Situation Report | June 28, 2021
As the state legislative session wound to a close earlier this month, key committee leaders expressed interest in holding summertime hearings that would examine complex systemic issues, like proposed telehealth reforms and workforce.
The Senate’s Aging, Health, and Labor Committees are moving forward on one such area, with long-term-care workforce hearings scheduled for July 20 and 27 (at 10 a.m.).
According to a Senate announcement last week, the July 20 session would focus specifically on home care workforce shortages, barriers, and solutions, while the July 27 session will meet to receive testimony on challenges and solutions.
HCA is planning to submit testimony documenting the many causes of chronic workforce shortages in home care, the ways in which those shortages have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as HCA’s solutions.
Our Home Care First agenda joins a longtime platform of legislative proposals to fund wage and non-wage supports as well as targeted home care infrastructure investments.
Many of these investment areas and opportunities are also articulated in a recent HCA letter to state officials recommending areas for investment of the $1.6 billion in enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funds for New York State.
HCA will provide further information about the hearings as soon as we learn more.