LAST CHANCE to Advocate for One-House Budget Proposals!

The Senate and Assembly one-house budget proposals are expected to be released next week, on or before March 14^th. That means this is our LAST CHANCE to urge State legislators to include LeadingAge NY budget priorities in their one-house budget bills.

As a reminder, following the release of the one-house budgets, the Senate and the Assembly will join the Governor for three-way budget negotiations. The Executive and the Legislature are expected to come to a final budget agreement for State Fiscal Year 2024-25 by April 1, 2024.

PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS TODAY and urge your colleagues/board members to do the same THIS WEEK, before March 8^th!

1. Send an email to your legislators, urging support/inclusion of our budget priorities. Use the below links to automatically send an email; it only takes a few clicks!

• Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for family members, staff, residents, etc.
• Medication Aides in Nursing Homes Budget Letter
• Resident Assistant in Affordable Senior Housing Budget Letter
• Adult Care Facilities/Assisted Living Budget Letter
• Home and Community-Based Services Budget Letter
• Managed Long-Term Care Budget Letter
• Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
• Continuing Care Retirement Communities Budget Letter

2. Use these budget advocacy flyers to engage others in advocacy. These flyers can be printed and/or shared electronically with board members/staff/residents/families/volunteers to educate them about our issues and inspire them to take action!

• Medication Aides in Nursing Homes Advocacy Flyer – please share with staff and board members
• Resident Assistant in Affordable Senior Housing Advocacy Flyer – please share with staff, board members, residents, and families
• Workforce Advocacy Flyer – please share with nursing home staff teams
• Family Advocacy Flyer – please share with nursing home families
• General Constituent Advocacy Flyer – please share with nursing home volunteers/community members

3. Post on Facebook and other social media TODAY. Copy and paste any of the below messages into your Facebook and attach our recommended video/graphic. Messages are available for every service line and target the leadership of the Senate and the Assembly. Please make sure that your post tags the legislators' social media ‘handles’ – the names should light up in blue when they are effectively tagged in the post. If you re-purpose for Twitter/X, please take care to update the legislators' tags (@).

• Nursing Homes – Post this photo or this video along with the below social media message:

There is an $810 million (State funds) Medicaid funding gap for nursing home care in NY. Inadequate Medicaid reimbursement directly impacts homes’ ability to recruit & retain staff – and directly impacts access to quality care for older adults. Meanwhile, Gov. Hochul is proposing MORE CUTS to nursing home Medicaid funding.
Older New Yorkers DESERVE BETTER! @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin – please INVEST $500 million in nursing home Medicaid rates, REFORM the Medicaid methodology, REJECT any proposed cuts to nursing homes, & #SupportOurSeniors! #nursinghomeSOS https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=aA_4wS4i-uE

• Affordable Senior Housing – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:

Resident Assistants would offer on-site information, programming and socialization to low-income older adults living in senior housing apartments. This model has been proven to support healthy aging and SAVE State Medicaid dollars. @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, please establish and fund an Affordable Senior Housing Resident Assistant Program! An investment of $10 million/5 years would fund an RA for approx. 1,600 older adults! #SupportOurSeniors #NYHealthBudgetGap

• Assisted Living Programs – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:

The Assisted Living Program (ALP) is the only AL available to low-income older adults & it has not had a standard Medicaid rate adjustment since 2007, limiting access. @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, please reject cuts to long-term care as proposed by the Governor, update the ALP rate to ensure the viability of our model, and allow ALPs to expand by 9 or fewer beds to improve access. #SupportOurSeniors #NYHealthBudgetGap

• Adult Care Facilities – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:

Adult care facilities are already woefully underfunded for services they provide to low-income residents, yet the Executive Budget seeks to eliminate the Enriched Housing Subsidy and EQUAL. @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, please invest in quality of life for older adults and restore funding for the Enriched Housing Subsidy and EQUAL in this year’s budget! #SupportOurSeniors

• Home and Community-Based Services – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:

The underfunding of home and community-based services is causing access to home care issues and a ripple effect of backups throughout the healthcare system @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, please address the needs of older adults & those with disabilities in this year’s budget! #NYHealthBudgetGap #SupportOurSeniors

• Adult Day Health Care – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:

In 2020, all 116 adult day health care (ADHC) programs had to close due to the pandemic. Since then, only 55 have reopened, leaving a large gap in services and support for older adults and caregivers. @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, please increase Medicaid rates to ensure the reopening of ADHC statewide! #NYHealthBudgetGap #SupportOurSeniors

• Managed Long-Term Care – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:

Support for LTC, #agingservices, & the system that cares for older adults is a reflection of our values. @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, NY must commit to supporting specialized provider-sponsored managed long term care plans that can care for people best as they age & needs change. #SupportOurSeniors

We are asking our members to post on social media and share our digital advocacy letters with advocates AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE from now through March 8^th. If ALL LeadingAge NY members use these resources and tools in a consistent manner, we have the power to influence State funding decisions and secure INVESTMENTS in long-term care, rather than CUTS.

Thank you for your advocacy at this critical time!

Contact: Sarah Daly, sdaly@leadingageny.org