Legislative Bulletin: Hospice in the ALP Legislation Passes Assembly!

May 13, 2022

NEW ACTION ALERT: Oppose an Increase in Penalties for Mandatory Overtime!

This week, LeadingAge NY issued two new memos in opposition to proposals that would significantly increase provider penalties for requiring mandatory overtime of nurses. While there are slight differences in the two pieces of legislation, both A.286-A (Gunther)/S.1997-A (Jackson) and A.8874-B (Joyner)/S.8063-A (Ramos) would result in a steep increase in penalties to hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities for requiring nurses to work more than their regularly scheduled hours, except under limited circumstances.

These bills ignore the operational realities of nursing homes and other facilities given statewide staffing shortages and the demand for high nurse-resident ratios. Imposing these new penalties will only further deprive nursing homes of the funds they need to pay workers and deliver high quality care.

CLICK HERE to email state Lawmakers TODAY urging them to oppose an increase in penalties for mandatory overtime! It only takes a few clicks!

Additional details on each of the bills and their corresponding memos of opposition, which have been shared with relevant committees, are available below.

A.286-A/S.1997-A proposes civil penalties of up-to $1,000 for a first violation, $2,000 for a second violation, or $3,000 for a third or subsequent violation. The employee shall receive an additional fifteen percent of the overtime payment from the employer for each violation as damages. Memo of Opposition is available here. This bill currently sits in Assembly Rules Committee and on the Senate Calendar, ready for action.

A.8874-B/S.8063-A proposes civil penalties of up-to $1,000 for a first violation, $2,500 for a second violation within three years, and $5,000 for a third or subsequent violation within three years where an employer requires a nurse to work more than their regularly scheduled work hours. The bill further requires that the employee shall receive an additional fifteen percent of the overtime payment from the employer for each violation. Memo of Opposition is available here. This bill currently sits in Assembly Codes and in Senate Finance Committees.

Help LeadingAge NY Maintain Our Pressure on Lawmakers!

This week, several LeadingAge NY priority bills continued their movement through the legislative process. Additionally, thanks to our member’s advocacy, we have been maintained our success in restraining the bills we strongly oppose such as the adult care facility penalties legislation [A.196-A (Gottfried)/S.1576-A (Rivera)].

While our advocacy has been effective thus far, we MUST maintain pressure on lawmakers for the favor of our not-for-profit aging services members. There are only nine session days remaining on the legislative calendar, but we are hearing that it is possible the Legislature may extend its stay in Albany. Nothing is definite and we need to stay nimble and robust in our response to legislative activity.

Please take a moment to use the action alerts below to contact state lawmakers today! It only takes a few minutes! Even if you have already used these alerts in the past, we strongly recommend you use them again and share with your colleagues!

Hospice in the ALP Legislation Passes Assembly!

On Wednesday afternoon, the Assembly passed bill A.8006 (Gottfried)/S.7626 (Rivera), legislation which would enable assisted living program (ALP) residents to access hospice services without having to re-locate during end of life. LeadingAge NY has long supported and advocated for this legislation, and we are thrilled to see that the Assembly has approved its passage! Now, we just need the Senate to do the same.

In the Senate, the bill moved out of the Finance committee this week and is now on the Senate floor. The bill will be “aged”, by next week and ready for passage in the Senate should it be taken up.

Members who share our desire to see this bill passed in the Senate are strongly encouraged to call your state Senator today and urge that the bill be passed next week. Additionally, members are encouraged to call your Assembly Member and thank them for passing the bill, as the legislation was approved by the Assembly unanimously. Your legislators’ contact information can be found here. LeadingAge NY’s memo of support for this legislation is available here.

ACTION ALERT: Congress Must Pass New COVID-19 Funding Now

With COVID-19 cases, test positivity rates, and hospitalizations again on the rise, the country is not past the pandemic. Now is the time to ask Congress to fully fund additional support for the nation’s ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19—especially for older adults who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Experts are predicting new surges in the late Summer and Fall but additional funding is needed to make sure the country has enough vaccines, boosters, tests, and treatments to meet projected needs. We know the tools we need to confront COVID-19; Congress must act now so communities across the nation are prepared to deal with the coming surges.

We must ensure that test kits and testing locations remain available and accessible to everyone who needs them and that vaccines (including boosters) are readily available and robustly promoted. Treatments and therapeutics must also be easy to find and access, while research to find new tests, vaccines, and treatments continue.

Please CLICK HERE to write to your members of Congress and advocate for more COVID-19 relief! It only takes a few clicks!

39 Senators Call for Expansion of HUD 202 Housing Program

Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) sent a sign-on letter to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Chair Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) with 39 Senators joining in the letter. The letter seeks “full funding for contract renewals for the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program and an additional $600 million for capital advances and operating subsidies for new 202 homes to keep up with existing and increasing need” for fiscal year 2023 funding.

LeadingAge is deeply appreciative of Senator Menendez’ championing of this letter and of the 39 Senate offices who joined it. Affordable senior housing stakeholders urged their Senators to join the letter over the last few weeks, resulting in six more Senators joining the letter compared to a similar letter sent last year. Read more about the letter here.

Additionally, on May 11^th HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. During her testimony, Fudge explained that, “as we look at housing in general across the country, programs like 202 and 811 are going to be more and more important as our society continues to age and people want to age in place…That’s why we’re asking for increases for 202 and 811 [for fiscal year 2023]. For many, too many, years we’ve not done the kind of work in those particular areas that we should have.”

The hearing focused on a wide variety of HUD programs, but the exchange between Chair Price and Secretary Fudge provided insight into the Subcommittee and HUD’s appreciation of the need to expand the supply of affordable senior housing to meet the existing and growing need. A webcast of the May 11 hearing is here and an article is here.

National Efforts for Older Americans Month

We all want to age our way, and LeadingAge members help millions of older adults do that every day. Yet, as changing demographics mean more adults than ever need our services, the nation faces two challenges in delivering on the right to essential services for all: lack of awareness of available services and lack in access to care.

May is Older Americans Month (OAM) 2022 and the Administration for Community Living set the focus this year as Age My Way, which aligns ideally with LeadingAge National priorities to address lack of awareness and lack of access. Join the national push to improve awareness of and access to the essential supports that dedicated aging services providers deliver. This article details awareness and access efforts that LeadingAge National is launching and expanding upon for OAM. The article also details resources available for members to use locally in raising awareness for OAM, including social media and website tactics that can catch the eye of the general public.

Countdown to LeadingAge New York Annual Conference!

We are just 10 days away from LeadingAge New York’s Annual Conference and Exposition in Saratoga Springs, NY! We are thrilled to be holding this event in-person and are very much looking forward to re-connecting with our members in Saratoga.

The LeadingAge New York Annual Conference is being held May 23-25 at the he Saratoga Hilton & Saratoga Springs City Center. This year, we are rolling the Financial Professionals Conference into the May Annual Conference. Not only will you see the usual C-suite related programming, but also special sessions focused on financial operations. The event poses a great opportunity for gathering education credits, learning about industry trends and best practices, and connecting with peers in the field.

All information for the Annual Conference including registration, educational sessions, brochure and hotel information can be found on our website here. We hope to see you there!

LeadingAge & LeadingAge New York 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

COVID-19 Group in the MyLeadingAge Member Community

LeadingAge National Coronavirus Policy Updates – Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. Past call recordings are available here and you can register here for future calls.

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