BILL NUMBER:  S7333

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to increasing the enhanced residential care benefits for aged, blind
and disabled persons

 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 Part 0 of Chapter 54 of the laws of 2016
to increase the rate of SSI payment for eligible individuals receiving
enhanced residential care by $2.50 per day beginning January 1, 2017,
another $2.50 a day beginning April 1, 2017 and an additional $2.50
per day beginning April 1, 2018. For a total increase of $7.50 in two
years

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 which are paid through SSI. In the last twenty
years adult care facilities have had one rate increase in 2007 which
brought them to the current $40.00 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
2007 health insurance costs have gone up 42% and worker's compensation
costs are up 13%, not to mention real estate taxes.

The stagnant rate, coupled with rising costs has resulted in closures
of SSI facilities. For every displaced SSI recipient who ends up in a
nursing home, the daily cost of housing and care raises from $40/day
to $150-$250/day in Medicaid costs depending upon the area of the
state. Over the past 5 years, 20 facilities have closed their doors.
In 2014 alone 7 facilities closed. These closures are hard on
individuals who lose their homes and owners who lose their businesses,
but they are also costly for the state. For example, in December 2014
an adult care facility closed in Onondaga County and 8 of the SSI
residents moved into higher levels of care, resulting in the state
paying approximately $325,000 more for these 8 low income seniors. One
leading upstate provider recently closed three facilities over an 8
month period resulting in 88 low income SSI recipients having to move
to other settings.

In 2017 the minimum wage will increase, 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 two
year period, this legislation will help keep adult care facilities
operational, low income seniors in the community, and avoid higher
Medicaid costs which result when residents are displaced.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 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 :
Retroactive to April 1, 2016 with enactment of the budget, provided
however that the first increase does not apply until January 1, 2017.