News - Center for Elder Law & Justice

Erin Riker, Esq. Coordinator, CELJ Legal Advice Helpline This blog entry contains information about changes in laws, emergency declarations, and other government actions that affect your life in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a rapidly developing situation, so this article will be updated regularly as conditions change. This entry is current as…

A.4416C (Gottfried) / S.3460A (Rivera) provides important consumer protections to residents and their families by deterring the worst abuses in Adult Care Facilities. The Center for Elder Law & Justice is urging our state legislators to support A.4416C / S.3460A in an effort to improve Adult Care Facilities, benefiting the lives of New Yorkers residing…

We welcome the July 10th announcement and corresponding guidance issued by the NYS Department of Health (“DOH”) to reopen visitation to nursing homes and adult care facilities. We are pleased to see that “visitors” is not limited, and includes family members, loved ones, long-term care ombudsmen, and resident advocacy organizations. Visitors play an essential component…

The Department of Health (DOH) announced on July 10 that that outside visitation and limited indoor visitation and activities can resume in nursing homes and adult care facilities so long as the facility meets specific benchmarks. We discuss what those benchmarks are and the limitations on visitation below. We encourage residents and families who have…

submitted by Kevin M. Quinn On June 30, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed into law the New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act (the Act), which provides further protections to tenants suffering from financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act prohibits courts from ever evicting residential tenants who failed to pay their rent during the…

submitted by Kelly Barrett Sarama, Esq. Why might I need Medicaid? Even though you might have other health insurance, Medicaid is the primary payor of long-term care services in New York State. Medicaid can help you pay for your general health care costs, but it can also provide services above and beyond what your other…

submitted by Lindsay Heckler, Esq. and Liam McMahon, Paralegal Call to action: use your voice to improve long-term care! There have been longstanding issues with transparency and communication on the guidance issued to nursing home and adult care facility providers by New York State and the New York State Department of Health. To assist the…