Legislative Bulletin: State Approaches Final Budget Deadline
March 22, 2024
State Approaches Final Budget Deadline of March 31st
At the beginning of this week, the General Budget Conference Committee (“the Mothership”) and budget subcommittees on health and other subject areas held public meetings, signaling the beginning of three-way budget negotiations between the Senate, the Assembly and the Governor. A re-cap of the health budget subcommittee meeting can be found below.
By law, the State is expected to reach a final budget agreement for the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-2025 no later than March 31st of this year. This is because the New York SFY runs from April 1st through March 31st of the following year. However, this year, March 31st falls on Easter Sunday. While there were rumors earlier this week that it was possible for the State to reach a final budget agreement in advance of the March 31st deadline and the Easter holiday, we are hearing now that three-way discussions are moving slowly.
At this juncture, it is possible for the State to come to a final budget agreement by next week; but it is equally possible for negotiations to run into the first week of April. Regardless of precisely when the State will reach agreement, NOW is a critical time to ensure we are keeping the funding needs of long-term care providers and the people we serve top of mind!
ALL LeadingAge NY Members – please join us in urging State lawmakers to PRIORITIZE the care of older adults in this year’s budget! Legislators need to hear from constituents NOW about what is most important to YOU! Take a few minutes to support our combined advocacy efforts by using the simple advocacy action items below!
New Social Media Toolkit Now Available!
In response to the one-house budget proposals released last week, LeadingAge New York has launched a new set of social media messages aimed to highlight the need for LeadingAge NY top budget priorities! These messages have been crafted to target the Governor and legislative leaders as they work toward a final budget agreement for SFY 2024-25.
The NEW social media messages, graphics, and instructions for how we recommend members use these tools are available here. The messages themselves are crafted so you can simply copy & paste into your Facebook and attach our recommended graphics/video. If used for Twitter/X, LinkedIn or Instagram, the only things that need to be updated will be the legislators’ social media ‘handles’ (@) – the names should light up in blue when legislators are effectively tagged in the post.
The pre-written social media messages are also crafted to resonate for an audience of family members, residents, consumers and the general public. They are versatile and can easily be re-purposed to enlist your social media following in budget advocacy.
With the use of social media advocacy, we have the power to influence state funding decisions and secure INVESTMENTS in LTC, rather than CUTS. Thank you for your advocacy as we near a final budget agreement!
Please reach out to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org with any questions about press, social media, and advocacy activities.
Send UPDATED Budget Advocacy Letters to Legislators and the Governor TODAY!
A final budget agreement is due April 1st, meaning that we have two weeks to keep the funding needs of long-term care and aging services providers top-of-mind. Our window of opportunity to urge for better funding of long-term care is closing. Please send a message to your legislators TODAY!
- Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for family members, staff, residents, etc.
- Authorize Nursing Home Medication Aides
- Adult Care Facilities/Assisted Living Budget Letter
- Home & Community-Based Services Budget Letter
- Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
Share Flyers with Your Network of Advocates!
To help drive traffic to these digital letters and expand our network of advocates, LeadingAge NY has created flyers that can be printed or shared electronically with your workforce, families, and community members. Flyers are linked below for member usage:
- Medication Aides in Nursing Homes Advocacy Flyer – NEW; please share with staff & board members
- Workforce Advocacy Flyer – please share with staff teams
- Family Advocacy Flyer – please share with families
- General Constituent Advocacy Flyer - please share with volunteers/community members
Health Budget Subcommittee Public Meeting Held March 19th
Late last Friday, the Legislature announced the General Budget Conference Committee (“the Mothership”) and budget subcommittee appointments. The “Mothership” met on Monday afternoon, and the Joint Budget Subcommittee on Health met for the first time on Tuesday evening at approx. 5:15 p.m. In attendance at the health meeting were Co-Chairs Amy Paulin and Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Members David Weprin, Ron Kim, Karines Reyes, John Zaccaro, Joshua Jensen, and John McGowan, and Senators Cordell Cleare, Nathalia Fernandez, Lea Webb, Patrick Gallivan, and Neil Breslin.
Included in the list of health budget priorities recounted by the Co-Chairs were the need to increase nursing home reimbursement rates, increase assisted living program reimbursement rates, and increase hospital reimbursement as well as support for financially distressed and safety net hospitals.
The public meeting lasted about 20 minutes and featured comments from several committee members including Senator Cleare, who stressed the importance of ensuring the health of the aging population, and echoed the need for increasing reimbursement rates. She added that she looks forward to continuing the fight for fair pay for home care workers as well as closing the wait list for senior services. Senator Breslin added that "this is probably the most important year for the health group in the last 20." Assembly Member Kim emphasized the importance of older adult care, and said "investing in older adults and their caregivers is good for our economy." Finally, Assembly Member Reyes echoed the importance of Medicaid increases, and highlighted the Assembly's proposed $30 million investment in certified home health agencies saying that it goes a long way for care for the aging population.
Representing the Legislature’s Minority Conferences, Asm. Jensen expressed support for assisting Medicaid providers that serve vulnerable populations, but expressed concerns over available funding mechanisms. Senator Gallivan stated his caucus was pleased that both One-House budgets rejected the Governor's un-allocated cuts to Medicaid and said that it is appropriate to increase Medicaid rates for hospitals and nursing homes. However, he also raised concerns over the $4 billion managed care organization tax in both budget proposals and called the precedent it sets "risky."
Other health care issues that were highlighted during the meeting were the Medicaid Global Cap, the long-term care ombudsman program, reproductive health grant funding, and expanding health coverage for all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status – among many others priorities. An archived recording of the public meeting is available here.
REGISTER for LeadingAge National Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to join us in Washington DC from April 15th-17th for LeadingAge National’s 2024 Leadership Summit and Lobby Day! Importantly, the national Lobby Day effort will be held on the final day of the summit, on April 17th, and is your chance to meet face to face with members of Congress and advocate for improved federal funding and policies to support aging services for older adults and our workforce.
You do not need to be a lobbyist or policy wonk to be an advocacy champion. Your on-the-ground expertise is our most valuable asset in advocacy. Together, we can amplify our voice to raise awareness about the most critical issues impacting aging services providers, our employees, and the older adults and families we serve. Click here to register for the Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org