Calls needed to your State Assemblymember and Senator to prevent a cut in Medicaid home care eligibility for future enrollees.
Call:
518-455-4100 – ask for your Assemblymember
518-455-2800 – ask for your Senator
If you don’t know who represents you, look up your home address at this link.
Message: I am a constituent, and I urge you to speak up during Medicaid negotiations to repeal the not yet implemented Medicaid Redesign Team changes from 2020 that cut the home care benefit. The repeal is found in A1198 /S358 & A1907 /S4786 and these need to be included in the final budget.
Background:
The state budget negotiations between the Governor and the Assembly and Senate are underway. None of the three have included in their Medicaid budget proposals an urgently needed fix that would prevent a cut in qualifications for future Medicaid home care services. Two scheduled cuts, adopted in 2020, are about to go into effect and will impact anyone newly needing home care.
- The first would change the minimum number of activities of daily living (ADLs) that an applicant needs assistance with to qualify. Currently, Medicaid enrollees can get services if they need help with one or more ADLs. The change will mean that an applicant will need help with at least 3 ADLs and require physical assistance (although a diagnosis of dementia reduces the need to 2 ADLs.) As an example, this means that if a new applicant only needs housekeeping services in order to live safely at home, they would no longer be eligible. (We support Assembly bill A1198 /Senate bill S358 to repeal this.)
- The second would require a 2 1/2 year financial look back on transfer of assets for community Medicaid. Currently, Medicaid applicants can be approved without a look-back at their resource history. (We support Assembly bill A1907 /Senate bill S4786 to repeal this.)