July 21, 2025
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We are all anxious about the federal spending plan recently signed into law and the impact it will have on New Yorkers and the mental health programs which serve as a safety net for hundreds of thousands of individuals and families across our state. We continue to evaluate the impact of this bill and fully recognize there will be challenges ahead, and some of them will be significant. On Monday, July 21, 2025 at 11:30 a.m. the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) will host a town hall meeting to go over what we know about the impact of recent Federal actions and discuss how OMH can support you during this challenging time. We do know these cuts will have a broad-reaching impact on Medicaid eligibility and funding for programs and institutions that rely on these reimbursements. We have a champion in Governor Kathy Hochul, who is deeply committed to strengthening our state’s mental health system and advocating for the rights of all New Yorkers to have access to this care. Under her leadership, we have seen unprecedented investments in mental health care throughout our state. We have encountered formidable challenges before, and we’ve always been able to overcome them by relying on the strength of our collective partnerships. OMH remains committed to promoting mental health for all New Yorkers and providing hope and recovery for anyone living with mental illness. We will continue valuing diversity and serving our state equitably. Most of all, we will continue to support those living with mental illness, their families, our providers, counties, and countless other stakeholders. As always, please accept our heartfelt thanks for all that you do and your dedication to the people we serve. We’re proud to be standing with you during these uncertain times. If you wish to attend the town hall meeting, no advance registration is necessary. When you click on the link, you will be asked to provide your name and an email. Please enter ‘omh123’ if you are prompted for a password, or ‘664123’ when dialing from a phone or video system. You may also join us by phone by calling +1-929-251-9612 in New York City or +1-415-527-5035 elsewhere and using the access code 282 618 24942 and the phone password above, if prompted. —————— NYS Office of Addiction Services and Support Webinar with Commissioner Cunningham Federal Update Monday, July 21,2025 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Please join me for a special OASAS Town Hall on Monday, July 21, 2025 at 4:00pm for an update on the recently signed federal reconciliation bill, which includes significant changes to Medicaid and other health and social service programs. (Note from Lauri: It does not appear that there is any pre-registration required. ) During the webinar, attendees will be off-screen and muted but can ask questions and share comments through the chat feature. Webinar topic: Special OASAS Town Hall: Federal Update Date and time: Monday, July 21, 2025 4:00 PM Join link: https://meetny-gov.webex.com/meetny-gov/j.php?MTID=m16da9a3b9bafa66721b5a90a8aaf5dce Webinar number: 2819 642 4708 Webinar password: 439Zfyb3JMh (43993923 when dialing from a phone or video system) Join by phone+1-929-251-9612 United States Toll (New York City)+1-415-527-5035 United States TollAccess code: 281 964 24708 CMS is cracking down on Medicaid continuous eligibility (which NY has for children 0-6) and workforce initiatives (like NY’s Workforce Investment Organization or WIOs, an essential part of the current NYS 1115 HERO WAIVER ). As I understand it CMS is not revoking those parts of the Waiver, but they won’t be extended if/when the waiver gets renewed. Attached, please find an article published by Crain’s Health Pulse on Friday, regarding the disparities that continue to exist in the numbers of overdose deaths impacting communities of color and other underserved/underrepresented New Yorkers who continue to die at disproportionate rates. ——————————————————– State has spent a fraction of opioid settlement funds, records show AMANDA D’AMBROSIO, Crain’s Health Pulse, 7/21 State officials appear to be sitting on more than $100 million in opioid settlement funds as the overdose crisis continues, new data shows. The state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports, which distributes the opioid settlement funds, has received approximately $505 million from litigation with drug companies, according to the agency. Though it’s made more than $400 million available through procurements since 2022, $145 million was delivered to providers and companies leading prevention and treatment programs during that time, according to comptroller’s office data obtained through a freedom of information request submitted by former OASAS general counsel Rob Kent and shared with Crain’s. In addition to the $145 million spent on vendor contracts, the state has allocated $138 million to counties, leaving more than $100 million unspent. The data, which includes all state contracts funded by settlement dollars from 2022 to 2025, shows a gap between the amount of money the state has allocated and what has gone out the door. The lag in spending has sparked concerns among advocates and elected officials, who say the state should expedite resources to solutions that prevent overdoses and assist people