DOH Confirms that Statement of Offering for ACF Residents Does Not Need to be Renewed

As we reported in October, there will not be a cost of living adjustment for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) this year. The Department of Health (DOH) does not plan to issue a Dear Administrator letter (DAL) on the issue at this time, but confirmed that the Statement of Offering (DSS 2853) referred to does not need to be renewed.

LeadingAge New York has been advocating throughout the year for an increase in the State portion of the SSI Congregate Care Level 3 benefit. We have been urging the Governor’s office as well as members of the Legislature to include an increase in the budget. We encourage all ACF members that serve SSI recipients to meet with the representatives to explain the importance of an increase. We have also developed letters that can be easily and quickly sent to the Governor and your personal representatives.  Two letters have been developed; one for ACF administrators and staff, and one for residents, families and friends.

To aid you in demonstrating to legislators the need for increase, we have developed a simple template to calculate your cost versus reimbursement, and subsequent loss per day.  It is crticial to note that this template is for non-Assisted Living Program (ALP) resident costs only. If you have an ACF with ALP beds and cannot cleanly isolate non-ALP resident costs, you should not use the template. If you have any questions about the template, please let us know. Click here to access the template.

Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828