Good news! Our efforts have paid off — Bills A. 5367 and S. 5028 will repeal the harmful eligibility criteria introduced for New York State home care programs. Now we need to get it to pass. We call on the State, the Dept of Health, the Legislature, and the public to do the right thing and repeal the harmful law that will send more to nursing homes at a time we are dying there at exponential rates. Below is our official letter to Governor Cuomo to kick off our campaign. Free Our People!
Visit Bit.ly/SaveHomeCare for our official campaign page.
Click here for our letter to the legislator:
February 25th, 2021
Dear Governor Cuomo,
Downstate New York ADAPT initially reached out to your office on October 7th 2020 with our grave concerns that policies set forth in the 2020 Budget would directly lead to the next public health crisis and cause the needless death of thousands of New Yorkers — but never heard back.
We remain firm in our initial statement. Not only would implementation of the stricter eligibility criteria for Medicaid home care put forth in Chapter Law 56, Part MM § 2-a (v) and § 3 completely disregard federal statute, but it will deny thousands of disabled citizens home and community based services. These changes will inevitably increase our death toll by forcing people to either live without care in the community or admit themselves into an institution during an international pandemic where we have seen COVID kill thousands in congregate settings.
Although we have not yet received a response from your office, we remain firm in our initial request for you to take these matters seriously. Thankfully, the Legislature has responded– we are fighting for Bill A5367;S5028 to be enacted immediately in the 2021 Budget in order to repeal the stricter home care eligibility criteria.
We have not forgotten the thousands of disabled and elderly people that died when your office decided to put COVID infected patients back into nursing homes. We have not forgotten all of those that have been erased by your illegal misreporting of their deaths.
If New York State continues to ignore the warnings not only from ADAPT chapters but also from the State Legislators that have written to your office with the same concerns, it is clear that all of the deaths that occured within the halls of those institutions were not remembered long enough. Or worse, remembered without an ounce of remorse.
We have not forgotten your own words, Governor: “The virus uses nursing homes. They are ground zero. They are the vulnerable population in the vulnerable location.”
While your office is already under Federal investigation for the illegal misreporting of Nursing Home deaths, we hope that you want to mitigate any further scandal. The public finding out that New York State restricted home care eligibility to send more people to institutions during a time in which the State is responsible for the deaths of thousands of nursing home residents will be disastrous.
If the deaths of thousands of people still leaves you unshaken and unconvinced, maybe the numbers will light a fire. This eligibility criteria disregards the Olmstead decision and will directly result in lawsuits against the State, while also dismissing federal guidelines set forth by Community First Choice Option (CFCO). The extra debt the State will accrue from lawsuits while jeopardizing the millions of federal funding that CFCO brings is not only dangerous, but easily avoidable if the State would listen to our warnings.
In order to protect the health and safety of those applying for home care, nursing home residents, their family members, their support workers, and the larger community, we ask that you publicly support A5367;S5028 being enacted immediately in the 2021 budget.
We have heard your callous words, Governor Cuomo, contrasted against the inspiring words of the State’s coat of arms – Excelsior – “ever upward.”
Now, it is the time for you, Governor Cuomo, to follow your constituents’ belief in “ever upward” and publicly support this proposed legislation.
We care. We count. Our lives count. We count every single life that was lost due to your negligence. We work diligently to prevent your proposed austerity cuts from furthering the death count of our disabled siblings.
Ever Upward,
Downstate New York ADAPT
For more information, your office and other concerned citizens may contact us directly by email at: DNYADAPT@gmail.com.
To view our initial statement, please visit our website:
Downstate New York ADAPT 