Legislative Bulletin: Senate Health Committee Addresses Several Pieces of ACF Legislation
April 29, 2022
ACTION ALERT: Senate Addresses Several ACF Bills
Earlier this week, the Senate Health committee planned to take up the “Adult Care Facility (ACF) Penalties” bill and the “Role of the Nurse in ACF” bill, as they were both on the Senate Health Committee agenda for Tuesday, April 26th. In a positive development, the ACF Penalties bill A.196-A (Gottfried)/S.1576-A (Rivera) was removed from the agenda just hours before the committee met. LeadingAge NY strongly opposes this legislation, which proposes an increase in potential penalties for ACF violations from up to $1,000 per day to $2,000 per violation per day – or $3,000 per day for a repeat violation. LeadingAge NY’s memo of opposition to the bill is available here.
While getting the ACF Penalties bill removed from this week’s Senate Health agenda was a positive development, the bill is already back on the Senate Health Agenda for Tuesday, May 3rd. This piece of legislation remains a priority for Assembly Health Chair Gottfried,and it is critical that we keep up our advocacy against this harmful proposal to ensure that the Legislature does not further advance it. If we do not consistently oppose this legislation over the remainder of session (which is scheduled to conclude on June 2nd), it is possible that we could see the State approve an increase in penalties to ACFs, even as providers are still reeling from the operational and financial losses of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please join us in opposing an increase to ACF penalties TODAY! CLICK HERE to send an email to your state lawmakers. It only takes a few clicks! Additionally, if your lawmakers sit on the Senate Health, Senate Finance, or Senate Rules committees, we strongly encourage you to give them a call and remind them that ACFs have received no financial support or relief from the State since the beginning of the pandemic. Doubling penalties while no financial support or relief has been provided will only accelerate the rate of ACF closures and reduce access to needed aging services.
Fortunately, while the ACF penalties bill was removed from the April 26th agenda, our Role of the Nurse in ACF legislation was able to advance this week out of the Senate Health Committee and has since been added to the Senate Finance agenda for Tuesday, May 3rd. LeadingAge NY has long supported and advocated for legislation A.9575 (Solages)/S.1593 (Rivera), the Role of the Nurse in ACF, which would allow ACFs to directly employ licensed practical nurses (LPNs) or registered nurses (RNs) to provide limited, “episodic” nursing services. In brief, this proposal would do a great deal to enhance the quality of life and care for ACF residents while also using the state’s health care resources and workforce more effectively. LeadingAge NY’s memo of support for the Role of the Nurse in ACF bill is available here.
Please CLICK HERE to send an email to your elected officials TODAY, urging them to support the passage of our Role of the Nurse in ACF legislation! Additionally, if your lawmakers sit on the Senate Finance, Senate Rules, or Assembly Health committees, we strongly encourage you to give them a call and explain how this proposal would be helpful for your organization, your staff, and your residents.
Finally, the Senate is also working to advance LeadingAge NY priority legislation to allow for hospice services in Assisted Living Programs (ALPs). The Hospice in the ALP legislation A.8006 (Gottfried)/S.7626 (Rivera) would enable ALP residents to access hospice services without having to re-locate during an already difficult time. It would allow residents to remain in their familiar homes within the ALP during end of life, while also providing a significant savings for the State's Medicaid program. LeadingAge NY’s memo of support for this legislation is available here.
Please CLICK HERE to send an email to your elected officials TODAY, urging them to support the passage of our Hospice in the ALP legislation! Additionally, if your lawmakers sit on the Senate Health, Senate Rules, or Assembly Health committees, we strongly encourage you to give them a call and explain how this proposal would be meaningful for your residents.
Thank you for taking action on these priority issues for adult care facilities and assisted living programs! Please reach out to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org with any questions or if you would like assistance in identifying which committees your legislators sit on.
