Calling All HCA Members... WE NEED YOU!

Calling All HCA Members...WE NEED YOU!

Help HCA Keep Up the State Budget Advocacy Pressure!

Much like last year, while the State Budget was due, April 1st, it will be delayed once again. There are many issues still being negotiated by the Executive and both houses of the legislature—both in and outside of the healthcare space.

Virtually all of HCA’s priorities remain in discussion, which means advocacy must not let up! We are continuing to meet with members and staff, emphasizing the potential critical impact of these decisions on the home health and community based care sector in New York State. We will continue to issue updates to the membership, along with action alerts for you to weigh in! THIS IS IMPERATIVE!

There are three levels of advocacy you can engage in right now—

Grassroots “Phone 2 Action” Advocacy: Lowest impact but we’ll take it!

Phone Calls to Offices of State Officials: Direct conversations with staffers convey importance to constituents

Request & Attend a Meeting in District or in Albany!: Showing up in person to speak about these issues is the best way to stress the need!

Find your legislators’ contact info here & place a call or schedule a meeting for this week! Even if the official is not available, it is still worthwhile to meet with a member of the team! Use the talking points below to guide your message.

HCA can help with all of the above if you need help, please reach out to Alex at afitz@hcanys.org for assistance!

Right now, the top issues facing each category of HCA Members are as follows:

For CHHAs & Hospice:

Funding:
The care continuum is a delicate ecosystem and, without more financial support, the current severe home care access challenges for patients will only worsen. Increased labor costs and inadequate funding is fueling severe declines in patient access across the state. The hospitals that rely on CHHAs like yours (and LHCSA partners) to accept their discharges will face increased delays and capacity issues as patients are forced to remain inpatient longer than necessary. This is directly impacting patient care, hospital capacity, and health equity.
Ask them to designate $35 million funding directed to CHHA services($30M) and hospice services ($5M). The Assembly bill already identified $30M for CHHAs, and the Senate bill provided a special rate increase for hospices. Ask them to ensure both houses come together on these funding increases, which need to be equitable with other sectors (i.e. hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living, hospice) receiving increases!
Hospital at Home:
Reject the Executive’s proposal to allow unlicensed in-home care by hospitals. Protect NY’s laws ensuring that only state and federally licensed home care providers (including duly licensed hospital home care agencies) provide this care.
Reject proposed changes to the Hospital-Home Care-Physician Collaboration Law (PHL 2805-x) that destabilize and wander from this core structure to allow fragmented, anything-goes models. Keep this critical program intact!

For LHCSAs:

Hospital at Home:
Reject the Executive’s proposal to allow unlicensed in-home care by hospitals. Protect NY’s laws ensuring that only state and federally licensed home care providers (including duly licensed hospital home care agencies) provide this care.
Reject proposed changes to the Hospital-Home Care-Physician Collaboration Law (PHL 2805-x) that destabilize and wander from this core structure to allow fragmented, anything-goes models. Keep this critical program intact!
Wage Parity & Conflict of Interest:
Reject elimination of Consumer Directed Personal Assistants’ (CDPAP) Wage Parity (est.$200 million), the separation of CDPAP Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) from a home care agency or Managed Long Term Care Plan (MLTC), elimination of a patient’s “designated representative,” limit of personal care hours, and new approval process for FIs – which will worsen the health system crisis.

For MLTCs:

Cuts & Procurement:
Reject the rate cut to MLTC (est. $400 million), the MLTC quality pool cut (est. $103 million), and MLTC procurement.
Reject the Executive’s general Medicaid cuts ($400 million).
Conflict of Interest
Reject the separation of CDPAP Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) from a home care agency or Managed Long Term Care Plan (MLTC)

For FIs/CDPAP:

Wage Parity & Conflict of Interest
Reject elimination of Consumer Directed Personal Assistants’ (CDPAP) Wage Parity (est.$200 million), the separation of CDPAP Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) from a home care agency or Managed Long Term Care Plan (MLTC)
CDPAP Structure
Reject elimination of a patient’s “designated representative,” limit of personal care hours, and new approval process for FIs – which will worsen the health system crisis.

Supporting Background:

Home healthcare serves nearly 900,000 patients in NYS. Clinical acuity, complexity and volume of patient and community home care need are rising more than ever, causing urgency in patient access across the health care system. The shortage of home care nurses and aides is at emergency levels. Just one vacant home care nursing position = 25 patient cases unable to be opened and served. Over 50% of home health agencies in NYS are serving at a financial loss. These community agencies are folding including, most recently, the agency serving the largest and most challenging region in the state. For consecutive years, the Executive Budget, while increasing home care responsibilities and wage mandates, and knowing of the rising patient demand, has failed to include sustainable funding for home health services and the hundreds of thousands of patients and communities in need across the state.

Please don’t let up now. HCA will continue to meet at the Capitol this week, if you or a team member is able to join us please let us know! It is extremely important for legislators to hear from you directly about the important, life-saving work you do.