Legislative Bulletin: Implementing Our 2021 Budget Advocacy Strategy
January 29, 2021
LeadingAge NY Shares Executive Budget Analysis
On Tuesday, LeadingAge NY released a detailed summary of the health, Medicaid and housing proposals advanced by the Governor as part of his State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 Executive Budget. Governor Cuomo released his budget proposal last Tuesday, Jan. 19th.
The memo provides more detailed information on proposals that affect multiple service lines, service line-specific proposals and other initiatives of interest to long term care and senior services providers. As you will see, there are several issues of importance to the LeadingAge NY membership that will require advocacy efforts as we head into budget deliberations. The memo concludes with specific information on advocacy opportunities for members to take advantage of.
All Executive Budget materials, including the budget briefing book and budget bills, are available on the Department of Budget website.
Staffing Ratio Bill Added to Assembly Health Agenda
The Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act has been added to the Assembly Health Committee Agenda scheduled for Tuesday morning. LeadingAge New York strongly opposes this legislation that amends the Public Health Law to create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct-care staff in hospitals and nursing homes. Available research does not bear out that specific staffing ratios result in improved quality of care or quality of life. In fact, the only outcome of this legislation will be higher operating costs and less quality of life programming for nursing home residents.
LeadingAge NY has circulated our memo of opposition to legislators that sit on the Assembly Health Committee, however, now they need to hear from providers in their district.
Click here to urge lawmakers to oppose the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act NOW!
REGISTER NOW: State Budget and Advocacy Day Briefing Set for Feb. 2nd
LeadingAge NY will be hosting a State Budget and Advocacy Day Briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 2nd at 3:30 PM to help members prepare for the meetings they have scheduled with lawmakers. We will use this time to share advocacy materials, discuss where we are in the budget process and highlight specific budget issues affecting different service lines. Please click here to register and join us for this informative webinar! Also, please note that this briefing will apply to all four scheduled advocacy days.
Implementing Our 2021 Budget Advocacy Strategy
Last week, LeadingAge NY held our 2021 Government and Virtual Advocacy Webinar, where we laid out details of the New York State legislative and budget processes and LeadingAge NY’s strategy in this new world of virtual advocacy.
An important takeaway from that presentation was that right now, we are in the critical early stages of the SFY 2021-22 budget process. There are 41 brand-new members of the Legislature, and many long-standing members, that need to learn and be reminded of the importance of long-term care providers in their communities. Legislators need to understand who the aging services providers are in their districts, how they have been impacted by COVID-19, and how they will be impacted by the Executive Budget Proposal.
In mid-January, we held Long-Term Care and COVID-19 Information Sessions to educate legislators on the financial position providers were in prior to COVID-19, and where we are now nearly 11 months into the pandemic. The presentation had a financial focus; we explained the additional costs incurred due to coronavirus and the extensive cuts and underfunding the industry has endured for the last several years.
While those information sessions were well received by lawmakers, it is critical that LeadingAge NY providers now connect with their elected officials via virtual meetings to amplify our message.
Schedule Your 2021 Advocacy Day Meetings TODAY!
As has been previously reported, the Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal is constructed to allow for two different scenarios: the state anticipates receiving either $6 billion ($6B) or $15B in federal relief. Unfortunately, neither of the two paths forward recognizes the severe impacts of COVID-19 on long-term care or the consistent year-over-year underfunding of aging services. In fact, if the state only receives $6B from the federal government, it will mean more across-the-board cuts to Medicaid and the elimination of other crucial funding streams.
While our team here at LeadingAge NY is pulling together materials and messaging for our 2021 advocacy days, it is critical that LeadingAge members schedule meetings and begin connecting directly with their lawmakers.
LeadingAge New York Advocacy Days are set for:
- Thursday, Feb. 4th
- Friday, Feb. 5th
- Thursday, Feb. 11th
- Friday, Feb. 12th
Our 2021 Virtual Advocacy Days website is now live. Please visit the website to find details about the days and how LeadingAge NY can support you in both the preparation and execution of your meetings. On the website, you will find our Virtual Meeting Scheduling Guide among other tools.
Importantly, once you have your meetings scheduled, please send the meeting details to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org so that we can track our joint efforts and advocacy impact. If you’d like the meeting to be held over Zoom but you or your lawmaker do not have an account, please let Sarah know and we will assist in setting up a Zoom link for your meeting using our LeadingAge NY account.
Thank you in advance for your advocacy.
Urge Lawmakers to Support Long-Term Care Providers Still Fighting COVID-19
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency in March of 2020, aging services providers, including nursing homes, assisted living, home care, and senior housing, have faced numerous challenges in keeping the people they serve and their staff safe from COVID-19.
LeadingAge NY has drafted two advocacy letters, urging lawmakers to support long-term care providers that are still fighting COVID-19. The letters remind lawmakers what providers have endured for the last 11 months and implores them to ensure proper funding and resources for aging services.
