Bills affecting Senior (65+, Medicare/SS) in New York (2026 session)

Establishes a statewide advance care planning public awareness campaign and a community based advance care planning outreach grant program to fund not-for-profit community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, immigrant-serving organizations, senior-serving agencies, housing-based organizations, and other trusted community partners to conduct advance care planning education, outreach, and navigation.

Establishes a municipal senior center capital support program in the office for the aging to assist municipalities in accessing capital funds necessary for the purchase of senior buses; directs the director of the office for the aging to develop an application and establish criteria for the disbursement of grants to eligible municipalities for the purpose of procuring senior buses; makes an appropriation.

Permits an eligible retirement system member to receive, in lieu of an ordinary death benefit, a death benefit such member would otherwise be entitled to receive provided such member is a state-paid judge or justice of the unified court system or a housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York.

Relates to program eligibility for plans comparable to Medicare part D; provides for analysis of health plans by the department of health to determine whether such health plans meet or exceed the Medicare part D standard; requires the department of health, in consultation with the department of financial services, to notify prescription drug insurers of the provisions of this act.

Establishes an optional twenty-five year retirement plan for employees of the New York Power Authority with the job title of mechanic, technician, electrician, equipment operator, power plant operator, utility security officer, or lineperson.

Authorizes Kurt Nolan to receive certain credit under sections 384-d and 384-e of the retirement and social security law for prior employment at the Saratoga county sheriff's office and the New York state university police.

Relates to providing language access services to individuals relating to the tax abatement program for rent-controlled and rent-regulated property occupied by senior citizens or persons with disabilities and senior citizen and disabled homeowners.

Provides that the submission of claims for services provided by home care agencies shall be done on forms approved by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services.

Directs local law enforcement agencies in municipalities authorizing an auxiliary police force by local law to provide retirement service identification cards to auxiliary police officers who retire with 10 or more years of service or who are injured in the course of duty and unable to continue duty due to such injury.

Directs the secretary of state to publish a comprehensive list of all state sponsored novel virus related programs and resources available to consumers, student loan debtors, senior citizens, small businesses, renters and homeowners on the department of state website.

Establishes the New York Health program, a comprehensive system of access to health insurance for New York state residents; provides for administrative structure of the plan; provides for powers and duties of the board of trustees, the scope of benefits, payment methodologies and care coordination; establishes the New York Health Trust Fund which would hold monies from a variety of sources to be used solely to finance the plan; enacts provisions relating to financing of New York Health, including a payroll assessment, similar to the Medicare tax; establishes a temporary commission on implementation of the plan; provides for collective negotiations by health care providers with New York Health.

Establishes the teachers' fossil fuel divestment act; requires the New York state teachers' retirement system to divest the retirement system of any stocks, securities, equities, assets, or other obligations of corporations or companies included on an exclusion list of coal producers and oil and gas producers.

Grants members of the city of New York's police force eligibility for retirement and pension based on previous service as traffic enforcement agents.

Relates to including senior citizens as vulnerable populations eligible for supportive housing.

Enacts the manufacturer disclosure and transparency act requiring prescription drug manufacturers to notify the attorney general of arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers resulting in the delay of the introduction of generic medications.

Relates to raising the income cap for senior citizens applying for the enhanced STAR property tax exemption to $120,000.

Relates to changes of membership eligibility in a New York state retirement system.

Restores 20 year service retirement for New York city police officers.

Requires pharmacies to provide prescription drug readers or other means of access to individuals who disclose they have difficulty seeing or reading standard print labels on prescription drug containers; defines "prescription drug reader" to mean a device which is capable of audibly conveying information contained on the label of a prescription drug; makes exceptions.

Creates a wholesale prescription drug importation program which complies with federal standards and regulations for the purpose of generating substantial savings for consumers.