Senate Bill S4705

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4705

SPONSOR: KAMINSKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to increasing the
standards of monthly need for eligible persons receiving enhanced resi-
dential care

 
PURPOSE:  To increase the Social Security Income Rate adult care
facilities receive in order to ensure that these services continue to be
available to low income SSI recipients.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends section 209 of the social services law to
increase the rate of SST payment for eligible individuals receiving
enhanced residential care gradually until April 2, 2025.

Section 2 of the bill provides an effective date.

              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Many low income elderly and disabled individuals in New York live in
adult care facilities (ACFs) which are paid through SSI. In New York,
ACFs play a vital role in caring for seniors and persons with disabili-
ties who do not require constant care, but nevertheless are unable to
live on their own. Without ACFs, these residents would be forced into
institutional settings, even though they maintain the independence and
direction of action necessary to remain in the community. ACFs provide
such residents with room, board, housekeeping and personal care services
in a low-cost environment that respects their independence.

In the last twenty-five years ACFs have had one rate increase which
brought them to the current $42.00 per day. There has been no State COLA
during this period and costs to these facilities of providing housing,
care and services have continued to go up. For example, since the last
rate increase in 2007, health insurance costs have gone up 42% and work-
er's compensation costs are up 13%. The passage of $15 minimum wage in
2016 has put further downward pressure on these vital providers.

The stagnant rate, coupled with rising costs has resulted in closures of
SSI facilities. For every displaced SSI recipient who ends up in a nurs-
ing home, the daily cost of housing and care rises from $42/day to
$150-$250/day in Medicaid costs depending upon the area of the state. In
the past eighteen months, 15 facilities have voluntarily closed because
they are unable to remain in operation. These closures are hard on indi-
viduals who lose their homes and owners who lose their businesses, but
they are also costly for the state. One leading upstate provider recent-
ly closed three facilities over an 8-month period resulting in 88 low
income SSI recipients having to move to other settings.

As minimum wage continues to be phased in, costs to these facilities
will continue to rise and more will be forced to close. By providing
incremental increases in the daily rate to these facilities over a five
year period, this legislation will help keep adult care facilities oper-
ational, low income seniors in the community, and avoid higher Medicaid
costs which result when residents are displaced.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2020: S4042-A, Kaminsky. Referred to Social Services.
2019: S4042-A, Kaminsky. Amended and recommitted in Social Services.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Savings to the state as low income elderly and disabled individuals are
maintained in lower cost care settings which do not rely on Medicaid
funding.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
April 1, 2021.