Legislature Adjourns, Return Remains Uncertain

Situation Report | July 27, 2020

Late Thursday evening, the state Senate and Assembly adjourned; however, their return remains uncertain due to the outlying federal aid package that is now expected in August and will have a bearing on state fiscal decisions.

Prior to adjourning, the Senate and Assembly passed a number of bills including longstanding legislative reforms that were left on the table prior to their initial adjournment in June. This includes a bill that would give voters more time to request and receive absentee ballots, automatic voter registration, as well as a number of state budget-related amendments.

At this time, bills are still being introduced, indicating that a return to session is forthcoming. This next phase would discuss potential solutions to the state’s budgetary shortfall once a federal aid package is released.

In the meantime, below is a list of bills of interest to the HCA membership. HCA will provide a more in-depth analysis of the legislative session after lawmakers adjourn for the remainder of the year.

For questions or concerns about any of the bills listed below or the legislative session, please contact Alyssa Lovelace.

  • A.10451 (Assembly Member R. Gottfried)/S.8361 (Senator G. Rivera): Mandates that Medicaid health plan payments for home and community-based services or fiscal intermediary (FI) services include reimbursement for personal protective equipment (PPE) for direct-care workers, care recipients and an emergency inventory of 90 days. The bill provides no funding to MLTCs for this purpose, and the bill memo establishes that funds should come from existing MLTC premiums. (Passed the Senate on July 22; remains in the Assembly Health Committee.)
  • A.10489 (Assembly Member R. Gottfried)/S.8337 (Senator G. Rivera): Clarifies that the two-and-a-half-year look-back period for home care commencing October 2020 would only look at transfers occurring after that date, lists conditions that lessen the resulting penalty period (such as if the transferred funds had been used for the care of the patient), and enables home care to be provided under immediate need through attestation. (Passed the Senate on July 22; remains in Assembly Ways & Means Committee.)
  • A.10486 (Assembly Member R. Gottfried)/S.8403 (Senator G. Rivera): Provides eligibility for Medicaid personal care services for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), cognitive or visual impairments that is equivalent to those with dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease and assessed to need supervision/oversight with at least two activities of daily living. (Passed the Senate on July 22; remains in Assembly Ways & Means Committee.)
  • A.10840 (Assembly Member R. Kim)/S.8835 (Senator L. Sepulveda): This bill would prospectively modify the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act, which extends immunity from liability to providers during the COVID-19 emergency, to limit the immunity to the care of persons who are COVID-19 confirmed or suspected. (Passed the Assembly and Senate. Governor’s action due by August 5.)
  • A.9538 (Assembly Member R. Gottfried)/S.7241 (Senator G. Rivera): Requires that all notices of adverse determinations, grievances and appeals provided by Medicaid managed care plans also include written notice of the name, address, phone number and website of the DOH-designated independent consumer assistance program, the independent substance use disorder, and mental health ombudsman. (Passed the Senate on July 21; passed the Assembly in February 2020.)
  • A.6566-B (Assembly Member A. Gunther)/S.8745 (Senator D. Carlucci): Requires the Commission of the Office of Mental Health (OMH) to identify barriers to mental health and home care collaboration under the Geriatric Mental Health Demonstration program. (Laid aside in the Assembly; remains in Senate Rules.)
  • A.2798 (Assembly Member R. Gottfried)/S.1890 (Senator G. Rivera): Permanently excludes Medicaid services under the TBI and Nursing Home Transition and Diversion waivers from managed care programs. (Reported to Assembly Rules; Remains in Senate Health Committee.)
  • A.10836 (Assembly Member C. Cruz)/ S.8633-B (Senator R. May): Creates the “reimagining long-term care task force” to study the state of long-term care services in New York State. (Remains in Assembly Aging; reported to Senate Rules.)