Update on One-House Budgets for ACF and Assisted Living Members
(March 18, 2025) Adult care facility (ACF) and assisted living (AL) members will be interested to note that we found one additional detail in the budget bills since our initial member summary of the one-house bills, noted below. It is exciting to see so many of our ACF/AL priorities “at play” in at least one of the budget bills, but of course we must work to ensure that our priorities are reflected in the final budget agreement, due April 1st.
Update: Assembly Proposes Increase to SSP Rate
As an update to our previous report, we are pleased to share that the Assembly included an increase to the State Supplement Program (SSP) for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients living in ACFs. The proposal raises the monthly Congregate Care Level 3 rate from $1,661 to $1,768. The personal needs allowance for 2025 remains $255, so $1,513 would be paid to the ACF per month per SSI/SSP recipient, as opposed to the current rate of $1,406. The proposal is written to be effective Jan. 1, 2025. While we are aware that this increase does not meet the cost of providing care, we are pleased to see some movement on this issue, as the SSP rate has been stagnant since 2007.
The proposed increase is only in the Assembly bill; the Senate does not include an increase in their budget bill, nor does the Governor.
Below is a summary of the other ACF/AL issues as they stand in the Assembly and Senate budget bills, as was previously reported:
ALP Reimbursement Increase
The Assembly proposes to increase Assisted Living Program (ALP) reimbursement by up to $18.75 million (an increase of $3.75 million over the Executive’s proposal). The Senate proposes to increase annual ALP funding by up to $30 million (i.e., adds $15 million to Executive proposal).
ALP Need Methodology
Both houses reject the Executive Budget proposal to delay implementation of the ALP need methodology. Unfortunately, we are not seeing language that would allow existing ALPs to expand by nine or fewer beds, as we had advocated for.
EQUAL
The Assembly restores Enhancing the Quality of Adult Living (EQUAL) program funding at $6.5 million and appears to transition the program back to one consolidated pot of funding. While we think this may be an error, it may provide an opportunity to have EQUAL work as it did prior to bifurcating it into two pots of funding (capital and aid to localities). The Senate restored a lump sum of $11 million to restore this and other public health programs.
Enriched Housing Subsidy
The Assembly restores the Enriched Housing Subsidy at last year’s level of $380,000. The Senate restored a lump sum of $11 million to restore this and other public health programs.
SNALR Voucher Expansion
It is unclear at this time if the Assembly has added any funding for the Special Needs Assisted Living Residence (SNALR) Voucher program. The Senate adds $3 million for what we believe to be additional funding for this program, though the language is not abundantly clear.
Respite
Both the Senate and Assembly accept the Executive’s proposal to fund a program to provide relief to high-need family caregivers by funding respite care in ACFs at $7.2 million.
What You Can Do Now to Help Ensure Our Priorities Are in the Final Budget
As a reminder, we have just two weeks until the Governor and the Legislature must arrive at an agreement on the final budget, and we want to ensure that our priorities are reflected in that agreement. Our digital advocacy letter for ACF/AL can be accessed here, and the link can be shared with residents, family members, board members, etc. In addition, the letter can be edited to focus on the issues most important to your organization or personalized to reflect the impact of these issues on your community. You can also call your representatives and remind them of your priorities as they are negotiating a final budget in the next two weeks. You can find your representative and their contact information here.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828