Healthcare (Long-Term Care)

Establishes training and registration requirements for patient care technicians; requires training programs to be conducted by hospitals, residential health care facilities, home care services agencies, degree and non-degree granting institutions of higher education, or any other entity approved by the commissioner to conduct such a program; provides such training shall include, but not be limited to an overview of the roles and responsibilities of patient care technicians in hospitals, residential care facilities and the home care environment, an overview of various patient care services provided in hospitals, residential care facilities and the home care environment, and the legal scope of practice for patient care technicians; defines terms.

Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state health and mental hygiene budget for the 2025-2026 state fiscal year; requires the commissioner of health to provide a quarterly report on known and expected department of health state funds Medicaid expenditures through state fiscal year 2026-2027 (Part A); extends the effectiveness of various provisions relating to social services and healthcare including medical reimbursement and welfare reform (Part B); relates to supplemental hospital payments (Part D); shifts long-term nursing home stays from managed care to fee for service; authorizes penalties for managed care plans that do not meet contractual obligations (Part E); requires a health plan to pay the MCO provider tax for each calendar year; requires every health plan subject to the approved MCO provider tax to submit reports; imposes penalties for failure to submit such timely payments; grants the commissioner of health audit powers; relates to the healthcare stability fund; relates to Medicaid payment increases for certain medical services; makes certain Medicaid payment increases contingent upon the availability of funds within the healthcare stability fund (Part F); relates to insurance coverage for medical malpractice paid for by funds from the hospital excess liability pool; extends portions of the New York Health Care Reform Act of 1996 (Part G); eliminates the fees paid by funeral directors for permits for burials and removals which are used to support the electronic death registration system; repeals certain provisions of such law relating thereto (Part I); relates to extending the time for awards to be granted to applications for the statewide health care facility transformation III program (Part J); requires general hospitals to report community benefit spending by July 1 of each calendar year (Part M); requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care to pregnant individuals; defines terms; repeals provisions relating to required protocols for fetal demise (Part P); relates to improving access to and increasing coverage for infertility treatments (Part Q); requires hospitals to have sexual assault forensic examiners (Part T); extends the provisions relating to preferred sources for entities that provide employment to certain persons (Part Z); extends certain provisions relating to clarifying the authority of the commissioners in the department of mental hygiene to design and implement time-limited demonstration programs to 03/31/2028 (Part AA); extends the effectiveness of certain provisions relating to the appointment of temporary operators for the continued operation of programs and the provision of services for persons with serious mental illness and/or developmental disabilities and/or chemical dependence (Part BB); extends certain provisions relating to services for individuals with developmental disabilities (Part CC); amends the definition of minor to exclude certain homeless youth for purposes of allowing such homeless youth to consent to certain medical, dental, health and hospital services, including behavioral health services (Part DD); relates to involuntary admission and assisted outpatient treatment; establishes the behavioral health crisis technical assistance center; relates to required training and maintaining of records relating to persons dealing with mental health and substance use crises (Part EE); provides that director of the budget, the commissioners of the office of mental health, office for people with developmental disabilities, office of addiction services and supports, office of temporary and disability assistance, office of children and family services, and the state office for the aging shall establish a state fiscal year 2025-2026 targeted inflationary increase, effective April 1, 2025, for projecting for the effects of inflation upon rates of payments, contracts, or any other form of reimbursement for the programs and services (Part FF); relates to the composition and work of mental health incident review panels (Part GG); provides that school-based health centers shall not be provided to medical assistance recipients through managed care programs until at least April 1, 2026 (Part HH); requires any New York subdivision that directly received funds pursuant to a statewide opioid settlement agreement to publicly post on their website information regarding how such funding was utilized and submit such information to the office of addiction services and supports (Part II); relates to clarifying which entities handle the reporting of pregnancy loss; and the responsibilities of health care providers and penalties for not protecting the identities of individuals who suffered a pregnancy loss (Part JJ); extends the authorization for certain fees and charges related to emergency medical services (Part KK); relates to the modernization and revitalization of the Nassau health care corporation (Part LL); extends certain provisions relating to the NYS medical indemnity fund (Part MM).

Authorizes the commissioner of health to approve certain reimbursement rates for certain programs established by not-for-profit and public skilled nursing facilities in upstate New York nursing home regions that are designed to work collaboratively on efforts to improve nursing home efficiency, staffing, and quality of care.

This bill (A 901) creates an aging in place task force within the Office for the Aging to study how the state can help older adults remain in their homes and communities. The task force will examine specific areas like transportation improvements, zoning changes for home care, nutrition programs, fraud protections, home medical care, tax incentives, and private insurance options. Composed of 14 members including state agency leaders and legislative appointees, the task force must report its findings and recommendations to the governor and legislature by January 1, 2028. The bill does not create new programs but directs the state to study existing policies and potential changes to support aging in place.

This bill requires managed long term care plans in New York to submit detailed annual reports to the state health department, replacing previous biannual reporting. It mandates specific data including service utilization (like personal care hours), spending breakdowns (home/community vs. institutional care), complaint statistics, wait times for services, and metrics tracking shifts from nursing homes to community care. The reports must be published on the department's website in an interactive format for public comparison, with the first reports due by February 2026. These requirements directly affect all managed long term care plans operating in New York and provide transparency for enrollees and the public.

Requires reporting and posting by assisted living facilities relating to quality measures and information concerning rates, rent, and service fees; requires a scoring system of the assisted living quality reporting.

Bill A 2731 authorizes certain existing assisted living programs to expand their capacity by adding a limited number of new beds. These programs can apply to add up to nine beds if they commit to serving individuals who receive medical assistance and the expansion does not require major renovations. The bill sets specific application periods for programs licensed by certain dates and establishes an expedited review process by the Department of Health, aiming for certification within 90 days.

Directs the commissioner of health to require each licensed home care service agency to submit an infection control plan and periodic reports detailing measures taken to protect clients from infection.

Authorizes increased equity withdrawals by certain non-public residential health care facilities; establishes the nursing home worker recruitment and safety fund.

Relates to applying a special Medicaid rate for releasees in facilities or discrete units within facilities that provide long term nursing or medical services.