Adviser Vol. 1 | Page 38

ANNUAL CONFERENCE RECAP | 2018 State and Federal Advocacy Update LeadingAge NY’s Ami Schnauber, vice president of advocacy and public policy and Dan Heim, executive vice president and LeadingAge’s Nicole Fallon, vice president of health policy and integrated services, provided a comprehensive review of the policy and advocacy issues the associations have been focusing on over the past year. LeadingAge NY staff discussed the recently passed state budget, which included significant funding and health care changes for providers. LeadingAge NY was successful at getting a health care transformation capital funding set aside for nursing homes, home care and assisted living, along with a significant expansion to the Assisted Living Program (ALP). Presenters also discussed the carve-out of the nursing home benefit from Managed Long Term Care (MLTC), MLTC contract limits with Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs) and a moratorium on LHCSA applications. Presenters then discussed legislative bills that were under consideration in the State Legislature, including mandatory nurse staffing ratios, access to hospice services in the ALP, Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) cybersecurity regulations waivers, senior housing resident assistants and the expanding the role of the nurse in the Adult Care Facility (ACF). Nicole Fallon then provided a recap of federal budget activity, including the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the President’s 2019 proposed budget and the FY19 Appropriations process that was just getting underway. The budget wins that were achieved included, a therapy cap repeal; Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) market basket update of 2.4 percent; rural home health add-on continues at .5-4 percent, based on year, number of episodes and population density; changes to face-to-face eligibility requirements for home health and hospice and provisions to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) secretary to have authority to settle home health claims on appeal. Ms. Fallon also discussed the significant wins in the FY18 Omnibus Spending Package for HUD housing: Rental Assistance Demonstration for Project Rental Assistance Contracts (RAD for PRAC) allowing 202 to convert to Section 8 and access capital for preservation of units; $105 million for 760 new units; fully funding existing programs, an overall 10 percent increase; fully funding (continued) 37 Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Summer 2018