This week, the New York State Assembly and Senate announced the one-house versions of the state’s budget legislation for State fiscal year (FY) 2025-26. Each chamber’s proposal is based on the Governor’s Executive Budget but may include modified appropriations and may include or exclude some of the accompanying Article VII legislative proposals. The three parties will now begin negotiations on reconciling these proposals, with a target date of April 1st to finalize the Enacted Budget for FY 2026.
Some key changes proposed by the Assembly and/or Senate include:
- Higher increases to Medicaid payments for health centers, hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities;
- Removal of “separate and post-treatment consent” requirement;
- Requirement for health insurance plans to annually report the percentage of total health care expenditures devoted to primary care;
- Enhanced “Targeted Inflationary Increase” for eligible mental hygiene and human service programs of 7.8 percent;
- Additional required information on the written notice for investor-backed health care transactions;
- Supplemental funding to support direct care workers serving individuals with disabilities;
- Requirement for hospitals to provide a list of “hospital rule-based exclusions” to the Department of Health (DOH) annually; and
- Establishment of the New York State Abortion Clinical Training Program.
SPG’s (non-comprehensive) summary of notable changes, additions, and removals in the One-House versions of the Health and Mental Hygiene legislative proposals from the Executive Budget is available here. SPG’s full Executive Budget summary is available here. As a reminder, these bills are far from final, and many omitted provisions may return or be modified.