LeadingAge NY CEO Testifies at State Health Budget Hearing
(Feb. 11, 2025) LeadingAge NY CEO Sebrina Barrett testified at the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Health today, Feb. 11th, calling for increased investment in long-term care and aging services. She reminded the legislators that the Governor’s declared “fight for families” must include our grandparents, our parents, and their caregivers. Pointing to NY's outdated Medicaid rates and years of flat funding for long-term care, Barrett urged legislators to raise Medicaid rates significantly to cover the cost of care. She noted that the widening gap between Medicaid rates and costs is exacerbating staffing shortages and financial distress among providers.
Barrett highlighted the accelerating closures of nursing homes and other long-term care providers, in the context of a growing population of older adults and the rising demand for long-term care services. As indicated in her testimony, since 2014, 32 nursing homes have closed their doors and over 3,500 beds have been lost due to funding shortfalls. Similarly, since 2010, over 100 adult care facilities (ACFs) have closed. Home care agencies are also closing and limiting admissions. Looking ahead, over 72,000 nursing home beds in NY are operated by financially distressed providers and may be in danger of closing. Barrett pointed to the impacts of the reduction in long-term care capacity on health care access across the state. The reduction in nursing home beds and limits on admissions to nursing homes and home health are creating bottlenecks in hospitals today, as patients ready for discharge cannot find a nursing home bed close to loved ones or cannot access timely home health care.
Barrett outlined LeadingAge NY’s budget priorities, which are described more fully in the association’s written testimony, including:
- Invest in closing the gap between nursing home Medicaid rates and costs; preserve access to quality care with a 20 percent rate increase.
- Restore the 15 percent cut to capital funding for nursing homes.
- Authorize certified medication aides in nursing homes.
- Restore the Enhancing the Quality of Adult Living (EQUAL) program and Enriched Housing Subsidy cuts in ACF funding and increase Assisted Living Program (ALP) rates and capacity.
- Invest in home care and hospice funding to support access and workforce.
- Fund a Resident Assistant program in affordable senior housing.
Legislators attending the hearing expressed a great deal of interest in long-term care issues, including nursing home funding and the transition of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) to a single fiscal intermediary. Assemblymember Jensen raised several questions about recent cuts to nursing home capital reimbursement, Senators Ashby and Stec brought up the size of the nursing home Medicaid gap and asked state agencies how they planned to address it, Senators Brouk and Gonzalez raised significant concerns about hospital overflow and health care capacity issues, Assemblymember Solages asked about Vital Access Provider Assurance Program (VAPAP) funding, and there were several more. LeadingAge NY will be following up with legislative committee members who participated in today’s hearing to thank them and ensure that they are aware of our most high-priority budget requests.
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to reach out to state legislators to advocate for the budget requests that affect their organizations and the people they serve. Members should share these budget issue briefs with legislative offices via email and/or schedule in-district meetings with state legislators for next week’s February recess, Feb. 17th-21st. Questions about grassroots advocacy opportunities may be directed to Sarah Daly (sdaly@leadingageny.org).
LeadingAge NY’s written budget testimony is available here.
Contacts: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org, and Sarah Daly, sdaly@leadingageny.org