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Legislative Bulletin: Preparing for the Final Week of Session

May 27, 2022

Preparing for the Final Week of Session

There is just one week, and three legislative session days remaining on the calendar for 2022. The Legislature is scheduled to conclude their work on Thursday, June 2nd. While we are hearing that the Senate is determined to conclude all of their legislative work by that date, it is possible that the Assembly, or perhaps both houses, might be held up for a few extra days to address two issues that have received significant attention in recent weeks – gun control and protecting abortion rights.

Before they return to their districts for the summer, the Democratic-controlled Legislature expects to approve a package of gun control laws, including measures meant to tighten New York's red flag law that is meant to keep guns away from people deemed to be a danger.  Governor Hochul has also proposed raising the age of when a person can purchase an AR-15-style firearm from 18 to 21. Additionally, in light of the national conversation around the potential overturn of Roe vs. Wade, the Legislature intends to pass further protections for women’s health and abortion rights here in New York. It is possible that these two contentious issues could delay session proceedings, however, state lawmakers have special interest in getting back to their districts in advance of primary elections set for June 28th and August 23rd.

While these issues are sure to take the general public’s attention for the last week of session, there are also several bills that LeadingAge NY is advocating on in these final days. We have been blown away by our members’ advocacy this session, and it is critical that we maintain our pressure on lawmakers and defend against bad proposals until the Legislature concludes all of their work. If we let up now, it is possible we will see more harmful proposals approved by the legislature and signed into law.

Please take a moment to use the digital email campaigns below to contact state lawmakers on LeadingAge NY priorities today! It only takes a few clicks and will ensure these bad proposals do not advance! Even if you have already used these alerts in the past, we strongly recommend you use them again and share with your colleagues!  

Thank you for all your advocacy!

 

Oppose an Increase in Penalties for Mandatory Overtime!

Last week, bill A.286-A (Gunther)/S.1997-A (Jackson) was passed in the Assembly. In the Senate, the bill sits on the Senate Calendar, and could be called up for a vote and be approved on any remaining session day next week. It is critical that we maintain our pressure on the Senate, urging them NOT to approve this bill. 

This bill would significantly increase penalties to hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities for requiring nurses to work more than their regularly scheduled hours, except under limited circumstances. It proposes to increase civil penalties on providers, 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 would also receive an additional fifteen percent of the overtime payment from the employer for each violation as damages.

The bill ignores the operational realities of nursing homes and other facilities given statewide staffing shortages and the demand for high nurse-resident hour requirements. Imposing these new penalties will only further deprive nursing homes of the funds they need to pay workers and deliver high quality care. Additionally, none of the funding that has been appropriated for nursing home staffing in the last two state budget agreements have been dispersed.

Please Call Your State SENATOR NOW in Opposition to S.1997 (Jackson) and ask your Senator to bring these concerns to legislative leadership! Members can use the below talking points to inform your phone call. You can also reference our memo of opposition to the bill. Find your SENATOR’S phone number here.

After you make your phone call, please also take a moment to send this digital advocacy letter, and share it with your colleagues: Oppose Penalties for Mandatory Overtime!

TALKING POINTS

  • I am calling you today in opposition to bill S.1997 (Jackson), which sits on the Senate Calendar and was passed by the Assembly last night.  
  • If passed, this bill would further restrict the use of mandatory overtime in nursing homes, home care agencies, and other health care providers, and would increase civil penalties up-to $3,000 for repeat violations.  
  • No non-profit nursing home provider wants to require mandatory overtime of our nurses. Our dedicated staff already do so much and work so hard for our residents during a standard work week. We do not wish to ask more of them.
  • However, due to severe staffing shortages, and the need to comply with the new  nurse hours requirement for nursing homes, mandating overtime is sometimes the only option to ensure resident care and compliance with the new nurse hours requirement.
  • The solution to reducing nurse overtime in nursing homes is to provide better Medicaid reimbursement to allow for more competitive salaries, and more investment in developing and training our long-term care workforce. The answer is not to impose more penalties.
  • With this bill, most nursing homes across the state will be required to choose between being penalized for not reaching the nurse hours requirement, or being penalized for having to use mandatory overtime in order to comply with the nurse hours law.
  • There is already a financial disincentive for employers not to require mandatory overtime. Overtime is costly, and we are already paying exorbitant fees to staffing agencies to try to get nurses in the door. The last thing we want to do is require overtime of our existing, directly-employed nurses. However, in the event that resident needs demand that of our organization use mandatory overtime, we should not be penalized for doing so.  
  • Lastly, both this year’s budget and last year’s appropriated funding to help with nursing home staffing… none of those dollars have yet been distributed to nursing homes, and we are not hearing that this funding will come any time soon, despite the legislatures intent. We need funding to attract the workforce we need, not more penalties for the realities that are out of our control.
  • For these reasons, I urge you to oppose S.1997 (Jackson) if it comes up for a vote on the Senate Floor, and at a minimum, I ask that you bring these concerns to your leadership.

