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Legislative Bulletin: Final State Budget in Sight as Bill Movement Ramps Up

May 1, 2026

Final State Spending Plan Now in Sight – Your Advocacy is Needed!

On Wednesday, Governor Hochul and the NYS Legislature introduced and passed the eighth budget extension of the year, moving the state budget deadline to Monday, May 4th.

Fortunately, this latest budget extension comes with a potential light at the end of the tunnel. This week, state legislative leaders signaled that good progress is being made to reach agreement on the policy issues that have delayed the budget up until this point. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters Tuesday that there is a framework in place for agreement on changes to state car insurance laws, as well as changes to state climate laws and immigrant protections.

With agreement on major policy differences on the horizon, we are hearing that more work is now being done on the dollars and cents of the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2027 spending plan. Another budget extension on Monday is likely, but if policymakers maintain their momentum, it is possible we may see final budget bills in print sometime in the next week or two.  

We know that this has been another drawn out state budget process, and we thank our membership for advocating fiercely with us throughout the last several months! Now, this is a critical moment to ensure we don’t let up the pressure! Please call your state legislators today and early next week to ensure our budget priorities make it across the finish line and are included in the final state budget for SFY 2027.

Below, members will find a phone call action alert along with service-line specific talking points. Please take the time to advocate one last time with us over the coming days!

 

ACTION NEEDED: Please Call State Legislators Today & Monday!

LeadingAge New York members are strongly encouraged to call state legislators’ Albany offices today & Monday to remind them of the budget requests that are most important to you!

  • Members can find state legislators’ contact information here.
  • Service-line specific talking points for phone calls are available below.
    • Try to keep your top budget requests for phone calls to 3-4 items.
  • If legislators ask for additional details on these budget requests, feel free to download and share any of these state budget issue briefs.

We ask members to please call your State Senator and Assembly Member and articulate the talking points below – this will only take a few minutes and will make all the difference! Members are encouraged to also call any of your other state legislative contacts.

Nursing Homes:

  • First, I want to thank you for your support so far in this year’s state budget work.
  • We are hearing that the state is now moving toward a final state budget.
  • At this critical time, please do not forget the funding and budget actions necessary to support nonprofit nursing homes, our residents and our workforce.
  • In the final state budget, please continue last year's investment of $385 million in the nursing home Medicaid rate, and add $750 million in new Medicaid funding for nursing homes.
  • Any reduction to last year’s funding would be a cut for our nursing home, and we need $750 million in new investment to narrow the $1.6 billion gap between Medicaid reimbursement and costs for New York’s nursing homes.
  • We also ask that the final budget includes the full capital cut restoration of 15%, as was proposed in both the Senate and Assembly One-House budget proposals. 
  • [Remind offices of your daily/annual Medicaid losses]
  • Our residents and workforce deserve permanent funding and reimbursement that covers the actual cost of care. We need this funding in order to continue serving the older adults and medically vulnerable individuals in our community.
  • Lastly, please accept and include the Governor’s proposal to authorize medication aides in nursing homes in the final budget.
  • Thank you again for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Adult Care Facilities and Assisted Living:

  • First, I want to thank you for your support so far in this year’s state budget work.
  • We are hearing that the state is now moving toward a final state budget.
  • At this critical time, please do not forget the funding and budget actions necessary to support the assisted living and adult care facilities – and older adults – who rely on government funding in order to operate and offer high-quality care.
  • Please increase the ALP Medicaid rate by at least 10% and update the base year upon which the rate is calculated (as proposed in bill A.1406(Paulin)/S.3329 (Cooney).
  • Double the funding for the SNALR Voucher program to $15M.
  • Restore full funding for EQUAL at $6.5M for ACFs that serve low-income residents.
  • Restore funding for the Enriched Housing Subsidy program at $380,000 for ACFs that serve low income residents.
  • [Remind offices of your daily/annual financial losses, and/or the negative impacts you see on older adults and families every day due to lack of aging options]
  • Thank you again for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Affordable Senior Housing Resident Assistants:

