BUDGET INCLUDES FUNDS FOR IMPORTANT HEALTH PROGRAMS

3% COLA for Health Care, Mental Hygiene Workers; Help for Nursing Homes

Thursday, May 16, 2002

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno today announced that the Senate will pass a $89.6 billion budget which will include funds for important health and mental hygiene programs and services for people across New York State and additional support to the people who work and provide services in the health care industry. This portion of the budget builds upon the successful HCRA 2002 plan passed in January 2002 to address the critical shortage of health care workers, to financially strengthen hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities and increase funding for other important health care programs.

"I�m proud to say that this budget continues the great progress New York State has made in expanding access to quality, affordable health care for all New Yorkers, while it increases the state�s investment in important programs that benefit New Yorkers with special needs," Senator Bruno said. "This budget also reconfirms our commitment to service providers and the recruitment and retention of a highly qualified, well-trained health care and mental hygiene workforce."

The Senate successfully fought to include additional funding to nursing homes negatively impacted by the six percent assessment enacted in HCRA 2002 through an exemption of Medicare revenues from the assessment. This provision will provide nursing homes with additional support to invest in their facilities and will provide an additional $22 million in support in 2002-03 and $75 million annually thereafter.

The budget also includes $3.9 million in 2002-2003 ($21 million on an annual basis) to provide a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), effective December 1, 2002, to address workforce recruitment and retention needs in several health care programs, including Home Health Care, Hospice, Private Duty Nursing, Early Intervention, AIDS Adult Day Health Care, Occupational Safety Clinics, Methadone Maintenance Clinics and Limited Substance Treatment Clinics. The budget also includes a 3% COLA, effective December 1, 2002 which will provide over $62 million in new funding from all sources on an annual basis, to support the recruitment and retention efforts of mental hygiene providers that do not receive Medicaid trend factors.

Health Care Budget Highlights:
- $2.3 billion in funding to combat AIDS and HIV, including $110 million for the AIDS Institute
- $1 billion from HCRA and Federal funds for the Child Health Plus (CHP) program
- $2 million for QUIP (Quality Improvement Program for Adult Homes)
- $622 million for nutrition programs for pregnant women, children and seniors
- $458 million for the EPIC program
- $441 million for the Family Health Plus Program
- $213.5 million for the General Public Health Works Program
- $210 million of Early Intervention program
- $90 million of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute
- $89 million for women�s health care and nutrition for women, infants and children
- $44.5 million from HCRA funds to continue the Statewide Anti-Smoking initiative
- $8 million to provide citizens with information to help them choose health care providers
- $6 million to fully fund the statewide Safe Drinking Water initiative
- $5 million to clinics and dental schools for transition from fee-for-service to managed care.
- $3.3 million for key initiative, including sexual abstinence and pregnancy prevention programs, diabetes prevention and providing asthmatic children with care
- $3 million for the cancer mapping project
- $3 million to continue the Newborn Hearing Program
- $3 million to expand New York�s newborn genetic screening program
- $1 million for breast and ovarian cancer detection and education services
- $1 million for Workplace wellness initiative
- $250,000 for Health Screenings for WTC volunteers
- $946,276 for Social Model Adult Day Service Program
- $528,030 for Expanded in-Home Services for the Elderly Program
- $500,000 for Breast cancer support programs
- $200,000 for Alzheimer�s disease

Mental Hygiene Budget Highlights:
- $152 million to fully fund the fourth year of the NYS-CARES program, allowing nearly 6,500 persons with developmental disabilities to leave the waiting list for residential services by March �03
- $125 million for the Enhanced Community Services Program, including a $26 million increase to complete a major expansion of adult and children�s mental health services
- A 10% increase in community mental health clinic Medicaid reimbursement fees
- $32 million for implementation of Kendra�s Law-- the Assisted Outpatient Treatment program, which provides intensive supervision and care coordination for treatment resistant clients.
- Development of an additional 800 community residential beds for the mentally ill by the end of 2002-03 bringing the total number of community beds operating to 26,400
- $10 million to operate the Valley Ridge Center for Intensive Treatment, which opened in April 2002, safely serving developmentally disabled individuals with challenging behaviors
- $5.7 million to support an orderly transition to the new consolidated chemical dependence structure for outpatient services, assisting providers, as necessary, in restructuring their staffing and services
- $1.3 million to continue "shared staff" funding at the prior year enacted budget level
- Introduction of a new community-based detoxification service that offers an alternative to hospital-based settings. Nonprofit providers of this new service will create strong linkages to ongoing treatment services they currently offer, seeking positive long-term outcomes for clients..
- $150,000 for Hospital Audiences, Inc.
- $700,000 for Children�s Day Treatment Enhancement
- $22,500 for Hospital security protection gloves.

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