NY State Senate Bill 2025-S2518

Senate Bill S2518

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to an investigation of the health department's pandemic response with regard to nursing homes and adult care and assisted living facilities

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 21, 2025	referred to health

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2025-S2518 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Health
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S8285
2023-2024: S1640

2025-S2518 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the commissioner of health to conduct an investigation of the department's performance, compliance and enforcement of applicable state laws, rules, regulations, and directives or executive orders, with respect to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes, adult care facilities, and assisted living residences, and to propose a pandemic response plan for future disease outbreaks.

2025-S2518 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2518

SPONSOR: TEDISCO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act directing the commissioner of health to conduct an investigation
of the department's performance, compliance and enforcement of applica-
ble state laws, rules, regulations, and directives or executive orders,
with respect to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes,
adult care facilities, and assisted living residences; and providing for
the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE:

Relates to an investigation of the health department's pandemic response
with regard to nursing homes and adult care and assisted living facili-
ties

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Merely provides definitions of terms as used in this act.

Section 2: The commissioner shall conduct an investigation of the
department with respect to such agency's performance, as well as compli-
ance and enforcement of applicable state laws, rules, regulations, and
directives or executive orders issued by the governor pursuant to
section 29-a of the executive law, including any guidance or advisory
issued by the department with respect to its compliance with United
States centers for Medicaid and Medicare services and centers for
disease control and prevention guidance and recommendations, with
respect to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes, adult
care facilities, and assisted living residences during the time period
beginning March 1, 2020, and ending August 24, 2021.

Such investigation shall include, but not be limited to, a review of:

a. state funding for nursing homes, adult care facilities, and assisted
living residences including, but not limited to, the adequacy of state
Medicaid rates and additional state payments for supplemental security
income benefits, as well as a regional analysis of its distribution;

b. requirements and enforcement of infection prevention and control
policies, including those implemented in response to the COVID-19 state
disaster emergency;

c. a regional analysis of the availability of qualified staff, with a
focus on identifying geographical areas with shortages and how the state
can increase the number of qualified direct care workers;

d. patient care and health outcomes in state run nursing homes, adult
care facilities, and assisted living residences;

e. an accounting of resources following the outbreak of COVID-19,
including, but not limited to, staff, personal protective equipment,
testing capabilities and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as a regional analy-
sis of their distribution;

f. the efficacy of step-down facilities, including the number of resi-
dents treated at such facilities, the locations of such facilities,
where residents were transferred from prior to entering such facility
and discharged to upon leaving such facility, and the potential for
growth;

g. the physical and mental health impact on residents of nursing homes,
adult care facilities, and assisted living residences due to isolation
and lack of visitation;

h. the impact the Advisory on Hospital Discharges and Admissions to
Nursing Homes issued by the New York state Department of Health on March
25, 2020 had on residents of nursing homes, adult care facilities, and
assisted living residences; compliance with the provisions of article 6
of the public officers law;

j. a new audit of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, adult care facili-
ties, and assisted living residences, including, but not limited to:(i)
the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths resulting
from COVID-19 in nursing homes, adult care facilities, and assisted
living residences; (ii) the total number of residents with a confirmed
case of COVID-19 transferred from a nursing home, adult care facility,
or assisted living residence to a hospital in New York state; (iii) the
total number of confirmed deaths of residents transferred from a nursing
home, adult care facility, or assisted living residence to a hospital
resulting from a confirmed case of COVID-19; and (iv) the total number
of residents with a confirmed case of COVID-19 discharged from a hospi-
tal to a nursing home, adult care facility, or assisted living resi-
dence.

Section 3. Within ninety days of the effective date of this act, the
commissioner shall publish the results of such investigation publicly on
the department's website, along with a brief description of the results
thereof, as well as recommendations on areas to improve state pandemic
preparedness, response and reporting with regards to nursing homes,
adult care facilities, and assisted living residences, and a pandemic
response action plan for future disease outbreaks, including any statu-
tory changes and budgetary allocations necessary for the implementation
of such plan, and shall submit a copy to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the senate finance and health committees and the assembly
ways and means and health committees.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Sadly, more than 15,000 New York nursing home and residential healthcare
facility residents lost their lives to COVID-19 during the early days of
the pandemic. While the current Commissioner has expressed that as a
State Department, we may not want to "unravel" what happened with the
former Administration in regards to the pandemic response in nursing
homes;, we have a duty as public officials to seek answers and account-
ability, and to ensure that we learn from the past to improve future
policy-making decisions.

Additionally, such an investigation will better equip medical profes-
sionals going forward for lingering variants of COVID-19 or any other
future contagion.

