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NYAIL News 2022, Issue 12
Office Closures, Advocacy Updates, Webinar Series, & NYAIL Team Updates
Office Closures
To allow our staff to spend time with their families this holiday season the NYAIL office will be closed from Friday, December 23rd through Monday, December 26th. We will re-open on Tuesday, December 27. We will close again on Friday, December 30th, and open our doors next year on Tuesday, January 3rd. The NYAIL family wishes you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season!
Advocacy Updates
End Medical Debt Campaign
NYAIL is excited to share some positive news from the End Medical Debt Campaign. On November 23rd Governor Hochul signed the Liens Bill (S.6522A/A.7363A). The bill stops hospitals and other healthcare providers from garnishing wages and putting property liens on patients’ homes to collect a medical debt. This legislation is one of three bills NYAIL has been working on with the #EndMedicalDebt Coalition. As of December 1st, when this newsletter is published, the Facility Fees Bill (S2521C/A3470C) has passed the Assembly and Senate but has not been sent to Governor Hochul. The Hospital Financial Assistance Law (S7625/A8441) is in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. In the Senate, it is currently on the Floor. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

There are three upcoming #EndMedicalDebt Campaign forums.

  • Albany: End Medical Debt Albany Public Forum, Tuesday, December 6th at 6:30 PM, Bethany Reformed Church, 760 New Scotland Ave, Albany, NY

  • Syracuse: End Medical Debt - Syracuse Community Forum, Thursday, December 8th, 5 to 7 PM, Beauchamp Branch Library, 2111 S. Salina St., Syracuse, NY

  • Virtual/Long Island: End Medical Debt Virtual Campaign Forum - Tuesday, December 13th, 7 to 8 PM
#FairPay4Homecare Statewide Relaunch Events
As we get ready for our #FairPay4HomeCare push there are several opportunities in each area of the state to get involved. Below is the information for each event. To find out more about the event in your area please click the applicable RSVP link:
 
Western NY - Monday, December 5th at 1 PMRSVP

Albany - Wednesday, December 7th at 1 PMRSVP

New York City - Tuesday, December 13th at 11:30 AM - RSVP

Hudson Valley - Wednesday, Dec 14th at 1 PM - RSVP

Long Island - Thursday, December 15th at 6:30 PM - RSVP
 
There is also a postcard writing party at the Finger Lakes Independence Center (FLIC) on December 15. FLIC has been working with Access to Independence in Cortland along with the Southern Tier Independence Center (STIC) in the #FairPay4HomeCare fight.

For questions or more information about any of these events please contact Julia Solow: julia@domesticemployers.org
Eliminating the Medicaid Buy-In Program Asset Limit & Addressing Equity in the Medicaid Program
Medicaid Matters NY (MMNY), along with several advocacy organizations, sent a letter to Governor Hochul asking her to eliminate the Medicaid Buy-In Program asset limit. Elimination of the asset limit is one of NYAIL's new budget priorities this year.

The letter also calls for an increase of the Medicaid asset test from 150% to 600% of the annual income limit for everyone.

People with disabilities and older adults with low income are disproportionately people of color and these Medicaid limits are an equity issue that the state can address in the state budget. Click here to read the full letter.
Disability Advisory Council Seeking Feedback
NYAIL is a member of the Division of Human Rights’ Disability Advisory Council. This Council meets monthly and is responsible for:

  • Identifying and speaking to systemic problems of discrimination facing persons with disabilities;

  • Advising on ways to educate the public to both prevent discrimination based on disability and ensure people know their rights; and

  • Sharing information about its activities with the persons we serve in our localities.