  • First, I want to thank you for your support so far in this year’s state budget work.
  • We are hearing that the state is now moving toward a final state budget.
  • At this critical time, please do not forget the funding and budget actions necessary in order to establish the Affordable Senior Housing Resident Assistance Program!
  • Please accept and include the Senate’s proposal to invest just $2 million in this year’s budget to support Resident Assistant positions in affordable rental housing for low-income older adults.
  • This funding will help older adults living in affordable housing navigate health and social supports and will facilitate on-site social and wellness activities.
  • Based on peer-reviewed research, this modest $2 million investment would generate $6.5 million in Medicaid savings to the state – for a NET savings of $4.5 million annually.
  • In addition, please accept the Senate’s proposal to commit $40M in capital to developing and preserving affordable housing properties designed to meet the needs of older adults.
  • We need more housing options for aging New Yorkers, and to ensure that these homes have systems in place that can help older adults continue to age healthily and independently, improving their quality of life and reducing strains on the health care sector.
  • Thank you again for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Home & Community-Based Services:

  • First, I want to thank you for your support so far in this year’s state budget work.
  • We are hearing that the state is now moving toward a final state budget.
  • At this critical time, please do not forget the funding and budget actions necessary to support the home and community-based service options that are critical for the healthy and independent aging of New Yorkers.
  • In the Final State Budget, please ensure adequate funding for CHHAs and Hospice agencies as proposed by the Senate.
  • Please also invest in Adult Day Health Care programs and fully restore the nursing home capital rate cut, which also impacts ADHC.
  • Please restore the fee-for-service personal care administrative reimbursement rate cut at $7.5M
  • Ensure that the Hospital at Home program requires home care collaborations and does not divert funds from long-term/post-acute care services.
  • [Remind offices of any access to care challenges that you see impacting consumers in your area of the state]
  • Thank you again for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Managed Long Term Care and PACE:

  • First, I want to thank you for your support so far in this year’s state budget work.
  • We are hearing that the state is now moving toward a final state budget.
  • At this critical time, please do not forget the funding and budget actions necessary to support aging New Yorkers who rely on managed long-term care or could benefit from the expansion of PACE programs.
  • In the final budget, please address these three simple requests:
    • Restore the Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) Quality Pool for Partial Cap and MAP Plans.
    • Raise PACE Rates to Reflect 100% of the amount that would otherwise be paid by Medicaid for a comparable population served outside of the PACE program (“AWOP”). Right now, New York State pays PACE programs at 98% of the AWOP.
    • Preserve Partial Cap MLTC and the access to quality care it has created. If it comes up in discussions, please reject A.2018-A (Paulin)/S.2332-A (Rivera).
  • Thank you again for your time, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for making these phone calls! Please let us know if you receive any specific feedback from offices. We are happy to assist with any follow-up needed!

 

ACTION ALERT: LeadingAge NY Priority Bills on Senate Health Agenda

As anticipated, the pace of bill movement and legislative activity is accelerating quickly now with only 5 weeks remaining of the scheduled 2026 State Legislative Session.

The Senate posted committee agendas last night, and there are many LeadingAge NY priority bills on the Senate Health Agenda for a meeting to be held on Tues., May 5th at 12 p.m. Unfortunately, many of the bills on the agenda are bills that LeadingAge NY strongly opposes. However, there are also some on the agenda which LeadingAge NY supports.

Please join us to advocate on the following bills on Senate Health Agenda for May 5th!

Oppose:

Support:

With many LTC-related issues remaining front-of-mind for legislators, and with many new pieces of legislation emerging this year, we ask members to please continue to advocate with us throughout the remainder of this Legislative Session!

 

Amplify News Stories and State Budget Messages on Social Media

At this stage of the state budget process, much of the decision-making is with Governor Hochul and the leadership of the Senate and Assembly. A key strategy to capture the attention of policymakers during this final stretch of state budget advocacy is to leverage the power of social media.

Please help amplify these key budget-related news stories on social media! Please like and re-share these articles!

  1. Support Certified Medication Aides in Nursing Homes, featuring St. Ann’s Community:
  1. Support funding for Resident Assistance Program, featuring Selfhelp Community Services:
  1. NEW: Support increased Medicaid funding for nursing homes:

If you would like to tag the Governor and legislative leaders in the reposting of an article, their Facebook handles are available here: @Governor Kathy Hochul, @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @NYSAssemblyMajority Speaker @Carl E. Heastie, @Hon. Gustavo Rivera, @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, @State Senator Liz Krueger

#ProtectOlderAdults #FundLongTermCare

Thank you, again, for your advocacy during this critical moment.

 

SFY 2026-27 State Budget Advocacy Resources from LeadingAge NY

 

Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org

 

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