Thank you for taking action, and please let us know of any feedback you receive from lawmakers!

 

LeadingAge NY Priority Legislation Passed in Both Houses!

This week, several pieces of legislation that LeadingAge NY supported and advocated for were passed in the Senate and/or the Assembly, and thus have now been approved by both houses! This means that the legislation’s next step will be their delivery to the Governor’s desk for action.

Below is a review of the several bills that were approved by the Legislature this week, along with LeadingAge NY supporting documents. These bills will likely be delivered to the Governor over the summer and into the fall. When they are delivered, we will write to the Governor in support to ensure they are enacted into law.

 

LeadingAge NY Files Suit Challenging Nursing Home Staffing Requirements

Joined by approximately 80 of its nursing home members, LeadingAge NY has filed a petition seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent the enforcement of the State's minimum nursing hours requirements and minimum direct care spending requirements. LeadingAge NY argues that inflexible staffing ratios and the arbitrary allocation of nurse and aide hours undermine professional discretion and fail to account for the varying needs of residents. It alleges that the one-size-fits-all standards are impossible to satisfy in the context of a declared staffing emergency and are inconsistent with a 2020 Department of Health (DOH) report on similar staffing ratio legislation. Enforcement of the law, under the circumstances, is arbitrary and irrational.

The petition was filed in State Supreme Court and alleges that the two laws are preempted by federal labor and nursing home laws and violate Medicaid and Medicare requirements. It further claims that the enforcement of the minimum staffing and spending requirements represents an arbitrary and capricious executive action. A press release with additional information on the lawsuit is available here.

Since the filing on Monday morning, the lawsuit has drawn significant attention from the press. Interviews with LeadingAge NY CEO Jim Clyne and general coverage of the issue were published in Spectrum News, the Times Union, McKnight’s, the Gothamist, the Democrat and Chronicle, and several other news outlets.

LeadingAge NY will continue to keep this issue at the forefront for lawmakers and will keep members informed on the status of the petition with the State Supreme Court.

 

LeadingAge NY Highlights Need for Dedicated Investment in Aging Services

LeadingAge NY submitted written comments on the State's proposed $13.5 billion waiver request, pointing out that the waiver fails to address the needs of older adults and the long term care providers that serve them. Following up on oral comments presented at the Department of Health's (DOH) May 3rd hearing, the written comments noted that the waiver's reliance on advanced value-based payment (VBP) arrangements as the driver of funding will likely result in minimal investment in long term care and services for older adults. Because health coverage for older adults is bifurcated between Medicare and Medicaid, it is challenging to implement VBP arrangements that combine Medicare services and Medicaid long term care services.

Instead, LeadingAge NY comments called for targeted investments of waiver funding in initiatives designed for older adults and the providers that serve them. LeadingAge NY will continue to keep members apprised as waiver discussions progress.

 

Save the Date for 2023 LeadingAge NY Annual Conference

This week, LeadingAge NY held our Annual Conference and Exposition in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was our first in-person Annual Conference since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, and it was so wonderful to see so many of our members and connect with you all in person. Thank you to those that attended. We hope it was as rejuvenating for you as it was for us!

We understand that many members and your staff may not have been able to attend this year due to all of the challenges your organization is facing. Of course, the care of your residents is of upmost priority, and we thank all of our members for all that you do for the older adults in your care.

We hope that the months and year ahead will be far less challenging than the last two years have been. With that, we’d like to remind you to save-the-date for next year’s Annual Conference which will be held once again in Saratoga Springs on May 22-24, 2023. If you were unable to join us this year, we hope to see you in 2023; and if you were able to get away and join us this week, we hope to see you again next year!

 

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

 

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