AARP Eye Center
NEW YORK – More than two dozen local lawmakers on Long Island have signed on to a letter with AARP New York to Governor Hochul urging her to include enough funding in her 2025-2026 state budget proposal for eliminating a huge statewide backlog of in-home services requests. This waiting list for services includes hundreds of older Long Islanders and their family caregivers. They are waiting for essential support such as transportation to medical appointments, delivered meals and personal care.
Eighteen members of the Nassau County Legislature and another 12 in the Suffolk County Legislature added their names to the letter with AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel on December 11. (Full letter below)
In the letter, Long Island county legislators and AARP expressed concerns for the “hundreds of family caregivers across Long Island seeking in-home and supportive services for their older loved ones, only to be told they must wait.”
“The Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly (EISEP) is administered by the New York State Office for the Aging (SOFA) and implemented locally, providing frail older adults with access to a coordinated package of in-home and other supportive services designed to supplement family caregivers,” she wrote. “These services are for non-Medicaid eligible persons 60 years and older using a sliding scale based on income to determine cost sharing.”
However, as AARP and the local legislators point out in the letter, EISEP has not been adequately funded in the recent state budget to help local governments address the unmet need, resulting in wait lists with the names of thousands of individuals seeking in-home help with issues ranging from bathing, toileting and dressing assistance to home modification and personal response systems.
The letter also mentioned that a 2023 report to the Governor and Legislature, SOFA stated that individuals waiting for services either fall in their home, leading to emergency room visits and hospitalization, or die while on the waiting list.
“We urge you to act and ensure that older adults in New York can age with dignity in their homes and communities by including an additional $83 million in funding for EISEP and aging services in your executive budget proposal,” Finkel wrote.
Finkel praised the Long Island legislators who joined AARP in urging the Governor to come through with the funding that allows eligible older New Yorkers to remain in their own homes rather than be placed in costly nursing homes or other adult care facilities.
“Our elected officials in Nassau and Suffolk counties know what’s best for their constituents, and that includes keeping their aging relatives, friends and neighbors in the communities they love and have contributed to for generations,” she said.
The local legislators who signed the AARP New York letter include:
Nassau County Legislature
Scott M Davis, Arnold W. Drucker, John R. Ferretti Jr., C. William Gaylor III, Michael J. Giangregorio, Samantha A. Goetz, John J. Giuffré, James D. Kennedy, Howard J. Kopel, Seth I. Koslow, Thomas McKevitt, Patrick C. Mullaney, Debra Mulé, Mazi Melesa Pilip, Carrié Solages, Scott P. Strauss, Rose Marie Walker, Delia DeRiggi- Whitton
Suffolk County Legislature
Trish Bergin, Nick Caracappa, Tom Donnelly, Steven J. Flotteron, Sam Gonzalez, Leslie Kennedy, Chad Lennon, Kevin J. McCaffrey, Jason Richberg, Rebecca Sanin, Robert Trotta, Anne Welker
The support from the Long Island county lawmakers for increased funding comes as 2,342 AARP New York members signed a letter urging the Governor to include $83 million in her budget proposal to eliminate the wait lists and improve home- and community-based services like EISEP that keep older New Yorkers safe in their own homes and support family caregivers.
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About AARP
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates, @AliadosAdelante on social media.
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To read the full letter, click here:
AARP LI sign-on letter
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