LeadingAge NY Hosts Webinar on Nursing Home Staffing Mandates
LeadingAge NY hosted a webinar on Thursday, reviewing nursing home staffing requirements that recently came into effect. With the State preparing to assess penalties on nursing homes that fail to meet the minimum number of nurse and aide hours per resident day despite a persistent, statewide staffing crisis, it is important for nursing home members to understand the provisions and respond accordingly.
This free webinar for LeadingAge NY members, titled Nursing Home Staffing Requirements: What to Know Right Now, reviewed the requirements established by recent law; discussed the compliance, penalty, and mitigation provisions it contains; and examined the staffing calculations as well as the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) reporting on which they are based.
If you missed the live webinar, a copy of the slides are available here for members only. This session is recommended for LeadingAge NY member nursing home Administrators, CFOs, HR Directors, DONs, and other staff seeking to better understand the minimum staffing law.
DOH Updates Stakeholders on Medicaid Budget
In a webinar held on April 26th, the Department of Health (DOH) assembled an array of issue area experts to walk through Medicaid matters that were addressed in the recently enacted 2022-23 State Budget. Anchored by Acting State Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri, the panel outlined a wide variety of issues, including those of interest to long term care providers. Medicaid CFO Michael Ogborn echoed the recently circulated notice confirming that the across-the-board 1.5 percent Medicaid payment reduction was discontinued starting with April 1st date of service. He also confirmed that the 1 percent rate increase would be calculated on the operating component of the Medicaid rate for facility-based providers. The 1 percent rate increase applies to managed care as well, with DOH sending a slightly different message regarding expectations regarding the use of funding than during the Executive Budget Proposal briefing.
Although all of the provisions were discussed, there were limited new insights, and most of the more detailed questions LeadingAge NY submitted in advance of the event will need to be addressed in an individual meeting with DOH. While mentioning the key priorities of interest to long term care providers, there were no insights about when and how nursing home staffing funding may flow or how providers should seek to access some of the funding dedicated to financially distressed organizations.
DOH suggested that reviewing the list of job roles eligible for health care/mental hygiene worker bonuses would provide the best current insight on eligibility and confirmed that home care aides were not eligible for bonuses while other home care positions listed were. Staff also reviewed Medicaid eligibility expansions, including providing coverage to approximately 25,000 undocumented seniors who would be eligible for benefits and services equivalent to the Mainstream Managed Care benefit but would not be eligible to enroll into a Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plan.
The event was recorded and is expected to be posted on the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) budget site once it is available. The slides used during the presentation are available here.
State Re-districting Maps Rejected by New York Court of Appeals
New York's top court on Wednesday rejected the congressional and state Senate maps drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature earlier this year. The 4-3 ruling found the congressional and Senate maps as unconstitutional, marking a key victory for Republicans who had challenged the maps in state court on the grounds the new districts favored Democrats and violated the state's constitutional ban on partisan redistricting.
The ruling has the potential to upend the scheduled June party primaries and force lawmakers back to the drawing board to draw new maps. Early voting for New York's primary is scheduled to begin June 18, and petitions were already submitted based on the maps approved in February. But now due to this ruling, the elections for the state Senate and New York’s congressional delegation will likely be moved to August. A special master has been tasked with drawing new district lines for the state Senate and Congress by May 20.
Although the Assembly and gubernatorial primary dates were not part of the Court of Appeals decision, those primary dates could now also be in question. The Appeals Court charged the Supreme Court with setting a new election schedule, but state lawmakers could have to pass legislation to comply with any court order, including, but not limited to, establishing new guidelines for petitioning.
Now, there are rumors that “a consensus is nearing to combine the June 28th primary for statewide offices and Assembly seats with a new, late-August date for the congressional and Senate races.” Legislative leaders are denying this consensus. “There has been no discussions and certainly no consensus on moving the (Assembly and gubernatorial) primaries,” Senate Majority Spokesperson Mike Murphy told City & State. Additionally, the State Board of Elections, which sets regulatory guidelines for the election processes, said it’s unlikely the other primaries could be moved.
