BILL NUMBER: S4924
SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to home care and
hospice worker shortage areas and disciplines
 
PURPOSE:
To authorize the state commissioner of labor, with the assistance of
collaborating state agencies, to conduct a competitive labor market
study to assess and make recommendations for home care and hospice capa-
bility to compete in the labor market for recruitment and retention of
direct care staff to meet patient and health system needs, and to estab-
lish a task force to promote entrance, practice, career development and
retention in home health and hospice occupations, including home health
aide, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work and
others that the commissioner designates.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Sets forth the home care-hospice labor market study and
recommendations under the direction of the state commissioner of labor,
with the collaboration of the commissioner of health.
Section 2: Sets for the home care-hospice labor task force, under the
co-chairmanship of the commissioner of labor and director of the Office
for Aging and the collaborative support of assistance of the Departments
of Health and Aging, and the Office of Mental health.
Section 3: Provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Both New York State and the United States Department of Labor analyses
show home care occupations to be among the top projected occupational
needs for the foreseeable future. The needs are driven and compounded
by: major demographic changes (in particular the aging of the popu-
lation); changes in state-of-the-art medical practice enabling individ-
uals to live longer, and to survive and live adapting to major trauma
and chronic illness; major changes in hospital and institutional care
use prompted by state and federal health care reforms; and other.
Recruitment and retention of individuals for health occupations in home-
care and hospice sufficient to meet demand is a major challenge on its
own but is made more complex by home care and hospice's less competitive
positions in the labor market and in the lesser awareness and interest
of individuals to enter and work in the home care and hospice fields.
Home care and hospices' ability to compete to recruit and retain staff
is at a huge disadvantage as these providers are also most often not
reimbursed at competitive levels with other major employers in the
market for the same health labor force, and when work in the home care
and hospice fields is inherently demanding in unique and extremely chal-
lenging ways.
The lack of individuals entering and staying in home care and hospice
occupations, in comparison to the current and future need, is of crisis
proportions around NYS in terms of patient access and overall health
system function.
This legislation takes on critical short and long-term elements that
need to be addressed in order to ensure an adequate health home health
and hospice labor force, and indeed, adequate health care, for New York-
ers.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S9664 - Referred to Health
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
None. The legislation seeks corrections and initiatives that will
prevent higher costs to the state by enabling the home care and hospice
systems to have adequate staff to service the patient and community
need. Any rate reimbursement changes or other fiscal measures recom-
mended to the Legislature and Governor by either the market study or the
labor task force would be subject to future budget decision-making.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S4924: 3614 public health law, 2807-v public health law, 2807-v(1) public health law