NYS Legislature Advances Legislation While Awaiting Final Budget Agreement

The Situation Report | May 5, 2025

At the time of this writing, the NYS Legislature has introduced over 15,000 bills so far during the 2025 legislative session. Although most of the attention has revolved around the state Budget Bills, the NYS Legislature has also focused on a variety of other non-budget related legislative proposals that impact the home care industry. While not an exhaustive list, the overview below includes a few noteworthy bills that affect various segments of the home and community-based services sector.

Home Health & Mental Health Collaboration (S997):

Sponsored by Senator Samra Brouk (D – Rochester), this bill authorizes the State Office of Mental Health and the Department of Health to waive rules to address barriers to collaboration by mental health providers and providers of home care services within the existing Geriatric Service Demonstration Program. The purpose is to enhance coordination, integration and improved access of health and mental health services for individuals with co-occurring mental health and physical health needs. This bill passed the Senate in 2024 and is currently on the agenda for the next meeting of the Senate Mental Health Committee, currently scheduled for Wednesday, May 7. This HCANYS-authored legislation directly relates to and assists with collaborative work HCANYS has been conducting with the NYS Office of Mental Health and Finger Lakes Geriatric Education center, regarding mental health intensive trainings, an integrated model care plan for behavioral and physical health, and helpful tools, available here.

LHCSA RFO Repeal (A.8137):

Sponsored by Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D – Westchester), this legislation repeals Public Health Law §3605-c which requires authorization for a LHCSA to enroll as a provider under the Medicaid program. The bill is currently in the Assembly Health Committee.  HCANYS has strongly opposed this underlying “RFO” law from the outset, and the overreach of authority it confers to the State Department of Health. HCANYS supports the Legislature’s efforts to remove this authority and, further, to further safeguard home care access from this type of regressive and unilateral action by the Department.

Aid-in-Dying/Assisted Suicide (S.138/A.136):

Sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D – NYC) and Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D – Westchester), this legislation permits a mentally competent, terminally ill adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request medication from their treating physician to hasten the individual's death. This bill passed the Assembly (81-67) on April 29. In the Senate, the bill is in the Health Committee and 25 out of 63 Senators sponsor the bill.  HCANYS is concerned to see a bill of this profound medical, ethical, and societal significance being taken up in the context of the Legislature’s and Executive’s absorption in state budget negotiations.

Restrictions on For-Profit Hospice (S.3437/A.565):

Sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger (D – NYC) and Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D – Westchester), this legislation prohibits the establishment of new for-profit hospices or increasing the capacity of existing for-profit hospices. The bill does not address prior performance, patient health metrics, or any other quality measures. This bill has passed both the Senate (47-13) and Assembly (99-50), and awaits delivery to the Governor for consideration.  Similar legislation has been previously vetoed by the Governor and we await (possibly soon) the release by the State Department of Health, to the State Public Health and Health Planning Council, and to the provider associations and the public, the Departments’ draft recommendations for revision of the hospice approval methodology, including recommendations on prohibitions, limitations, or other controls of hospice growth or sponsorship the Department/Governor will seek to put on the table. There is a strong possibility that release of the draft recommendations will precede delivery of S.3437/A.565 to the Governor, giving a window into the Governor’s inclinations on the bill.

LHCSA Statistical Report Regulatory Relief (S.7531/A.7909):

Sponsored by Senator Chris Ryan (D – Syracuse) and Assemblymember Jennifer Lunsford (D – Rochester), HCANYS drafted this legislation to require DOH to provide LHCSA’s with all the materials needed to submit the LHCSA statistical report (e.g. platforms, applications, forms) at least 90 days prior to the due date for submission of the report. This bill is currently in the Senate and Assembly Health Committees.

Home Care Resources for Veterans (A.7627):

Sponsored by Assemblymember Paula Kay (D – Sullivan County), this HCANYS-authored bill authorizes the state Department of Veterans' Services to consult and collaborate with Home and Community-Based Services experts (e.g. providers, associations) to develop educational materials for veterans and their families about the accessibility to home and community-based services. This bill is currently in the Assembly Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

In addition to the bills mentioned above, HCANYS also continues to work on legislative initiatives within the context of the State Budget. As reported in the Situation Report over the last few months, CHHA Funding has played a prominent role in HCANYS advocacy during the state budget process. In the event that CHHA Funding is not addressed in this year’s State Budget, HCA has already secured sponsorship and introduction of two CHHA Funding measures that can be considered outside of the State Budget process. Specifically, S.6981 (Webb)/A.1493 (Paulin) updates the current public health law provisions for annual state aid to meet community need for CHHA services across regions of NYS and allocates $70M annually for this purpose. In addition, S.7052 (Webb)/A.7013 (Paulin) authorizes DOH to increase the CHHA episodic rate (for inflation, mandates, and workforce), and it also requires DOH to make the episodic payment system and pricing mechanisms available to Plans.

As developments continue throughout the legislative session, please stay tuned to HCANYS for the latest news and information.