Legislative Bulletin: Digital Budget Advocacy Letters Now Available!
February 17, 2023
Digital Budget Advocacy Letters Now Available!
State legislators are returning to the district next week for the observation of President’s week and a break from legislative work in Albany. While there will be no session days next week, it is certain that budget activity and discussions will continue in earnest. With only six weeks until a final budget agreement will be due, it is critical that we keep the funding needs of long-term care and aging services providers top-of-mind for legislators.
LeadingAge New York has crafted the below service-line specific digital advocacy letters to help us keep the pressure on legislators for the remainder of 2023-24 budget discussions. Each letter takes only a minute or two to send. Simply enter your information to automatically send an email to the Governor and your State Senator and Assembly Member!
This is a critical time for legislators to hear from you! Please use the links below to send messages to your legislators and the Governor TODAY!
- Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for providers, staff, residents, etc.
- Affordable Senior Housing Budget Letter
- ACF/ALP & Low-Income Seniors Budget Letter
- ALR Budget Letter
- Home & Community-Based Services Budget Letter
- Managed Long-Term Care Budget Letter
- Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
After you send your letters, we strongly encourage members to share these links with residents, families, staff, board members and volunteers. This is a simple and easy way to strengthen our collective message to the Legislature at this critical time.
Thank You for Participating in 2023 Advocacy Week!
Since February 1st and the announcement of the 2023-24 Executive Budget Proposal, LeadingAge New York and its members have held 82 meetings with state legislators and central staff - and our work is not done yet! We have more than 11 meetings already scheduled for the coming days and we still have several scheduling requests out to legislative offices. Key legislative offices we’ve recently met with include Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Health Chair Paulin, Senate Health Chair Rivera, Senate Finance Chair Krueger, Senate Aging Chair Cleare, Assembly Aging Chair Kim, and many more! If you have not already sent us a note sharing what legislators you are meeting with, please email Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org. Our goal is to hold over 100 meetings by the end of February!
THANK YOU to our LeadingAge NY membership who have helped to organize and participate in these meetings; and thank you for sharing your experiences and concerns with lawmakers. We have seen how impactful your stories are with these offices, and having you be a part of this early component of budget advocacy is so critical. Thank you for taking the time to participate in meetings amidst everything you are doing for the people in your care.
As we aim to accomplish more than ever before, for the benefit of the people in our care, it is critical that our entire membership join us in amplifying our unified message throughout the state budget process. As a reminder, the Joint Legislative Hearing on the Health Budget will be held on Feb. 28th. The Senate and Assembly are expected to put forth their one-house budgets by mid-March. Then, the Legislature and the Governor will commence “three-way budget negotiations” to ultimately come to an agreement on the Final 2023-24 State Budget by April 1st.
With our combined advocacy efforts, we have set a strong foundation for the remainder of budget advocacy. However, a great deal of budget work remains. A great deal of budget work will take place over the course of the next six weeks, and we will need our LeadingAge NY membership and network of advocates to please stay engaged with us throughout the remainder of state budget activities.
LeadingAge New York’s state budget legislative handouts are available here. Additionally, our Virtual Advocacy Week website will remain active, providing materials and resources to support member’s advocacy through-out the state budget process.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING ADVOCACY!
New Social Media Messages Call on Legislators to Fund Long-Term Care
On Monday, LeadingAge NY launched a new suite of pre-written social media messages and resources as part of “Phase 3” of our coordinated PR campaign. These social media messages are built to complement a new online advertising campaign aimed at the Governor, legislative leadership and the general public. All of our latest PR messages have been crafted in light of the Executive Budget Proposal (released Feb. 1) and our subsequent analysis of that budget proposal and its potential impacts on our members.
Members are strongly encouraged to use these PR resources to amplify our message and ensure that lawmakers and the general public understand why non-profit long-term care providers, and the residents and consumers that are in our care, depend on state funding. If ALL of our members use these resources and tools in a consistent manner – posting at least one or two times a week– we have the power to influence state funding decisions and raise awareness of mission-driven long-term care and aging services.
Additionally, the next meeting for the LeadingAge New York Public Affairs Council is scheduled for next week, Feb. 23rd at 3 PM. At that meeting, we will review some of the above referenced materials and discuss other advocacy and PR strategies we should consider leveraging during these critical few weeks of state budget negotiations. If you have not yet signed up to be a part of our Public Affairs Council, you can sign up here!
LeadingAge NY Membership Testifies at Westchester County Budget Hearing
On Thursday, Feb. 16th, several LeadingAge New York members testified at a Westchester County Budget Forum. The forum was held by the Westchester Senate Delegation, comprised of Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Senator Bailey, Senator Mayer, Senator Fernandez and Senator Harckham.
The hearing posed a powerful opportunity to testify in-district about the urgent need to provide a 20% increase in nursing home Medicaid rates. While there was no opportunity for questions during the forum, the timing of the hearing combined with our coordinated meetings with legislators statewide added to an undeniable presence in state budget public dialogue.
LeadingAge & LeadingAge New York Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY continues to closely follow all COVID-19 news and we are doing our best to keep members informed of updates, recommendations and guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).
LeadingAge NY and LeadingAge National Member resources are linked below.
LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY COVID-19 Weekly Update calls – Mondays at 11 a.m. 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.
*Please note: Next week’s COVID-19 Update call will be held on Tues., Feb. 21st at 11 a.m. in observation of President’s Day. All information for joining remains the same.
LeadingAge National Coronavirus Policy Updates – Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. Past call recordings are available here and you can register here for future calls.
*Please Note: LeadingAge National will not be holding a Coronavirus Policy Update on Mon., Feb. 20th in observation of President’s Day.
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org