Increases the amount recipients of enhanced residential care may maintain in a personal allowance account and payments to the aged, blind and disabled.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7393B
SPONSOR: Brindisi TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to additional state payments to aged, blind and disabled and personal
allowance accounts for individuals receiving enhanced residential care
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would increase the state share of supplemental security bene-
fits and the personal needs allowances for low-income individuals resid-
ing in adult care facilities.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Social Services Law section 209(2) to: (1) increase the
state share of supplemental security income (SSI) benefits by $261 month
beginning in April 1, 2016; and (2) provide for an annual cost of living
adjustment (COLA) to the state share of SSI benefits by the same
percentage, if any, of any federal COLA in that year.
Section 2 amends Social Services Law section 131-o to increase the
personal needs allowance for low-income individuals residing in adult
care facilities by $36 per month beginning April 1, 2016.
Section 3 provides for an immediate effective date.
EXISTING LAW:
Social Services Law section 209 currently provides for a total SSI bene-
fit of $1,427 per month to low-income individuals residing in adult care
facilities. Social Services Law section 131-o currently provides for a
personal needs allowance of $193 per month for such individuals.
The personal needs allowance of $193 per month is deducted from the
$1,427 per month SSI benefit and set aside for resident to use on
personal needs, leaving approximately $1,234 per month - or approximate-
ly $41 per day - to be paid to the adult care facility for housing and a
wide array of care and services.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, adult care facilities (ACFs) are paid only $41 per day to
provide housing and a wide array of care and services to SSI residents,
including three meals per day, housekeeping, activities, supervision,
case management, medication assistance and hands-on personal care.
The last time the State increased its share of the SSI rate was in 2007,
and the last increase before that was 17 years earlier. With one rate
increase in 2 decades - and no State COLA - the SSI rate has fallen far
behind the costs of providing housing, care and services. As a result,
many ACFs that cater solely to this low-income SSI population have been
forced to close their doors in recent years and move their residents out
of their homes.
When a facility closes, a number of the SSI residents end up moving to a
higher level of care at a far greater cost to the State. For example,
for every displaced SSI resident who ends up in a nursing home, the
daily cost of housing and caring for the State increases dramatically
from $41/day to approximately $150/day to 250/day in a nursing home
under Medicaid. When one facility in Upstate recently closed in December
2014, 8 of the remaining 14 SSI residents moved into higher levels of
care
A modest increase in the State share of the SSI rate - together with an
annual State COLA - will help ACFs to continue providing quality care
and services to SSI recipients and help avoid future facility closures.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Beginning in State fiscal year 2016-17, the estimated fiscal impact is
approximately $38 million per year (depending on the amount of the annu-
al COLA), which will be offset each year by Medicaid savings due to
avoided nursing home placements.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, but the rate increases provided
therein will first occur on April 1, 2016.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7393--B
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 8, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRINDISI, CLARK, CAHILL, STIRPE, LENTOL, STECK,
CYMBROWITZ, ROZIC, ABBATE, HEVESI, TITUS, ENGLEBRIGHT, GALEF, McDO-
NALD, ABINANTI, GOTTFRIED, MAGNARELLI, SKOUFIS, ZEBROWSKI, LUPARDO,
FAHY, OTIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. MAGEE, MARKEY, SKARTADOS,
TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on
Social Services in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- commit-
tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
mitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to additional state
payments to aged, blind and disabled and personal allowance accounts
for individuals receiving enhanced residential care
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 131-o of the
2 social services law, as amended by section 1 of part I of chapter 56 of
3 the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
4 (c) (1) in the case of each individual receiving enhanced residential
5 care, an amount equal to at least $193.00 for each month beginning on or
6 after January first, two thousand fifteen.
7 (2) in the case of each individual receiving enhanced residential
8 care, an amount equal to at least $229.00 for each month beginning on or
9 after April first, two thousand sixteen.
10 § 2. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subdivision 2 of section 209 of the
11 social services law, as amended by section 2 of part I of chapter 56 of
12 the laws of 2015, are amended to read as follows:
13 (e) (i) (1) On and after January first, two thousand fifteen, for an
14 eligible individual receiving enhanced residential care, $1427.00; and
15 [(ii)] (2) for an eligible couple receiving enhanced residential care,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10924-06-6
A. 7393--B 2
1 two times the amount set forth in [subparagraph (i)] clause one of this
2 [paragraph] subparagraph.
3 (ii) (1) On and after April first, two thousand sixteen, for an eligi-
4 ble individual receiving enhanced residential care, $1688.00; and (2)
5 for an eligible couple receiving enhanced residential care, two times
6 the amount set forth in clause one of this subparagraph.
7 (f) (i) The amounts set forth in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this
8 subdivision shall be increased to reflect any increases in federal
9 supplemental security income benefits for individuals or couples which
10 become effective on or after January first, two thousand sixteen but
11 prior to June thirtieth, two thousand sixteen.
12 (ii) In addition to the amounts provided in subparagraph (i) of this
13 paragraph, on and after April first, two thousand sixteen, the addi-
14 tional state payment portion of the amounts set forth in paragraph (e)
15 of this subdivision shall be annually increased by the same percentage
16 of any federal supplemental security income cost of living adjustment
17 which becomes effective on or after January first, but prior to June
18 thirtieth, of each calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
