Legislative Bulletin: Executive Releases 30-Day Budget Amendments – Our Advocacy Continues!

February 21, 2025

Executive Releases 30-Day Budget Amendments – Our Advocacy Continues!

Last night, the Governor released budget legislation containing 30-day amendments (“30-days”) to the Executive Budget. The amendments to the Governor’s proposed health budget are technical in nature, and do not make any substantive changes to the Executive Budget Proposal which LeadingAge NY comprehensively summarizes here.

The Assembly and the Senate are expected to put forth their one-house budget proposals in early or mid-March. Over the next two weeks, it is critical that members implement the advocacy tools below and make as much noise as possible to ensure that we keep the pressure on state lawmakers and encourage them to #PrioritizeOlderAdults! 

While we know that this is a particularly late issue of our Legislative Bulletin, we also have been working tirelessly to advocate for our membership directly with state legislative offices and decision-makers. In the end, your advocacy combined with our efforts is what will make the difference. Keep in mind that the advocacy tools reflected below can be implemented at any point during the week of Feb. 24-28 and could have a significant influence on the measures we see reflected in the one-house budget proposals.  

We hope you will take the time to join us in advocacy at this critical juncture of the state budget process, and of course, let us know if you have any questions along the way!

 

SOCIAL MEDIA ALERT: Amplify Good Shepherd Communities Video on Facebook!

Our LeadingAge NY member, Good Shepherd Communities, has posted a video on social media aimed at Governor Kathy Hochul, urging the State to better fund Medicaid and the care of nursing home residents. The video features the voices of several residents of Good Shepherd homes asking Governor Hochul to, “Please fund senior care!”

Please take a moment to LIKE & SHARE the social media content created by Good Shepherd Communities!

1. Please LIKE & SHARE this Facebook video on your personal and/or professional Facebook and tag your state legislators! If you are sharing on your personal profiles, we encourage you to make the post “public”.
2. Tag your State Senators and Assembly Members in the social media post. To find your legislators' Facebook handle (@), use the find your legislators tool.

• If you’d like, you could also tag the social media accounts of Assembly and Senate Leadership: @Andrea Stewart-Cousins & @Carl E. Heastie

3. We strongly recommend you add a caption to your Facebook post:

“Nursing home residents, families, and the dedicated individuals who work there depend on the adequacy of Medicaid reimbursement to enjoy fulfilling lives. Medicaid pays for over 73% of the nursing home care provided in NY, but rates are based on the costs of operating in 2007…

Unfortunately, cuts in funding for capital projects were enacted in 2020 and 2024, and they remain in place today. While we appreciate the investments proposed in the Executive Budget, they do not go far enough. In the face of a $1.6 billion Medicaid funding gap and cuts to capital, the Executive proposes only $100M of new investment. We urge state legislators, @Andrea Stewart-Cousins & @Carl E. Heastie to restore the capital cuts and increase Medicaid rates by 20%. #PrioritizeOlderAdults & families!

Click here to learn more & take action: https://bit.ly/3OdUlFh”

Thank you for joining us in social media advocacy!

 

ACTION ALERT: Email Your Legislators with Top-Priority Budget Requests Today!

As legislators hear from stakeholders from across sectors about countless State budget requests, it is critical that we keep the funding needs of long-term care and aging services providers top-of-mind. LeadingAge New York has crafted the below service-line specific digital advocacy letters to help us keep the pressure on legislators for the remainder of 2025-26 budget discussions. 

Each letter takes only a minute or two to send. Simply enter your information to automatically send an email to the Governor, your State Senator and your Assembly Member! After you send your letters, we strongly encourage members to share these links with colleagues, board members and volunteers. This is a simple and easy way to strengthen our unified message to the Legislature at this critical time.

Please use the links below to send emails to your legislators and the Governor TODAY!

• Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for family members, staff, residents, etc.
• Resident Assistant in Affordable Senior Housing Budget Letter – two letters available!
• Adult Care Facilities/Assisted Living Budget Letter
• Home & Community-Based Services Budget Letter
• Managed Long-Term Care 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:

• Resident Assistant (RA) in Senior Housing Advocacy Flyer – please share with advocacy allies and community members
• Resident Flyer, RA in Affordable Senior Housing – please print and share with residents of your buildings
• 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

Share Budget Issue Briefs & Call Legislators

Finally, we encourage members to continue to share our Budget Issue Briefs with legislative offices, and, if you haven’t already watched the recording of our Advocacy Day Prep Call, the messaging and focus of our advocacy reviewed on the call are still relevant. If you have the time, we welcome you to call your legislative offices next week to remind them of the budget requests that are most important to you!

Thank you for your budget advocacy and for staying engaged with us throughout this process!  

 

Nursing Home Legislation Advances in Assembly

While LeadingAge New York advocates to support necessary budget measures, we are also monitoring and advocating on all state legislative activity. Unfortunately, two bills which LeadingAge NY strongly opposes are moving through the Assembly.

First, bill A.1365 (Paulin), which would require nursing homes to develop and submit to the Department of Health (DOH) a designated location for the storage of deceased persons who pass away while living in a nursing home, has been added to the Assembly Health Agenda for next week. First and foremost, we believe that the remains of all individuals deserve the upmost respect and courtesy upon passing. Under normal circumstances, there is no need for designated storage in nursing homes. Unfortunately, however, this legislation was drafted in 2020, and is a product of a time when all typical processes were difficult to observe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the bill’s requirements would impose yet another new and costly requirement on nursing homes that are struggling to deliver high-quality care amidst rising costs and inadequate rates.

If your Assembly Member sits on the Assembly Health Committee, we recommend you contact them to register your opposition to this bill! You can share our LeadingAge NY memo of opposition to this bill, available here. While the bill has been amended, we believe the amendments do not go far enough to lessen the burden on nonprofit nursing home providers.

Second, bill A.1118 (Paulin), would raise the maximum penalties for violations of the Public Health Law. These enhanced penalties would apply to any individual or organization that violates the Public Health Law. This memorandum, however, focuses on the impact of the bill on long-term/post-acute care (LTPAC) providers.  Unfortunately, the bill has advanced to the Assembly Calendar, which means it could be called up for a vote on the floor. There is no Senate companion to this bill, however, we recommend that members contact their Assembly Members if they oppose this bill. Click here to contact your legislators urging them to reject an increase in penalties for nursing homes and other LTC providers!

 

Please Join us in D.C. for LeadingAge National Lobby Effort!

LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to join us in Washington D.C. from April 7^th – 9^th  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 9^th, 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 about 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/or Lobby Day!

 

 

Continue to Urge Congress to Protect Medicaid in 2025!

As LeadingAge members know all too well, the Medicaid program is critical to older adults and the providers who serve them. Unfortunately, Congress is considering substantial cuts and changes to the Medicaid program, many of which would significantly reduce New York’s health and Medicaid budget.

LeadingAge has been advocating against cuts or changes to Medicaid that would impede access to the program and impact providers. While the Federal government is interested in reducing spending, Medicaid cuts must not, and cannot, be part of the impending budget resolution!

LeadingAge New York and National are partnering in meetings with key congressional targets, but all members are strongly encouraged to engage in phone calls and meetings with Congressional offices to advocate against cuts/changes to Medicaid! Please keep in mind, that the cuts we are referencing in this article are being discussed at the Federal level. While they would impact State dollars, these are not new cuts that are being proposed by State officials. In fact, the State itself would be against these proposed changes.

LeadingAge National has created two sets of talking points for members and state partners to use in talking to Members of Congress about the potential cuts to Medicaid in the reconciliation process.

• One set of talking points outlines the types of proposals being considered and provides general talking points on why they are harmful.
• The second set focuses more on aging services providers as well as the impacts on states.

Digital advocacy options are also available to members, with several different letters that members can send to their members of Congress with just a few clicks. Click here to write to your members of Congress TODAY, urging them not to include Medicaid cuts or harmful changes as part of Federal budget reconciliation or other legislation.

 

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