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Senator · Senate District 57
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Authorizes the commissioner of health to award grants without competitive bid under the health care efficiency and affordability program to home care services
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Aileen Gunther
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5446
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to facilitating home care access in rural and other communities in need
Purpose or general idea of bill
To include home care agencies among the provider types eligible under a newly created grant initiative "to strengthen and protect continued access to essential health care resources."
Summary of provisions
Amends subdivision 6 of section 2818 of the public health law, created by Chapter 59 of 2011, to add to the existing categories (hospitals and nursing homes) of providers Certified Home Health Agencies, Long Term Home Health Care Programs and/or Licensed Home Care Services Agencies in rural/other areas or circumstances of need for purposes of facilitating collaboration, affiliation or sustainability of service in a community, in order to strengthen and protect continued access to essential health care resources.
Subdivision 6 as amended by this bill is a grant initiative funded under the HEAL-NY program, with discretionary grants to be awarded by the Commissioner of Health and with pre-notification to the Legislature.
Justification
The enormous pressures on health care providers with respect to the growing demand for care, increasingly limited financial and health personnel resources, need for efficiency maximization and other systemic challenges are having untold effects on services, sustainability and access to care. Home care has been dramatically and especially affected by this trend, particularly in rural areas where county- and small agency-sponsored services are often the sole home care providers in the community. These agencies are increasingly faced with consolidation, reduction in scope or closure. Without additional support to either sustain or replace services, community access to care, and indeed the functioning of the larger community health system, are threatened.
This proposal would help intervene by enabling the core portions of the home care system - Certified Home Health Agencies, Long Term Home Health Care Programs and Licensed Home Care Services Agencies -- to be among those eligible for the new grants facilitating agency collaboration, affiliation or sustainability of service in a community, in order to strengthen and protect community access to these services.
As home care is a vital and cost-effective component of the overall health care system, this legislation is necessary to address the omission of home care agencies from a new grant category created this year.
Prior legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.