Legislative Bulletin: One-House Budget Proposals Expected Next Week – Make Your Voice Heard NOW!
March 7, 2025
ACTION ALERT: Call State Legislators with Nursing Home Budget Requests Today!
LeadingAge NY has been relentlessly advocating for the funding needs of nursing home residents to be prioritized in state funding decisions. Right now, we are at a critical point in that state budget process, and we need your advocacy!
The Senate and Assembly are expected to put forth their one-house budget proposals early next week. The one-house budget bills will amend the Executive Budget bills to reflect each respective house’s budget priorities. The one-house budget bills will then be the foundation of three-way budget negotiations with the Executive, as the state works toward reaching a final budget for State Fiscal Year 2025-26, due April 1st.
Ensuring our budget requests are included in either the Senate or Assembly one-house is critical to our overall budget success! Now is a critical moment for you to contact your state legislators to urge them to prioritize nursing home residents and staff in this year’s budget!
Please call your state legislators before the end of this week or this weekend! Click here for LeadingAge NY talking points to help inform your phone calls.
Thank you for your advocacy!
SAVE THE DATE: State Budget Advocacy Opportunity Set for Tues. March 18!
There is a lot at stake in this year’s state budget! Following the release of the one-house budget proposals next week, it will be important for LeadingAge NY, our members, and our network of advocates to continue to push for critical investments and restorations to be included in the final budget agreement.
The LeadingAge NY Advocacy Committee has determined that our members should pursue an additional advocacy effort during the final stage of state budget negotiations. This will help ensure our priorities are included in the final agreement, due April 1st.
While our message and focus of this final advocacy push is contingent on what we see in the one-house budget bills, we ask our members to please plan to join us on Tues. March 18th for an in-person advocacy effort in Albany! If you plan to join us in this last advocacy effort for the upcoming budget, please sign up to join us here!
In the interim, please continue to keep the pressure on your state legislators via these digital advocacy letters!
Thank you for all your efforts to ensure older adults and the people we serve have access to the quality services they need and deserve. Please reach out to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org if you have any questions.
Federal Budget Reconciliation Process Poses Threat to Medicaid Funding
On Feb. 25th, the U.S. House of Representatives approved its fiscal year 2025 budget resolution, calling for $1.5-$2 trillion in spending reductions over 10 years in order to pay for $4-$4.5 trillion in tax cuts. The U.S. Senate passed a more limited budget resolution on Feb. 21st that would increase spending by approximately $500 billion to achieve the Trump administration's mass deportation and border control objectives, while offsetting that spending through cuts to federal programs (except for Social Security and Medicare). With budget resolutions approved in both houses, Congress can proceed to negotiate a single budget resolution that will be the basis for an omnibus reconciliation act.
Of grave concern to long-term care providers and the people they serve is that the savings required by the House resolution cannot be achieved without deep cuts to Medicaid. In addition to Medicaid cuts, lawmakers are considering the elimination of the tax exemption of municipal bonds that are often used to finance capital improvements in non-profit health care facilities and affordable senior housing. The repeal of the federal nursing home minimum staffing rule is also under consideration as a source of savings.
LeadingAge National and LeadingAge NY, along with members, have been meeting with our representatives in Congress to urge them to protect Medicaid and other programs affecting older adults. LeadingAge National has also sent letters to key congressional committees, urging them to do right by older adults on critical issues regarding Medicaid, tax-exempt municipal bonds, issues impacting non-profits, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) minimum staffing rule, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs). Read the letters here. Updated serial posts on the federal budget process are available from LeadingAge National here.
Here's what you can do!
While the Federal government is interested in reducing spending, Medicaid cuts and the elimination of funding mechanisms that support older adults must not be part of the Federal spending plan!
All LeadingAge members are strongly encouraged to contact Congressional offices to advocate against cuts/changes to Medicaid! They need to know how important Medicaid is to your organization and the people you serve.
Talking Points: LeadingAge National has created two sets of talking points for members 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 Tools: There are 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!
Finally, 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 – 9 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 valuable networking and educational opportunities, but most importantly, the final day of the summit (April 9) will offer attendees the chance to join 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. Click here to register for the Leadership Summit and/or Lobby Day!
LeadingAge NY Priority Legislation Advances Through Committees
Several pieces of LeadingAge NY priority legislation advanced through the Senate this week. Most of the bills that advanced are bills that LeadingAge NY supports. However, there are also some bills we oppose that are gaining momentum.
Below is a simple list of the priority bills that advanced through the Senate this week. We strongly encourage members to take the corresponding actions in the list below.
- Resident Assistant in Affordable Senior Housing – A.1948 (Rosenthal)/S.956 (Kavanagh) – Advanced out of Senate Housing Committee and referred to Senate Finance Committee. The Assembly bill is in the Housing Committee. Click here to contact legislators in support! More advocacy tools to support this bill are available here.
- Role of the Nurse in Adult Care Facilities (ACF) – A.525 (Solages)/S.3184 (Rivera) – Advanced out of Senate Health Committee and reported to Senate Floor. The Assembly bill is in Ways and Means Committee. Click here to contact legislators in support!
- Streamlining Assisted Living Program (ALP) Medical Evaluations – A.2027 (Paulin)/S.3361 (Rivera) – Advanced out of Senate Health Committee and reported to Senate Floor. The bill has already passed in the Assembly! Click here to contact legislators in support!
- Use of Antipsychotics in Nursing Homes – A.1461 (Paulin)/S.893 (Sepulveda) – Advanced out of Senate Health Committee and referred to Senate Aging Committee. The Assembly bill is in the Health Committee. LeadingAge NY memo of concern is available here.
We will continue to keep members apprised of advocacy needed on priority legislation. Please reach out with any questions.
ACTION ALERT: Email Legislators Urging for LTC Investments 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 your State Senator, your Assembly Member and the Governor! 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
Thank you for your budget advocacy and for staying engaged with us throughout this process!
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org