Legislative Bulletin: Countdown to 2025 Advocacy Day in Albany!
January 24, 2025
LeadingAge NY Provides Preliminary Analysis of Executive Budget Proposal
Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul presented her State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-2026 Executive Budget Proposal, releasing the budget briefing book entitled “Your Family is My Fight” along with accompanying budget bills. During the Executive Budget announcement, the Governor once again emphasized the importance of making New York more affordable and safer for families, touting proposals to provide tax and financial relief to New Yorkers, plans to make housing more affordable, and investments in health care and education.
While the Executive Budget announcement expressed a strong focus on families, unfortunately the care, services and housing needs of older adults and their caregivers were not addressed as broadly as we would like. Although the investment and attention on older adults were not particularly robust, there are some bright spots related to Medicaid-funded long-term care. For nursing homes, the proposed investments would provide $385 million (M) (all funds), marking the continuation and a $100M increase of the funding included in last year’s budget. For ALPs it would provide $15M. Contingent on availability, this funding would continue annually going forward.
In the hours following the budget release on Tuesday, LeadingAge New York provided a high-level summary of the proposals most relevant for LeadingAge NY Members. That summary is available on our website here. Our Comprehensive Executive Budget Memo covering all service lines and aspects of the proposal relevant for members will be available for LeadingAge NY members no later than Jan. 29th.
In light of the Executive Budget release and the lack of attention on older adults, it is critical that we have as many members as possible join us for our Advocacy Day on Feb. 4th! Please take a look at the information below and consider joining us for an impactful day of advocacy with state legislators in Albany!
Countdown to 2025 Advocacy Day in Albany!
With the New York State Legislature back in session, and the release of the 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal, it is critical that we have as many members as possible join us in Albany for our 2025 Advocacy Day on Feb. 4th! During our in-person advocacy day, we will be urging State legislators to support and appropriately fund the entire continuum of long-term care/aging services providers; including nursing homes, assisted living/adult care facilities, home care agencies, senior housing, adult day health care, managed long-term care and more!
Please join us for our LeadingAge NY Advocacy Day to support our efforts!
When: Feb. 4, 2025
Where: Meeting Room 5, The Empire State Plaza Convention Center (279 Madison Ave., Albany, NY 12242)
How:
- CLICK HERE TO REGISTER for LeadingAge NY's 2025 Advocacy Day!
- Once you are registered, CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR AND ASSEMBLY MEMBER's Albany offices to request an in-person meeting on Tues., Feb. 4th. As an additional resource for individuals new to advocacy, we have developed this Legislative Scheduling Guide to assist members in setting up meetings.
- Once your meetings are scheduled, please send your meeting details to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org and Saleena Ali at sali@leadingageny.org. This is critical to enhancing our organization, collaboration, and overall advocacy impact.
What: During our Advocacy Day, LeadingAge NY will:
- Provide breakfast & lunch;
- be available to join you for your legislative meetings;
- provide legislative materials and “handouts” for legislators;
- assist in any necessary follow-up from meetings;
- provide a meeting room, directions, parking information, logistical support and more!
Who: YOU!
We need you to join us for this important Advocacy Day. As LeadingAge NY members and providers of critical long-term care and aging services, you are the best advocate for the consumers and employees who depend on you. Your unique voice and experience are our greatest asset in advocacy. Please consider joining us!
Finally, to ensure that members are familiar with what is in the SFY 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal and all details of our 2025 Advocacy Day, LeadingAge NY will be hosting a Budget and Advocacy Day Prep Call on Fri., Jan. 31st at 11 a.m. All registrants for Advocacy Day will receive a direct Zoom calendar meeting invitation for this call after you register.
More information on our 2025 Advocacy Day can be found here. Please reach out to Sarah Daly (sdaly@leadingageny.org) with any questions.
ACTION ALERT: Urge Senators to Sign-On to Nursing Home Budget Letter
This week, Senate Health Chair Gustavo Rivera began to circulate a Senate sign-on letter in support of enhancing Medicaid funding and restoring harmful capital cuts for New York’s nursing homes. The letter urges for the update and redesigning of nursing home Medicaid reimbursement to better align with current resident needs. We are sincerely grateful to Senator Rivera for leading this letter, but now, we need as many State Senators as possible to sign-on in support of these budget requests.
We are encouraging all LeadingAge NY members to please reach out to your State Senator, and ask them to sign on to the Rivera Nursing Home Reimbursement Letter. Please call your State Senator as soon as possible, remind them of the challenges impacting nursing homes and older adults seeking care, and urge the office to sign on to the Rivera letter. Legislative offices must email Senator Rivera’s office at shwani@nysenate.gov, by noon on Tuesday, Jan. 28th to add their name to the letter.
Some easy points to make when you call your Senator:
- There is a 1.6 billion gap in Medicaid funding for nursing homes
- 70% of nursing homes lost money in 2022 (most recent year available). This is an increase from 45% in 2021.
- 14 nursing homes have closed since 2020, nearly all of these were non-profit homes. The closures force vulnerable residents to transfer to other homes, often not of their choosing and sometimes further away from loved ones.
- Nursing home closures and beds offline contribute heavily to hospital and EMS back-ups, affecting the whole health care system.
Thank you for helping us get as many Senator signatures on this letter as possible.
ACTION ALERT: Urge Congress to Protect Medicaid in 2025!
Congress is preparing to pass a budget resolution to move forward on tax and spending priorities. Using the budget reconciliation process, Congressional committees of jurisdiction will be instructed to reduce spending on mandatory programs, reauthorize expiring tax cuts, and authorize other spending priorities. Budget reconciliation allows Congress to pass legislation without 60 votes in the Senate, and this has the potential to put Medicaid funding at significant risk.
Medicaid, because of its significant budget and concerns from incoming Congressional leadership about the program’s scope and cost, will be a target for spending cuts in the coming months. New York, in particular, could be significantly impacted by the changes that are under consideration.
As you know, the Medicaid program is critical to older adults and the providers who serve them. Cuts or changes that impede access to the program must not be part of the budget resolution.
Click here to write to your members of Congress TODAY, urging them not to include Medicaid cuts or harmful changes as part of budget reconciliation or other legislation!
Consider Joining LeadingAge National Lobby Day Effort in D.C.!
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to join us in Washington D.C. from April 7th – 9th for LeadingAge National’s 2025 Leadership Summit and Lobby Day! The Summit convenes thought leaders from across the aging services sector for mission-critical conversations. The event provides a valuable networking opportunity, bringing together providers, businesses, and policy experts for three days of keynotes, education sessions, VIP discussions, and meetings with members of Congress.
The final day of the summit, April 9th, will offer attendees the chance to influence national decision-makers through a coordinated lobbying effort on Capitol Hill. During the National Lobby Day, LeadingAge members will meet face-to-face with members of Congress to advocate against potential cuts to Medicaid and stress the need for enhanced federal funding and policies supporting long-term care and aging services for older adults.
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to join our lobby effort on Capitol Hill so policy makers can hear your stories, challenges, and accomplishments! You do not need to be a lobbyist or policy expert to be an advocacy champion. Your on-the-ground expertise is our most valuable asset in advocacy. Members of LeadingAge New York’s policy staff will be attending the summit and lobby day, attending all lobby day meetings alongside NY member advocates. 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