Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, left, with Bangla CDPAP Services CEO Abu Mahmood, whose seven offices in New York are targeted for closure.
More than 40,000 Elderly Medicaid Patients at risk
CDPAP New York United hosted a press conference at Health Aid in Yonkers on Tuesday, December 12 where New York legislators spoke to a room full of interested and concerned community members and in-home care providers to show their support for stopping the closure of an estimated 270 CDPAP (Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program) agencies that provide home care services to disabled and elderly Medicaid participants. This December event follows a similar one held at N&J Homecare in Rego Park on October 11.
The New York Department of Health (NYDOH) plans to close an estimated 270 agencies that serve more than 40,000 New York residents. Small local minority agencies are being targeted for closure, and agencies serving specific cultural and diverse populations are scheduled to be cut as well, amounting to an estimated 60 percent of CDPAP home care agencies in New York.
Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, 90th Assembly District said, “This legislation before us would seriously impact in a negative way how we provide services for these elders and these disabled individuals. And, we know that the make-up of our community – as diversified as it is – requires agencies that have the ethnic and the knowledge and the awareness of the people we serve.” He continued saying that “We are at a point as a society where we focus on healthcare, and we focus on making sure that our loved ones have the ability to live a quality of life that surely allows them to stay at home.”
“When we reach out to allow more agencies that represent our ethnic fabric to really stay in business and really allow a workforce to address the needs, it’s a win-win for everyone involved,” Sayegh added.
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, 28th Assembly District, said, “I’m here today to support Nader’s bill which is particularly designed to fix a mistake that the State Legislature made in 2018. We were pushed by then-Governor Cuomo into a budget agreement that is bad for our seniors, bad for our disabled and bad for the home health aid groups that provide these services.”
“My understanding is the services provided by your agencies – these agencies – have been stellar, and that’s not why this issue came about. These groups – your groups – provide what I believe are preventive services, now I know most don’t think of it that way, but if your services are not provided, those people that you care for are going to the emergency room, and the emergency room costs exponentially more than the services you provide.”