in recovery. “These funds were won to save lives, and they’re not doing that sitting in an account,” Assemblyman Phil Steck, who represents parts of Albany and chairs the committee on alcoholism and drug abuse, said in a statement. A spokesperson for the Office of Addiction Services and Supports did not respond to a request for comment by press time. The money that flows through the Office for Addiction Services and Supports is not the only funding the state is getting from opioid litigation. In addition to the $500 million the state has received for prevention and treatment programs, approximately $498 million that does not flow through OASAS has gone to local governments, agency spokesman Evan Frost previously told Crain’s.Elected officials and members of the opioid settlement fund advisory board have criticized the state for rolling out the funds too slowly as it continues to combat the overdose crisis. Deaths have declined since the state started spending settlement funds in 2022, falling 32% between 2023 and 2024, preliminary federal data shows. Still, more people still die from overdoses compared to before the pandemic and the crisis continues to disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic communities.Advocates have continued to call on the state to expedite spending of the settlement dollars, which will flow until 2040, after the federal government passed widespread Medicaid cuts that are expected to reduce resources for substance use prevention and treatment even further. Tracie Gardner, executive director of the National Black Harm Reduction Network and a member of the opioid settlement fund advisory board, said that the slow rollout of funds as overdoses persist is “heart-breaking.”“We suspected that this was true, and to see it as deaths continue unabated among Black folks is bordering criminal,” Gardner said. RESOURCES |
| Dear Friends of Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) Thank you for registering to attend yesterday’s briefing by FPI Director Nathan Gusdorf on state tax policy options in the face of federal funding cuts under the “One Big Beautiful Act”. You can watch the recording and download the slides here: |
Note: The NYS Council sent notes from this event to all members on Thursday, 7/17/2025 at 9:06 pm – notes were attached to the email.
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Monday, July 22 at 2 PM ET | Webinar: Budget Bill Enactment & What Comes Next — Mitigating the Harm of Cuts to Medicaid & SNAP Hosted by Legal Action Center Learn about major provisions of the new law—including expanded Medicaid and SNAP work requirements—and the potential impacts on individuals with substance use disorders or incarceration histories. Discover ways to take action during the next phase of implementation. Register Here Hosted by Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program Delinquent borrowers are now being reported to credit bureaus, and federal collections have resumed. Learn how to protect your credit, stop collections, and explore options to get back on track with your student loans. Tuesday, July 30 at 12 PM ET | Webinar: What’s Next for Student Loan Borrowers Now That the “Big Beautiful Bill” is Law Hosted by Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program Join us for a breakdown of what borrowers need to know— including the end of the SAVE Plan, new borrowing limits, changes to repayment and forgiveness, key deadlines, and steps to protect yourself.Whether you’re in repayment, in school, or in default, this webinar is for you. A live Q&A will follow the presentation Tuesday, July 30 at 1 PM ET | Webinar: Assessing the Impact of OBBBA on the Life Sciences Industry Hosted by Manatt Health Join this in-depth discussion on how OBBBA will reshape Medicaid eligibility, financing, and drug pricing programs. Explore consequences for health systems, drug manufacturers, and patient assistance programs. |
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| CBPP, 7/18/25 |
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A proposal by the Trump Administration to cut off rental assistance after two years even if participants still can’t afford rent on their own would put over 3 million people, more than half of them children, at risk of eviction and homelessness. Most of these people are in households that include someone who works but doesn’t earn enough to afford the rent. Everyone should have a safe, stable, affordable place to live. Expanding rental assistance would bring us closer to this goal, while imposing arbitrary limits that take assistance away from people who need help paying the rent would take us in the wrong direction. Today, fewer than 1 in 4 eligible households receive rental assistance and there are long waiting lists almost everywhere. Some proponents of time limits argue that it therefore makes sense to ration rental assistance by taking it away after two years. But shifting assistance from one household to another would leave the same number of people in need without assistance, and it would mean that no one would receive the most important benefit rental assistance provides: a stable home. In addition, congressional Republicans are seeking to advance several other harmful policy proposals that would cause many people who are struggling to afford housing to be left without rental assistance. |