Political pundits are watching this process closely, as many also recognize Governor Kathy Hochul’s interest in removing former Attorney General Brian Benjamin from the ballot line after his resignation and arrest for campaign finance fraud. Hochul does not currently have a running-mate for the position of Attorney General, but with a potential delay in the gubernatorial primary, it is possible the Governor could have time to select a new nominee for AG.
Congressional Update from LeadingAge National
The House and Senate are back in Washington, D.C. for what’s looking like a busy May legislative session. LeadingAge National expects there to be continued focus on aid to Ukraine over the coming weeks. However, there are other items on the agenda that LeadingAge is tracking very closely, including COVID relief. When lawmakers recessed two weeks ago, the Senate had failed to reach an agreement to pass a $10 billion COVID funding package for testing, treatments, and vaccines. The stalemate was due to a disagreement over a border-enforcement policy, known as Title 42, named after a section of the U.S. Code that prevents immigrants from seeking asylum. Another concern was the final funding amount of the $10 billion, which began as a request of $22.5 billion from the Administration. As members of Congress return to Washington to engage in further discussions on COVID relief, LeadingAge will continue fighting for additional assistance, including additional funding for provider relief, which was not included in the last proposal.
Additional items of importance are government funding and economic relief. President Biden sent the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request to Congress on March 28th. Of course, Congress will identify its own priorities, as it holds the Constitutional power of the purse. In fact, House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders met this week to discuss top-line funding for Fiscal Year 2023, and hearings are already underway to examine the Administration’s budget request.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate are considering how to move forward on an economic package. Unfortunately, the Build Back Better Act hit a wall, and ongoing discussions have been a challenge, but the fight isn’t over. A separate innovation package was developed to invest in scientific research, funding the development of new technologies, and bolstering domestic production of semiconductors. Both chambers have passed their respective versions with significant differences between the two bills, and members of Congress are now beginning the process of reconciling the two versions to produce a final bill for passage. Given that this bill might be one of the larger measures that Congress passes, it might also provide an opportunity to include additional priorities. So please stay tuned for additional updates down the road.
ACTION ALERT: National Affordable Senior Housing Phone Call Campaign
Congress will soon begin developing the fiscal year 2023 HUD appropriations bills. Congress needs to hear from you to ensure affordable senior housing is prioritized appropriately! Please call your elected officials TODAY by clicking here or directly calling 202-952-7732.
Many national organizations have joined together to encourage Congress to support robust housing funding. If you cannot make a call, you can send an email instead!
Talking Points for Congress:
- Please support robust funding for affordable housing for older adults. Dramatic housing cost increases are devastating to older adults with very low incomes. Programs like HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program and Service Coordinators are critical.
- Provide $600 million to construct and operate for 6,200 new Section 202 homes.
- Provide $100 million for 400 new three-year Service Coordinator grants.
- Provide $10 million to support Section 202 rents in Rental Assistance Demonstration conversions.
- When calling your Senators, ask them to join Senator Menendez’s Dear Colleague letter in support of funding for HUD’s Section 202 senior housing program.
Members are encouraged to customize your messages with your organization name, information on your waiting list, etc. See LeadingAge National’s entire affordable housing policy platform here.
Thank you for taking action!
Tell Us About Your Local Advocacy!
LeadingAge New York knows that many of our members are strong advocates within their regions. We greatly appreciate your diligent advocacy work to ensure that lawmakers understand the significant workforce and financial challenges long-term care providers are experiencing as you try to provide the best quality of care and quality of life possible to residents and older adults.
If you connected with your state lawmakers during the April Recess, or have in-person meetings or events being planned with lawmakers in mind, please take a moment to tell us about your local advocacy activities! Staying informed on our membership’s local advocacy activities is critical to ensuring that we make the most of the connections you are working so hard to make. It also allows LeadingAge NY to re-enforce your message here in Albany. To let us know about your local advocacy activities, please be sure to email Sarah Daly (sdaly@leadingageny.org) or use our Advocacy Engagement Form.
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