Action Alert: Join NYAIL and Disability Advocates by Calling to Support AHHA!

CALL TODAY!

Urge State Leaders to Pass Advanced Home Health Aide (AHHA) Legislation before the end of the 2015 Legislative Session.

Creation of an Advanced Home Health Aide (AHHA) program would allow nurses to assign additional tasks to advanced home health aides, ensuring more seniors and people with disabilities can remain at home and providing needed support to family caregivers. This issue has been debated and discussed among advocates, providers, unions and State leaders for several years.  At the end of last year’s session, Governor Cuomo created the Advanced Home Health Aid workgroup comprised of a broad cross-section of impacted stakeholders to provide guidance to the Department of Health as to how this program would be implemented, including the specific advanced tasks that could be performed by home health aides in home care and hospice settings with appropriate training and supervision. As a result of this effort, a broad and diverse number of stakeholders support the creation of an AHHA program as a vital support for this changing system and for older adults and people with disabilities who wish to live in the community. 

The Governor included a proposal in his Executive Budget.  The Assembly has since introduced a bill that seeks to create such a program.  Despite supporting the program in their one-house budget bill last year, the Senate has refused to take action this session. 

Advocates are calling on State leaders to work with stakeholders to negotiate and pass an AHHA program by the close of the 2015 Legislative Session.    

ACTION:  Call Governor Cuomo and Legislative Leaders TODAY to urge passage of AHHA legislation this year.   

Message:

“I’m calling to urge you to make negotiation and passage of the Advanced Home Health Aide proposal a priority for this year.  I strongly believe that allowing nurses to assign additional tasks to advanced home health aides will allow more seniors and people with disabilities to remain at home and provide needed support to family caregivers.  This issue has been debated for several years and has broad stakeholder support – it is time to take action.”

 Governor Andrew Cuomo (518) 474-8390

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (518) 455-4800

Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan  (518) 455-2071

 Senate Higher Education Committee members from the Majority and the IDC:

Sen. Ken Lavalle (518) 455-3121

Sen. Thomas Croci (518) 455-3570

Sen. Rich Funke (518) 455-2215

Sen. Patrick Gallivan (518) 455-3471

Sen. Joseph Griffo (518) 455-3334

Sen. Robert Ortt (518) 455-2024

Sen. Patty Ritchie (518) 455-3418

Sen. Joe Robach (518) 455-2909

Sen. Sue Serino (518) 455-2945

Sen. James Seward (518) 455-3171

Sen. Dave Valesky (518) 455-2838