Volume 3, Issue 6 | June 2021
ALBANY REPORT
With Legislative Session Over, It’s Time to Redouble on Key Home Care Priorities
 
In the whirlwind state legislative session finale early this month, the Senate and Assembly thankfully reconsidered passage of several bills that would have enormously burdened home care providers still struggling in the pandemic.
 
Home care’s needs are urgent; and, of course, the overall health and safety threat of COVID-19 remains with us.
 
Because these pandemic struggles persist, there's also much work to do post-session to help. While the state's declared health emergency may be over, home care and hospice providers are still coping with the lingering aftermath of COVID’s devastation in severe financial, operational, and staffing terms.

HOME CARE FOR KIDS
NY Times: The Home Care Nursing Shortage and Its Toll on Families with Medically Fragile Children

An expansive page-one story in the New York Times earlier this month examined the nursing shortage in home care and its emotional, physical, and economic impact on families with children needing medically complex care.
 
HCA has repeatedly advanced legislation to address the root causes of home care’s nursing shortages for medically fragile kids, as with adults. These persistent shortages threaten unnecessary institutionalization, depriving patients and families of the option to receive cost-effective care at home.

WORKFORCE FUNDS
HCA Outlines Specific Recommendations for NY’s Use of $1.6B in HCBS Funds


According to state health officials, the $1.6 billion amount could increase substantially over a multi-year period, depending on the federal matching process, with funds not only for home care but also an array of other service sectors.

OLMSTEAD
Olmstead at 22: A Legal Guarantee of ‘Home Care First’ for Persons with Disabilities
 
This month marked the 22nd anniversary of the landmark Olmstead decision in the Supreme Court on June 22, 1999.
 
For persons with disabilities, Olmstead provides a vital legal right to community-based care options.

ARCHIVES

See past editions of the HCA Capitol Report.
Got questions? Contact HCA's Communications Director Roger Noyes at rnoyes@hcanys.org or (518) 810-0665.