Governor Hochul’s State of the State Address

Governor Hochul delivered her first State of the State address today in the Assembly Chamber in the State Capitol in Albany. In speaking for just under an hour, Governor Hochul opened her speech by directly addressing the critical role of healthcare workers in hospitals and long-term care facilities and the healthcare workforce crisis New York is facing. Building upon these remarks, Governor Hochul set forth several proposals to rebuild and grow the State’s healthcare workforce by 20% over the next 5 years and invest $10 billion in healthcare. Key components of the Governor’s multi-year investment proposal include the following: $2 billion for healthcare worker wages; $2 billion for healthcare worker retention bonuses, including $3,000 bonuses going to certain full-time workers; $2 billion for healthcare capital infrastructure and improved lab capacity; and $500 million for certain COLAs.

In addition, Governor Hochul also proposed the following long-term care initiatives in her State of the State:

Allowing certain long-term care workers to administer medications in nursing homes;

Establishing certification criteria for “memory care” that will require long-term care facilities to include specific training requirements for staff and administrators;

Offering free tuition, cover instructional costs and provide stipends for high demand healthcare occupations;

Developing career pathways for long-term care workers by investing in mentorship and transition tools;

Supporting conversions of nursing homes to the Green House model for long-term care;

Initiating a study of the impacts of COVID on the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program;

Establishing a State Master Plan for Aging through an Executive Order to address challenges related to communication, caregiving and financing; and

Creating a Center for Medicaid Innovation to lower costs and improve care.

As always, NYSHFA|NYSCAL will be sure to provide updates on these and other initiatives as the FY 2022-23 State Budget process moves forward.

NYSHFA/NYSCAL CONTACTS:

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