Use the links below to contact your elected officials TODAY! After you send your letter, be sure to share the link with colleagues, board members, residents and families.
Family/Resident Letter - Urge Lawmakers to Support LTC Providers Still Fighting COVID-19
Provider Letter - Urge Lawmakers to Support LTC Providers Still Fighting COVID-19
AG Issues Report on Nursing Home Response to COVID-19
On Thursday morning, the New York State Office of the Attorney General published a report on Nursing Home Response to COVID-19. The report has drawn a great deal of media attention to a key preliminary finding that claims that the State underreported nursing home deaths by up to 50 percent.
The State Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Howard Zucker responded to the report with a press release, clarifying that there was no undercount of the total death toll, rather, it becomes “a question of allocating the number of deaths between nursing homes and hospitals”.
LeadingAge NY was made aware of the report immediately upon its release and engaged with multiple media organizations in their coverage of the report’s findings. In an interview with ABC News, Jim Clyne, President and CEO of LeadingAge NY, importantly points out that the report "completely misses the mark on the role asymptomatic residents, staff and visitors had on the spread of infection prior to the lockdown of nursing homes in mid-March. And it fails to note that New York cut funding for nursing homes in the April while the pandemic was in full swing."
In an interview with the Times Union, Clyne also points out that the report fails to capture the real picture of what providers faced in the first several months of the pandemic as they tried to acquire proper PPE and COVID-19 tests.
It has been only 32 hours since the release of the Attorney General’s findings. LeadingAge NY will continue to monitor the media response and any reaction from the State or Legislature. At this time, we recommend that LeadingAge Members do not engage with the press on the report. Instead, please feel free to direct all media inquiries to Ami Schnauber at aschnauber@leadingageny.org.
Additionally, we will be updating members on the status and politics around the report on Tuesday afternoon’s Budget and Advocacy Day Briefing (information linked above). At that time, we will provide any necessary talking points members may want to keep in mind as they engage with lawmakers on the subject of nursing home response to COVID-19.
Urge Lawmakers to Prioritize Senior Housing for COVID-19 Vaccine
Elderly New Yorkers living in senior housing are at high risk for COVID-19 and have not been appropriately prioritized by the State of New York or the Federal Government for COVID-19 vaccination. These seniors are often in their 80s, and many need assistance from outside caregivers with activities of daily living. An estimated 38% of all residents currently living in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program could be considered “frail” or “near-frail" putting them at risk of severe implications from coronavirus.
With the importance of these individuals being vaccinated in mind, senior housing providers should have the opportunity to work with the Department of Health and Regional Vaccination Networks to begin planning vaccination clinics that can occur on site.
Urge Congress to Pass Expanded COVID Relief!
On Wednesday, LeadingAge members from across the country joined the 2021 Policy Action Forum and discussed the national advocacy plans ahead of us this year. Our collective call to action was loud and clear: it has never been more important for us to raise our voices in support of federal policies that support older adults and aging services providers.
The next 100 days will be critical for our national advocacy efforts. Members can engage in national advocacy TODAY and click here to send a message to Congress, urging them to act on a new relief bill that will help with a national vaccine distribution program, ensure access to testing and PPE, strengthen our aging services workforce, and increase provider relief funds to help control the staggering costs of providing care and services during the pandemic.
Raise your voice TODAY by asking your members of Congress to support a new COVID-19 relief bill that prioritizes older adults and those who care for them!
Health and Medicaid Hearing Postponed to Feb. 25th
The Legislature announced late Tuesday night that the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing for Health and Medicaid will be postponed to Thursday, February 25th. The change is reflected on the list of Joint Legislative Budget Hearings.
Budget hearings provide an opportunity for the Legislature to hear from state agency heads and the public about the impact of the Governor’s budget proposal. This year, the Health and Medicaid hearing is likely to have a strong focus on COVID-19 and the Executive Budget’s potential impact on providers that are still on the front lines of the pandemic.
LeadingAge New York has submitted application to testify virtually at the Health & Medicaid Budget Hearing on Feb. 25th. As in past years, we also plan to provide written testimony for the Housing Budget Hearing which is still scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 2nd.
LeadingAge & LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY continues to closely follow all COVID-19 news and we are doing our best to keep members informed of updates, recommendations and guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).
LeadingAge NY and LeadingAge National Member resources are linked below.
LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY COVID-19 Weekly Update calls – Mondays at 11 a.m. Click here to join the call from your computer, android or apple device. Or you can join the call by dialing in: 877 853 5257 (Toll Free); Webinar ID: 852 964 255.
LeadingAge National Coronavirus Resources Page
LeadingAge National Pandemic Playbook
COVID-19 Group in the MyLeadingAge Member Community
Coronavirus Daily Member Update calls – Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Past call recordings are available here and you can register here for future calls.
Contact: Ami Schnauber; 518.867.8854; aschnauber@leadingageny.org
Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org