If your ILC is seeing barriers or has recommendations for public education activities to prevent discrimination, we want to hear them! Send any issues to Lindsay Miller, NYAIL Executive Director: lmiller@ilny.org
New Money Follows the Person Report
The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) released a new 2020 Money Follows the Person (MFP) at a glance report highlighting program successes. There are also excerpts from a quality of life surveys before and after community transitions. The purpose of the report is to highlight the MFP program by sharing information and community transition success stories. We encourage you to share the report in order to spread the word.
NYAIL's 2022 Webinar Series
New Date for Supportive Decision-Making Webinar
Thursday, December 15th

Join us for NYAIL's December webinar on supported decision-making (SDM) on Thursday, December 15th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. SDM is now a well-recognized practice allowing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to make their own decisions with the support of trusted persons in their lives. SDM has been recognized by courts, and now by statute, as a “less restrictive alternative” to guardianship. Recently enacted Supported Decision-Making Agreement (SDMA) legislation in New York will grant recognition to decisions made by persons with SDMAs made through a recognized process of facilitation, preventing third parties from discriminating against them, or insisting a guardian be appointed because of their disability.

Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY) has spent the past 6 years developing SDM facilitation under grants from NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC), the Ford Foundation, and others, and is now the recipient of a $4 million grant from the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to design and pilot a facilitation service delivery model for providing SDM facilitation statewide.

Kristin Booth Glen, former Surrogate, N.Y. County, Director of SDMNY and Joan Cornachio, SDMNY’s Associate Director will discuss the SDMNY facilitation model, the new legislation, the pilot project, and how ILCs might be involved. Glen also received the Disability Rights Employment Awareness Month (DREAM) 2022 Advocacy Award for her work on SDM.

ASL and captioning will be available for this webinar.
November Webinar: Managed Long-Term Data Transparency Project
On November 9th, Valerie Bogart with the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Project presented on the Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) Data Transparency Project. We had 161 registered attendees. The project makes public how MLTC plans have spent billions of Medicaid dollars to provide services to New Yorkers enabling them to live safely in the community. While New York State makes some MLTC data public, there is a huge gap this project aims to fill by posting selected data from Managed Medicaid Cost and Operating Reports (MMCOR). The information is from 2017 and 2018 reports.
The MLTC Data Transparency Project presents selected MMCOR data in four interactive, downloadable visualizations, with a fifth visualization showing changes over time in enrollment in each MLTC plan. The information is also available in multiple formats for increased accessibility. To access the data click here.
Thank you to our NYAIL 2022 Webinar Series sponsor Waymo!
Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. We believe that fully autonomous technology holds the promise to improve road safety and offer new mobility options to millions of people. This is why we're designing the Waymo Driver, our autonomous technology, to give people a new kind of freedom – to go where they want, when they want, while making the frustrations and concerns with driving a thing of the past.
NYAIL Team Updates
Over the past month the NYAIL team has grown. We welcome Michelle Darling-Downs as the new Statewide Peer/Transition Specialist Liaison. She will be supporting both Peers and Transition Specialists across the state in their efforts to assist people transitioning from nursing homes to the community. Michelle joins us with years of experience at Suffolk Independent Living Organization (SILO) as an Open Doors Regional Lead.

Peyton Quinn joined our Olmstead Housing Subsidy team as a Housing Program Specialist. Peyton has years of experience as a Housing Specialist with Southern Tier Independence Center (STIC).

Last, but certainly not least, we would like to congratulate Aurie Mercer on her new role with us as Director of Operations and Human Resources. Aurie recently received the SHRM-CP certification for Human Resources professionals. Congratulations, Aurie!
NYAIL administers several statewide and regional programs in collaboration with its member ILCs, all of which are focused on helping people with disabilities live independently in the community.

Learn more about NYAIL's program by visiting: ilny.us/programs 
Newsletter ideas can be sent to bbryant@ilny.org for consideration.
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Contact Us
Lindsay Miller
Executive Director 
Alex Thompson
Director of Advocacy  
Blaise Bryant
Communications Specialist
New York Association on Independent Living
155 Washington Ave., Suite 208
Albany, NY 12210
Phone 518.465.4650 Fax 518.465.4625