Legislative Bulletin: Executive Releases 30-Day Amendments – Keep the Pressure On!

February 20, 2026

 

Executive Releases 30-Day Budget Amendments

Yesterday, the Governor released budget legislation containing 30-day amendments (“30-days”) to the Executive Budget. The amendments include some new spending, but unfortunately, the investments are not directed toward long-term care or aging services providers. New funding is largely directed toward the City of New York – including $500 million in one-time general assistance, $300 million annually for youth diversion programs, and other increases bringing total State support for NYC to over $28 billion in FY 2027 – as well as local government assistance and university systems, with no substantive changes to the health and long-term care provisions outlined in the Executive Budget Proposal, which LeadingAge NY comprehensively summarizes here.

Of note, the amendments include an increase to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and updates to the Healthcare Stability Fund reflecting a revised CMS rule that will allow New York’s Managed Care Organization (MCO) assessment to continue through the end of calendar year 2026. The CMS final rule provides approximately $1 billion in additional resources to continue investments in the Safety Net Transformation Program and for healthcare providers beyond FY 2027. LeadingAge NY is reviewing the amendments in detail and will share an additional analysis if there are any other provisions of note relevant to our membership.

The Assembly and Senate are expected to put forth their one-house budget proposals in the coming weeks, likely by March 9. It is critical that members continue to advocate for increased investment in long-term care and aging services as state legislative leadership begin to formulate their budget proposals. Your advocacy makes a difference – keep the pressure on!

 

Keep Sending Digital Budget Letters!

As we rapidly approach the month of March and the release of one-house budget proposals, it is more important than ever that we keep the funding needs of long-term care and aging services providers top-of-mind for state legislators. 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 2026-27 budget discussions.

Please use the links below to send messages to your legislators and the Governor today!

Each letter takes only a minute to send. Simply enter your information to automatically send an email to the Governor and your State Senator and Assembly Member!

• Resident Assistant in Affordable Senior Housing Budget Letter
• Adult Care Facility/Assisted Living Budget Letter
• Home and Community-Based Services Budget Letter
• Managed Long-Term Care Budget Letter – Coming soon!
• Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
• Nursing Home Budget Letters:
  • Provider Leadership (Executives, Administrators, Directors, etc.)
  • Board Members
  • Staff
  • Family Members
  • Volunteers/Constituents
  • Resident letter available upon request

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.

In addition, LeadingAge New York’s Advocacy Day website will remain active over the coming weeks. 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 Budget & Advocacy Day Prep Call, the messaging and key budget requests shared on that call remain relevant.

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

 

ACTION ALERT: Oppose Requiring Written Consent for Antipsychotic Medications

A piece of legislation which LeadingAge NY strongly opposes has been added to the Senate Health Committee agenda for next week, Tues. Feb. 24. The Bill  A.1461-A (Paulin)/S.893-A (Sepulveda) would require an enhanced level of informed consent before antipsychotic medications can be prescribed for residents of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The legislation makes two major changes to state laws in an effort to reduce the use of antipsychotic medications:

1. Requires health care professionals to receive written consent from the resident or the resident’s “lawful representative” before initiating an antipsychotic medication; and
2. Requires that written consent be renewed every 12 months.

LeadingAge New York supports the intent of this legislation – to further reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes. However, the strategy this bill would deploy – enhanced consent in writing – is misguided and could negatively impact residents and families.

It is reasonable and appropriate to require oral consent; however, written consent poses barriers to care for residents of nursing homes and their families. In addition, there are already ample federal and state guardrails in place to safeguard against the unnecessary use of antipsychotics.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Please click here to email elected officials in opposition to this legislation!

This is a simple click-to-send letter that takes only a minute of your time. Please also share this alert with colleagues and clinical staff who can speak to the importance of maintaining clinical flexibility in medication management.

 

Housing Budget Hearing & Resident Assistance Advocacy Day Set for Feb. 25

The Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Housing is scheduled for next week, on Feb. 25, providing another important opportunity to bring the needs of affordable senior housing providers and residents to the forefront of the budget conversation. LeadingAge NY will attend the housing hearing and will closely monitor for reference and discussion of affordable senior housing issues. In addition, at least one member of LeadingAge NY is likely to testify at the event. We will provide a summary of any relevant testimony and developments in a forthcoming edition of the Legislative Bulletin.

In addition, LeadingAge NY and our partners at LiveOn NY are hosting a Resident Assistance Advocacy Day at the NYS Capitol in Albany on Feb. 25. We will be in the halls of the state Capitol on Wednesday morning, meeting with legislative staff and members of the housing committees in advance of the hearing that afternoon. If you are an affordable senior housing member and have not already registered, we encourage you to do so today!

During this targeted advocacy day, we will be urging State legislators to support the creation of – and investment in – an Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program, which would allow more affordable senior housing properties to offer “Resident Assistance” – similar to a HUD Service Coordinator or SHASAM social worker – to help their residents age safely in place.

LeadingAge NY and its advocacy partners, including LiveOn NY, are asking for $10M over five years (just $2M in SFY27) to support this program, but we need the Governor, Senate, and Assembly to agree to make it a reality.

Please register now to join us and lend your voice to the need for Resident Assistance in NYS!

When: Feb. 25^th, 2026

Where: The NYS Capitol, Albany, NY

How: Click Here to Register for the Resident Assistance Advocacy Day!

In addition to joining us for this in-person advocacy effort, LeadingAge NY housing members are strongly encouraged to use this click-to-send digital action letter to contact the Governor & state legislators in support of the Resident Assistance program today!

Please reach out to Annalyse K. Denio (akomoroskedenio@leadingageny.org) with any questions.

 

SFY 2026-27 Executive Budget Resources from LeadingAge New York

• Comprehensive Executive Budget Summary
• Budget Issue Briefs - please continue to share these with legislative offices.
• Budget Advocacy Prep Call
• Updated Digital Advocacy Letters

 

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