Legislative Bulletin: Priority Legislation Advances

Thank You for Making the PAC Golf Tournament a Success!
LeadingAge NY held its Annual PAC Golf Tournament this past Monday, and it was a huge success due to our golfers, volunteers and sponsors! There were 138 golfers at this year’s event – making it the most attended golf tournament in years.

Thank you to our sponsors: Sodexo; Cool Insuring Agency, Inc.; Preferred Therapy Solutions; Souder’s; Hinman Straub P.C.; and HMM CPAs LLP.

Thank you to our tee sign sponsors: Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation; AgeWell New York; ProCare LTC Pharmacy; Flushing House; Eventus Strategic Partners; Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC; Carl Young Consulting; Prime Care Pharmacy Services Inc.; Good Shepherd Communities; Canterbury Woods; and LECESSE Construction.

Thank you to our PAC volunteers: Matt Marchbanks and Mary Monteleone (Sodexo); Ed Barone (Souder’s); MayAnn Benzola (Custom Computer Specialists); John Calcavecchia (Preferred Therapy Solutions); and to our “provider-volunteers,” Mike Keenan (Good Shepherd Communities) and Betsy Biddle (Andrus on Hudson).

Save the date… The golf tournament will return to the Ballston Spa Country Club on Mon., May 23, 2016.

Attention Housing Members: Have You Met Your New Housing Policy Analyst?
Earlier this week, LeadingAge NY welcomed John Broderick as the association’s new senior housing policy analyst. John will work on State and federal housing initiatives, and advocate on behalf of the housing membership and those they serve. John most recently served as the executive director of Shires Housing in Vermont and served on the board on LeadingAge Vermont. He has 26 years of experience in the housing industry. You can contact John at jbroderick@leadingageny.org or call him at 518-867-8383.

Advocacy Updates
With only a few more weeks left of the legislative session, there are still a number of advocacy initiatives that are of top priority for LeadingAge NY and the membership. Please take action on the following advocacy opportunities:

Increase the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) rates for low-income seniors in ACFs: This legislation is part of an ongoing effort to get an increase in the State portion of the SSI rate for ACFs, along with a built in future cost of living adjustment to prevent the rate from getting so far away from the cost of providing care. The bill has been placed on the Senate Social Services Committee Agenda for Thurs., May 28. Please email your lawmakers now, urging them to co-sponsor and pass A.7393-A (Brindisi)-S.5151 (Little).
Amend EQUAL language to enable the expenditure of funds retrospectively, within the fiscal year: This initiative is part of LeadingAge NY's ongoing advocacy efforts to resolve an issue in the recently enacted budget, which disallowed EQUAL funds to be used for expenses incurred prior to the release of the application and funding. This legislation would resolve the issue so that, consistent with past practice, EQUAL funds can be used for expenses incurred within the fiscal year, even if they are retrospective, as long as they are consistent with the EQUAL program objectives and approved by the organization's resident council. This bill was reported out of the Assembly Health Committee and to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, earlier this week, and was placed on the Senate Health Agenda for this coming Thursday, May 28. Please email your lawmakers now, urging them to co-sponsor and pass A.7502 (Gottfried)-S.5346 (Hannon).
Nurse Staffing Ratios: It was another quiet week for staffing ratio legislation (A.1548 (Gottfried)-S.782 (Hannon)). The bill, known as the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act, would create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct-care staff in hospitals and nursing homes. LeadingAge NY opposes the legislation, which if enacted, would cost an estimated $1.06 billion to implement in nursing homes and would require more than an hour of additional staff time per resident per day when compared to current staffing. Please email to your lawmakers now, urging them to oppose this legislation.

Stakeholders Show Support for the Advanced Home Health Aide
LeadingAge NY, along with 19 other associations and groups, sent a letter to the governor and other legislative leaders last week, urging them to establish an Advanced Home Health Aide (AHHA) program before the end of the legislative session. The AHHA would be allowed, in certain circumstances, to perform some nursing tasks, but only if trained and supervised by a registered nurse. The program would be totally voluntary for all parties involved. Legislation that would implement an advanced home health aide program, passed in the Assembly earlier this week, but has not yet picked up a Senate sponsor. We will keep members updated on any new developments.

Federal Advocacy Alert!
Tell Congress to “Get into the Act! This year is the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which makes it possible for nearly 12 million seniors to remain in their homes and communities.

But while we celebrate Older Americans month this May, the OAA’s authorization has been expired since 2011 and OAA programs and services remain woefully underfunded.

This year’s Older Americans Month theme is “Get into the Act.” Please urge Congress to “Get into the Act” by funding, renewing, and protecting the OAA and its programs! -LeadingAge

PRAC Capital Needs Survey
LeadingAge NY is part of the Section 202 PRAC preservation workgroup that was established by LeadingAge to research the current and future physical needs of Section 202 PRAC inventory, develop a comprehensive preservation strategy for these properties, prepare a legislative proposal for members of Congress and engage in an education and advocacy campaign to secure support. To support our work, LeadingAge has developed a survey to collect crucial data from members to help quantify the issues that cannot be funded under the PRAC projects' current reserve plan and funding. In a recent workgroup meeting we learned that based on recent REAC results, HUD does not think there is a significant capital need. Help us tell your capital needs story by filling out this short survey. The survey will only take you a few minutes to fill out but will provide us with valuable information for our advocacy on PRAC preservation. You can access the survey here.

Governor Announces New Appointments
Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo announced several new appointments to his administration, including Jamie Rubin who will serve as the Commissioner Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). Rubin currently serves as the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, which was created to oversee the State’s recovery efforts from storms Sandy, Irene and Lee. Rubin also served as senior advisor to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and New York State director of the President’s Hurricane Sandy Recovery and Rebuilding Task Force. Also appointed to the administration is Peter Harckham, who will serve as assistant director of the Office of Community Renewal at HCR. Harckham previously served on the Westchester County Board of Legislators and as president for a not-for-profit affordable housing organization. Read more about Rubin, Harckham and the others appointed to the Governor’s Administration, here.

Contact: Alyssa Lovelace, alovelace@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8844.