This measure would compel New York State's Health Commissioner to review
the state's past pandemic policies as they relate to nursing homes.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

02/09/22: 58285 REFERRED TO HEALTH

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed January 15, 2027

2025-S2518 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2518
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. TEDISCO, BORRELLO, GALLIVAN, HELMING, MATTERA, OBER-
   ACKER,  O'MARA,  ORTT,  PALUMBO,  STEC, WEIK -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT directing the commissioner of health to conduct an  investigation
   of  the department's performance, compliance and enforcement of appli-
   cable state laws, rules,  regulations,  and  directives  or  executive
   orders,  with  respect to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in nursing
   homes, adult care facilities,  and  assisted  living  residences;  and
   providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration there-
   of
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. 1. As used in  this  act,  the  following  terms  shall  be
 defined as follows:
   a.  "Department"  shall  mean the department of health of the state of
 New York;
   b. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of health of  the  state
 of New York;
   c.  "Nursing home" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined
 in subdivision 2 of section 2801 of the public health law;
   d. "Adult care facility" shall have the same  meaning  as  defined  in
 subdivision 21 of section 2 of the social services law;
   e.  "Assisted living residence" shall have the same meaning as defined
 in subdivision 1 of section 4651 of the public health law, as  added  by
 chapter 2 of the laws of 2004;
   f.  "Step-down  facility" shall refer to a COVID-19 only nursing home,
 adult care facility, or assisted living  residence  established  by  the
 department  of health, consistent with executive order 202.81 of 2020 to
 receive medically stable, but  persistently  positive  COVID-19  nursing
 home,  adult  care  facility,  or  assisted  living  residence  eligible
 patients transferred from an article 28  licensed  facility  until  such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04337-01-5

 S. 2518                             2
 
 time  the  patient  tests  negative for COVID-19, or is deemed medically
 safe for discharge by a  qualified  licensed  health  care  professional
 under the education law;
   g.  "Direct  care  worker"  shall mean any employee of a nursing home,
 adult care facility, or assisted living residence who is responsible for
 patient handling or patient assessment as a regular or  incidental  part
 of such worker's employment, including any licensed or unlicensed health
 care worker; and
   h.  "Hospital"  shall have the same meaning as defined by section 2801
 of the public health law, and shall include any  temporary  health  care
 facility  in  New York state established by the state or federal govern-
 ment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or any other  pandemic-related
 response.
   2.  The  commissioner shall conduct an investigation of the department
 with respect to such agency's performance, as  well  as  compliance  and
 enforcement of applicable state laws, rules, regulations, and directives
 or  executive  orders issued by the governor pursuant to section 29-a of
 the executive law, including any guidance  or  advisory  issued  by  the
 department with respect to its compliance with United States centers for
 Medicaid  and  Medicare  services  and  centers  for disease control and
 prevention guidance and recommendations, with respect to mitigating  the
 impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes, adult care facilities, and assisted
 living  residences  during  the time period beginning March 1, 2020, and
 ending August 24, 2021. Such investigation shall  include,  but  not  be
 limited to, a review of:
   a.  state  funding  for  nursing  homes,  adult  care  facilities, and
 assisted living residences including, but not limited to,  the  adequacy
 of  state  Medicaid rates and additional state payments for supplemental
 security income benefits, as well as a regional analysis of its distrib-
 ution;
   b. requirements and enforcement of infection  prevention  and  control
 policies,  including those implemented in response to the COVID-19 state
 disaster emergency;
   c. a regional analysis of the availability of qualified staff, with  a
 focus on identifying geographical areas with shortages and how the state
 can increase the number of qualified direct care workers;
   d.  patient care and health outcomes in state run nursing homes, adult
 care facilities, and assisted living residences;
   e. an accounting of resources  following  the  outbreak  of  COVID-19,
 including,  but  not  limited  to, staff, personal protective equipment,
 testing capabilities and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as a regional analy-
 sis of their distribution;
   f. the efficacy of step-down facilities, including the number of resi-
 dents treated at such facilities,  the  locations  of  such  facilities,
 where  residents  were  transferred from prior to entering such facility
 and discharged to upon leaving such  facility,  and  the  potential  for
 growth;
   g.  the  physical  and  mental  health  impact on residents of nursing
 homes, adult care facilities, and  assisted  living  residences  due  to
 isolation and lack of visitation;
   h.  the  impact  the Advisory on Hospital Discharges and Admissions to
 Nursing Homes issued by the New York state Department of Health on March
 25, 2020 had on residents of nursing homes, adult care  facilities,  and
 assisted living residences;
   i.  compliance with the provisions of article 6 of the public officers
 law;
 S. 2518                             3
 
   j. a new audit of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, adult care  facili-
 ties, and assisted living residences, including, but not limited to:
   (i) the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths result-
 ing  from COVID-19 in nursing homes, adult care facilities, and assisted
 living residences;
   (ii) the total number of residents with a confirmed case  of  COVID-19
 transferred from a nursing home, adult care facility, or assisted living
 residence to a hospital in New York state;
   (iii)  the  total  number of confirmed deaths of residents transferred
 from a nursing home, adult care facility, or assisted  living  residence
 to a hospital resulting from a confirmed case of COVID-19; and
   (iv)  the  total number of residents with a confirmed case of COVID-19
 discharged from a hospital to a nursing home, adult  care  facility,  or
 assisted living residence.
   3.  Within  ninety days of the effective date of this act, the commis-
 sioner shall publish the results of such investigation publicly  on  the
 department's  website,  along  with  a  brief description of the results
 thereof, as well as recommendations on areas to improve  state  pandemic
 preparedness,  response  and  reporting  with  regards to nursing homes,
 adult care facilities, and assisted living residences,  and  a  pandemic
 response  action plan for future disease outbreaks, including any statu-
 tory changes and budgetary allocations necessary for the  implementation
 of such plan, and shall submit a copy to the chairs and ranking minority
 members  of  the  senate  finance and health committees and the assembly
 ways and means and health committees.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
 deemed repealed January 15, 2027.

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