LeadingAge NY Releases Strategic Plan for Long-Term/Post-Acute Care in New York State

LeadingAge NY has released a strategic plan for long-term/post-acute care (LTPAC) services in New York State, proposing key investments and reforms. The plan seeks to ensure the creation of a high-performing, financially stable, and accessible LTPAC delivery system to address the needs of a growing population of seniors. It recommends the expansion of community-based services and residential options to serve people in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs and preferences. It also urges the promotion of models that integrate Medicare and Medicaid funding streams and investment in health infomation technology to support the Triple Aim of better health, better care, and lower costs overall. Recognizing that the growth of the 65 and over population is outpacing that of the cohort of younger adults needed to care for them as they age, the plan proposes a series of reforms to promote the most efficent and effective use of a limited workforce.

The following summarizes the plan's recommendations:

1. Promote Integration of Medicare and Medicaid Funding Streams to Achieve the Triple Aim
2. Expand Access to a Continuum of Community-Based and Residential Options for Seniors

• Invest in affordable senior housing and services
• Expand assisted living program (ALP) capacity and increase capital and operating funding for ALPs and adult care facilities (ACFs)
• Provide capital for LTPAC providers
• Provide additional funding for Naturally-Occuring Retirement Communities (NORCs) and Neighborhood NORCs
• Support the development of the Village Model
• Promote expansion and utilization of medical-model adult day health care

3. Invest in Information Technology and Health Information Exchange for LTPAC Providers to Support Value-Based Payment and the Triple Aim
4. Expand the Continuing Care Workforce and Support Efficient and Effective Utilization of Workers

• Implement the Advanced Home Health Aide legislation
• Allow for advanced practice certified nurse aides (CNAs) to perform medication administration
• Expand the role of the nurse in the ACF
• Permit cross-certification of direct care workers
• Facilitate cross-training and lateral transfers across health and long-term care settings
• Promote accessible education and training in rural areas
• Expand the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring
• Support informal caregivers

5. Allocate Additional Funds to Quality Incentives for LTPAC Providers
6. Ensure that managed long term care (MLTC) Rates are Adequate to Cover the Costs of Care, Care Management, and Administration
7. Encourage Self-Financing of Long-Term Care and Discourage Medicaid Divestiture

• Expand access to social supports for seniors
• Modernize the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) statute
• Transfer estate recovery responsibility to the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) and reinvest recoveries in LTPAC system
• Align NY Connects and the Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance Program (HIICAP)

LeadingAge NY will be advancing these strategies through its partnerships with other stakeholder organizations, its advocacy efforts, and its collaborative efforts with state and federal agencies. A copy of the complete plan is available here.

Contact: Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org or Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383