NYSHFA | NYSCAL Grassroots Call to Action!

WE NEED YOU TO ACT NOW!

Please click the link below to log in to contact your Senator and Assemblyperson NOW to Oppose Harmful Nursing Home Budget Proposals

Call to Action: Oppose Harmful Nursing Home Budget Proposals

Background

The Senate and the Assembly are currently considering several special interest proposals in this year’s State Budget which must be finalized by April 1^st (S.4336-A; Rivera); (A.5685; Gottfried) and in the Health Medicaid Budget (S.2507-A/A.3007-A). These proposals severely impact the operational and financial ability of long-term care providers to continue to deliver essential care while ignoring the financial crisis facing providers as a consequence of the pandemic.

Among the proposals being considered by the Legislature in the Budget are the following:

• Imposes one size fits all 70/40 patient care revenue ratios for all nursing homes that focus only on numbers and not on quality of care;
• Restricts operational utilization of Medicare funds and arbitrarily caps administrative expenses.
• Imposes State micromanagement of nursing home operations and finances – treating providers like a public utility; and
• Exponentially increases fines for all violations in nursing homes and adult care facilities.

Long term care providers are facing a workforce staffing crisis. For too long, workers have been leaving long term care and the pandemic has only made this crisis worse! Additionally, almost 80 percent of New York’s nursing home resident care is paid for by Medicaid. However, the State has cut Medicaid reimbursement to nursing homes for over 12 years in a row creating a $2 billion reimbursement void that was only exacerbated by the pandemic!

Moreover, the statewide average cost of providing around-the-clock nursing home care is $266 per resident. However, the statewide average Medicaid reimbursement for 24-hour care is $211 per resident resulting in nursing homes being reimbursed only $8.79 per hour to care for our most vulnerable.

WE ASK:

1. The Legislature must ensure that any 70/40 patient care revenue proposal is defined as Medicaid revenue.

1. The Legislature must increase reimbursement rates to nursing homes in order to make any 70/40 patient care revenue proposal legal and feasible.

1. The Legislature must implement incentives to recruit and retain new workers into long-term care.   

If the State is sincere about putting residents first, the Legislature must implement genuine reform measures that truly safeguard nursing home residents and staff – namely defining the 70/40 revenue as Medicaid revenue, increasing Medicaid reimbursement to nursing homes, and addressing the workforce shortage crisis.

NYSHFA/NYSCAL CONTACTS:

Stephen B. Hanse, Esq.
President & CEO
518-462-4800 x11