-19 news very closely 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 being 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 NY is working with LeadingAge National as well to monitor the fast-changing situation. National is offering the following resources:

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.

Call to Action: Send Budget Letters to Lawmakers Today!

This is the last chance to contact lawmakers and push for our key budget issues! LeadingAge NY has reached out to the Legislature and the Department of Health (MRT II) on all of our key budget issues. Now, lawmakers need to hear from you and your colleagues.

We are in the final days of the FY 2020-21 budget cycle. Please use each of the links below to send your lawmakers letters and tweets now!

Once you have sent your letters, please share these links with your colleagues and board members and ask that they do the same. If enough letters are sent, we may see our proposals and amendments included in the final budget.

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

Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org