Legislative Bulletin: Urge Governor & Legislators to Provide LTC INVESTMENTS in Final Budget!
LeadingAge NY One-House Budget Summary & Budget Update
Monday night and Tuesday morning, the Assembly and the Senate printed their one-house budget bills and continuing resolutions for passage. Both budget resolutions were passed and approved by their respective houses during yesterday’s session proceedings. On Tuesday afternoon, LeadingAge New York issued a high-level summary of the one-house budgets, highlighting the proposals that relate to senior housing and long-term/post-acute care. Along with their budget bills and resolution, the Assembly published a summary of their proposal. The Assembly summary had not yet been published at the time we shared our review of one-house proposals. Members are encouraged to take a look at the Assembly’s one-house budget summary for additional insights into their proposed budget.
Thanks to your tireless advocacy and our collaborative efforts, both the Senate and Assembly rejected the Governor’s proposed cuts to long-term care. Instead, they have put forward substantial increases to Medicaid-funded long-term care programs. Each house has proposed a 3% across-the-board increase for all Department of Health Medicaid providers, including nursing homes, assisted living programs, hospice, and adult day health care. Additionally, the Senate proposes an extra 6.5% increase for nursing homes, ALPs, and hospice programs, while the Assembly suggests an additional 7.5% for the same group. Notably, the Senate also included nursing home and assisted living rebasing legislation in their budget bills.
Over the next few weeks, the Governor and the Legislature will negotiate to reconcile the differences in their respective budget proposals, aiming to reach a final agreement for the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-25 Budget by April 1, 2024. Given the Easter holiday on March 31st and depending on the pace of three-way budget discussions, there is a possibility that budget negotiations may extend into the first week of April.
As of this writing, there has been no announcement from the Legislature about the General Budget Conference Committee (the “Mothership”) or other joint budget subcommittees convening meetings. Typically, by now these announcements of budget committee appointments and public meetings would have been made available. LeadingAge New York is continuing to monitor all state budget activity and developments and will keep members apprised accordingly.
With approximately two weeks remaining of this year’s state budget work, LeadingAge NY encourages our members to continue your advocacy for our shared budget priorities. We need to ensure that long-term care and the people we serve are supported and represented in the final state budget! Please take a moment to use the below, UPDATED advocacy action items TODAY!
NEW One-House Budget Social Media Messages NOW AVAILABLE
Please take a moment to join us in social media advocacy! It only takes a few minutes to post the below messages on your personal Facebook or Twitter, and/or, share these pre-written messages with your social media managers!
Copy and paste any of the below messages into your Facebook and attach our recommended graphic. At this stage, messages target the leadership of the Senate and the Assembly. Please make sure that your post tags the legislators' social media ‘handles’ – the names should light up in blue when they are effectively tagged in the post. If you re-purpose for Twitter/X, please take care to update the legislators' tags (@).
- Nursing Homes – Post this photo or this photo along with the below social media message:
Did you know that 82% of non-profit nursing homes are losing money on operations? There is a $1.6 billion Medicaid funding gap for nursing home care in NY. Poor Medicaid reimbursement directly impacts homes’ ability to recruit & retain staff – and directly impacts access to quality care for older adults.
THANK YOU, @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin for rejecting CUTS proposed by @Governor Kathy Hochul & for proposing nursing home Medicaid INCREASES of 9.5-10.5%. Please PRIORITIZE the care of older adults and ensure a 10.5% INCREASE & Medicaid methodology REFORM is included in the final #NYBudget! #nursinghomeSOS
- Assisted Living Programs – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:
Thank you, @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, for providing INVESTMENTS in the Medicaid-funded Assisted Living Program (ALP) in your one-house budget proposals, and for restoring cuts proposed by @Governor Kathy Hochul.
The Senate's 9.5% INCREASE to the ALP, along with the ‘rebasing’ of rates, is necessary in order to correct for 15 yrs of underfunding. Please ensure older adults’ access to this desirable model, which allows seniors to maintain their independence and receive the help they need, while avoiding more costly levels of care. #SupportOurSeniors #NYHealthBudgetGap
- Home and Community-Based Services – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:
The underfunding of home and community-based services (HCBS) is causing access to home care issues and a ripple effect of backups throughout the healthcare system. Patient admissions are being delayed due to lack of staff and resources.
Thank you, @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, for addressing the needs of older adults by rejecting CUTS proposed by @Governor Kathy Hochul and instead providing a 3% Medicaid INCREASE to home care agencies. Please don’t let our State move backwards. Prioritize the wellbeing of older adults and ensure your proposed investments are included in the final budget! #NYHealthBudgetGap #SupportOurSeniors
- Adult Day Health Care – Post this graphic along with the below social media message:
In 2020, all 116 adult day health care (ADHC) programs had to close due to the pandemic. Since then, only 55 have reopened, leaving a large gap in services and support for older adults and caregivers. This is a disgrace, as ADHC serves individuals that often need a nursing home level of care, but instead allows them to receive services in the community while still living at home with their loved ones.
THANK YOU @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @Carl E. Heastie. @Hon. Gustavo Rivera and @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, for providing necessary INCREASES in Medicaid funding for ADHC programs, and working to help rebuild access to ADHC statewide! #NYHealthBudgetGap #SupportOurSeniors
With the use of social media advocacy, we have the power to influence state funding decisions and secure INVESTMENTS in LTC, rather than CUTS. Thank you for your advocacy as we near a final budget agreement!
Keep the Pressure on Governor and Legislators – UPDATED Budget Advocacy Letters!
A final budget agreement is due April 1st, meaning that we have two weeks to keep the funding needs of long-term care and aging services providers top-of-mind. Our window of opportunity to urge for better funding of long-term care is closing. Please send a message to your legislators TODAY!
- Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for family members, staff, residents, etc.
- Authorize Nursing Home Medication Aides
- Adult Care Facilities/Assisted Living Budget Letter
- Home & Community-Based Services Budget Letter
- Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
Share Flyers with Your Network of Advocates!
To help drive traffic to these digital letters and expand our network of advocates, LeadingAge NY has created flyers that can be printed or shared electronically with your workforce, families, and community members. Flyers are linked below for member usage:
- Medication Aides in Nursing Homes Advocacy Flyer – NEW; please share with staff & board members
- Workforce Advocacy Flyer – please share with staff teams
- Family Advocacy Flyer – please share with families
- General Constituent Advocacy Flyer - please share with volunteers/community members
REGISTER for LeadingAge National Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to join us in Washington DC from April 15th-17th for LeadingAge National’s 2024 Leadership Summit and Lobby Day! Importantly, the national Lobby Day effort will be held on the final day of the summit, on April 17th, and is your chance to meet face to face with members of Congress and advocate for improved federal funding and policies to support aging services for older adults and our workforce.
You do not need to be a lobbyist or policy wonk to be an advocacy champion. Your on-the-ground expertise is our most valuable asset in advocacy. Together, we can amplify our voice to raise awareness about the most critical issues impacting aging services providers, our employees, and the older adults and families we serve. Click here to register for the Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org