Two Legislative Successes for ACF and AL Providers

We are pleased to report on recent legislative successes for our Adult Care Facility (ACF) and assisted living members. Last week, Gov. Cuomo signed into law two key priority pieces of legislation that we worked to advance:

A.7755 (Gottfried)-S.5096 (Golden): Authorizes Assisted Living Programs (ALPs) to admit or retain residents who are chairfast. This is commonly referred to as the ability to provide a “two person assist." This was a critical update to the ALP program to enable providers the option to retain people as their needs increase. This will help further delay nursing home placement for Medicaid eligible individuals, which is particularly important as the state moves to a managed care environment. 

A.7835-A (Gottfried)-S.5628-A (Hannon): Directs DOH to develop a streamlined application and review process for ACF and assisted living operators who are in good standing. This enables some expedited processes for certain providers known to the Department of Health (DOH). It should be noted that we have already made considerable progress on streamlining the application process for all categories of ACF and assisted living licensure, however. LeadingAge New York has been working with DOH and other stakeholders over the past few months to consolidate the applications, clarify the process, eliminate unnecessary fields and provide options that will expedite the process for providers and the Department alike. This law will create even further efficiencies and streamlined processes. The net effect is an improved process for all, which we believe will benefit both existing and future applicants. LeadingAge New York appreciates the collaboration that have made these achievements possible. We anticipate that the new application and related processes be available sometime this winter.

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