Dear Governor Hochul, Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie: On behalf of a broad group of providers and community-based organizations addressing social care needs, we are writing to urge the inclusion of funding for the Medicaid Quality Incentive Program in the final FY25 State Budget. The Medicaid Quality Incentive Program has been a vital resource in improving health outcomes for more than 5 million New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid, helping to incentivize efforts aimed at addressing the core causes of health disparities and advancing the quality – and equity – of care for underserved ..read more

NEW YORK–StudentsFirstNY today joined legislators and over 100 public school parents to rally in the Capitol for an extension of mayoral accountability of New York City schools. Parents from across the city spoke movingly about the increased role their voices play in decision making under the current system, and urged Albany not to take schools back to the failed policies of the School Board era. Early this month, StudentsFirst announced a seven-figure public campaign to encourage Albany to extend mayoral accountability this year. The group will run ads, mobilize concerned parents at rallies ..read more

During this year’s State budget negotiations, an essential program supporting people with disabilities is quietly under assault. The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), which was established to promote choice, autonomy, independence, and empowerment for individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities to shape their own healthcare journey, has become a target. This program works. I know this, not only because as the CEO of Consumer Directed Choices I have witnessed firsthand its positive impact on thousands of New Yorkers, but also because I personally experienced the cri ..read more

Faced with the frightening rise of violence in Emergency Departments, the New York American College of Emergency Physicians (NYACEP), the New York State Council of Emergency Nurses Association (NYSCENA), and the American Nurses Association of New York (ANA-NY) have created the Workplace Violence Prevention Alliance to increase awareness of ED violence, and to collaborate in order to bring about a solution. “Working alongside NYSCENA and ANA-NY to create this alliance and enlist Emergency Departments from across NYS has been crucial in raising awareness for this issue,” Penelope C. Lema, MD, S ..read more

Albany, NY – April 15, 2024 – The New York State Association of Health Care Providers, Inc. (HCP) is profoundly dismayed with the announced budget deal. The same day that saw more than 200 advocates from around the state rallyto save home care, Governor Hochul announced a plan that would put most of those advocates out of business. Theplan to “streamline Fiscal Intermediaries to save $500 million per year” comes at a great cost to New York’s aging anddisabled consumers who rely on local fiscal intermediaries (FI) to help them manage their home care. “This budget deal demonstrates the willingn ..read more

When most New Yorkers think of Long Island, they picture affluent people with beach houses and expensive toys. But the reality is far different. A lifelong resident of Elmont, I have been representing the 22nd Assembly District for a decade. As Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, the Long Island I know is a diverse population — ethnically, socially and economically.  Advancing the quality of care for everyone, regardless of age, income, employment, or documentation status, and eliminating the barriers that contribute health disparities ..read more

As a growing number of asylum seekers have arrived in our state, New York’s leaders have made an increasing number of requests for Washington to provide resources to make it easier to care for New York’s newest immigrants. But there’s one solution that hasn’t been mentioned, one that would both provide support to new arrivals and low-income immigrants who have lived in our state for years, all while saving our state money in the long term: using available federal dollars to expand health insurance coverage for low-income undocumented New Yorkers. While Washington is unlikely to come through w ..read more

Home care and consumer organizations have joined together to vehemently oppose the proposal to eradicate all Fiscal Intermediaries (FIs) and centralize control under a single state agency contract. FIs are essential entities ensuring individuals with disabilities and the elderly have access to consumer-directed home care services. The disastrous repercussions of such a consolidation were vividly exemplified in Pennsylvania, where over 20,000 consumers were left devoid of essential services as their caregivers went unpaid. Preserving the integrity of our home care system is not just a matter o ..read more

The climate crisis is hammering New York with extreme weather. Inequality is skyrocketing, squeezing working families across our state. But are we doing enough to tackle these issues and meet the moment? Recent reports that our state is no longer on track to building enough clean energy should be worrisome – especially since polls show that a wide majority of New Yorkers are concerned about the impacts of the climate crisis and think our leaders should do more to respond to it. A majority of New Yorkers also support bold public investments in clean energy projects that create high-quality job ..read more

Justice demands that we as a society do all we can to help formerly incarcerated New Yorkers thrive in the community – through opportunities for stable jobs, good housing and appropriate supports. Partnering with Gov. Hochul, we in the Legislature have made this a priority. What’s not well known about this population is that people with disabilities are overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice system, from jail and prison to probation and parole. According to a February 2024 report by the Prison Population Initiative, 40 percent of all incarcerated individuals have a disability ..read more