The 2023-24 Legislative Session ended on Friday, June 7th with no stated plans to come back to Albany to deal with congestion pricing after the Governor’s announcement that there will be a pause to the program in advance of its implementation date of June 30.
The following is a summary of pertinent bills that have moved through both houses and that NYSHFA|NYSCAL has been actively engaged in and/or pursued. For bills that have passed both houses, the Governor has 10 days to act once bills are delivered to her desk (excluding weekends/holidays). It is up to the Legislature to determine when bills will be sent for action.
SKILLED NURSING: (*Denotes legislation that would also impact Assisted Living)
Nursing Home Rebasing (S.6914-A, Rivera / A.5905-B, Woerner)
This bill requires the Department to update the non-capital component of the Medicaid rate no later than 1/1/25 and at least every five years thereafter using the most recent cost report data and updating the rates to reflect actual base year costs. Additionally, it also requires the Department to establish and consult with a technical assistance workgroup comprised of nursing home rate setting experts. This bill died in both the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways & Means Committees.
Equity Withdrawal (S.9599-A, Rivera / A.10262-A, Paulin)
This bill allows for the withdrawal of equity of more than 5% if the facility can demonstrate compliance with the previous two quarters of the State’s minimum staffing requirements. This bill addresses a technical issue with the State’s equity withdrawal statute and 70/40/5. This bill died in the Senate and Assembly Health Committees.
Nursing Home Temporary Operator Program (S.9131, Rivera) / A.6034-B, Paulin)
This bill extends to nursing homes the current provisions of Public Health Law §2806-a which authorizes the Commissioner of Health to appoint a temporary operator for a general hospital, diagnostic and treatment center, adult home or assisted living facility in the event such a facility is experiencing severe financial and/or quality of care issues. This bill passed both Houses.
Amendments to the Grieving Families Act (S.8485-B (Hoylman-Sigal) / A.9232-B (Weinstein)*
This bill, which was previously vetoed by the Governor, has since been amended to narrow the scope of those close family members who would be entitled receive compensation for their non-economic losses as well as funeral expenses, medical care relative to the injury that caused the death, and pecuniary injuries. Close family members are defined as the decedent’s spouse or domestic partner, distributees, and guardians, or those individuals over which the decedent had guardianship. This bill passed both Houses.
Nursing Home Quality Ratings (S.3498, Sanders / A.2188, Dinowitz)
This bill requires nursing homes to post their ratings for health inspections, staffing, and quality measures in addition to provisions already established that require posting of CMS quality ratings. The provisions as outlined are redundant and unnecessary. This bill passed both Houses.
Nursing Home Closures (S.2984, Kavanagh / A.3703, Epstein)
This bill establishes new requirements for nursing home closures based on the Rivington House case in New York City. It would require greater transparency to the community when a facility is set to close, however, with extensive regulations already in place for closures, this bill is redundant and unnecessary. This bill passed both Houses.
Health Emergency Response Data System (A.5370, Paulin / S.5732, Skoufis)*
This bill creates a “Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS)” to collect aggregated data related to public health emergencies with the goal of improving overall public health response, however, it may have unintended consequences and is confusing given the current HERDS reporting system. This bill passed both Houses.
Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes (A.7467-B, Paulin) / S.466-A, Sepulveda)
This bill outlines the process for use and administration of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes and sets forth provisions regarding consent for dispensation. While subsequent amendments sought to clarify consent and shift away from written approval, concerns remain over its potential unintended consequences. This bill died on 3rd reading in the Assembly and in the Senate Aging Committee.
Increased Nursing Home Penalties (A.5372, Paulin / S.6071, Cleare)
This bill increases the penalty amount for nursing homes where Public Health Law violations have occurred from $3,000 to $5,000 for civil penalties and from $5,000 to $10,000 for subsequent violations. For violations of serious physical harm, the penalty would increase from $10,000 to $20,000. All fines collected over $10,000 would be deposited into the nursing home quality improvement pool. This bill died on 3rd reading in the Assembly and in the Senate Health Committee.
Decedent Storage in Nursing Homes(A.7085-A, Paulin) / S.3572-A, Skoufis)
This bill requires nursing homes to maintain designated and temporary on-site storage space for decedents in instances of excess mortality during a declared state of emergency until safe transport can be arranged. However, this bill fails to recognize that hundreds of nursing homes would be required to undertake new brick and mortar construction projects. This bill died on 3rd reading in the Assembly and in the Senate Health Committee.
ASSISTED LIVING:
Quality Reporting Requirements (A.5790-B, Paulin) / S.8865, Cleare)
This bill requires the development of quality reporting standards for assisted living residences in concert with the Department and industry stakeholders and, among other things, sets forth a regular surveillance cadence for those ALRs with advanced standing classification. The bill’s language is reflective of language set forth in the Executive Budget for the past two budget cycles and NYSHFA|NYSCAL was successful in advocating for the inclusion of language that gives stakeholders a seat at the table. However, the implementation and rollout timeline remain problematic. This bill passed both Houses.
SSI Increase for Assisted Living Providers (S.8767, Persaud / A.9807, Davila)
This bill provides for a one-time 10% SSI increase for Congregate Care Level 3 providers, which has not been updated since 2007. NYSHFA|NYSCAL has been a strong advocate for getting this bill introduced and passed. This bill passed the Senate and died in the Assembly Social Services Committee.
Increased Penalties for Adult Care Facilities (S.5472-A, Rivera / A.5485-A, Paulin)
This bill increases penalties for adult care facilities vis a vis violations of endangerment or harm and amends the length of time for the commencement of a hearing to take place in regard to operating certificate revocation, suspension, or limitation. NYSHFA|NYSCAL, alongside its members, was successful in stopping this onerous legislation. This bill died in the Senate Rules Committee and in the Assembly Health Committee.
Assisted Living Program (ALP) Rebasing (A.7553-A, Paulin) / S.7248-A, Cooney)
This bill requires Medicaid rates of payment to ALPs to be updated based on 2023 costs and whenever nursing home rates are updated. NYSHFA|NYSCAL has been a proponent of Medicaid rebasing and the bill language is reflective of the Senate’s one-House Budget bill proposal. This bill died in both the Senate & Assembly Health Committees.
Medical Evaluation for Prospective ALP Residents (A.10244, Paulin) / S.9598, Rivera)
This bill, introduced late in the legislative session, allows for adult care facilities participating within an ALP to accept a medical evaluation from a prospective resident’s own healthcare provider as ACFs do not typically employ physicians. This bill passed the Assembly and died in the Senate Health Committee.