Harlem Senator Cleare And The AARP Urge Governor Hochul To Sign Aging Bill

New York State Senator Cordell Cleare, Chair of the Senate Committee on Aging, and the AARP are calling on Governor Hochul to sign into law Senate Bill 8760A.

Which will automatically identify and enroll participants in the State’s Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program (EPIC) into the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). The bill passed both the Assembly and Senate chambers earlier in the year and is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting her signature. Senator Cleare and AARP will hold a press conference during her annual National Senior Citizens Day on the plaza of the Harlem State Office Building. A lot of New Yorkers that are already benefiting from the EPIC prescription drug program are not enrolled in HEAP which will lower the cost of heating and cooling bills.

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“I urge Governor Hochul to sign Senate Bill 8760A which would automatically identify pharmaceutical insurance coverage program participants eligible for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP),” said Senator Cleare.  “For the last two summers, we have endured sweltering temperatures and continue to urge our residents to take precautions and protect themselves during these heat waves. Black people suffer disproportionately from heat-related illnesses and even death due to economic, environmental and health disparities. However, as the cooler months approach, we want to ensure that our older New Yorkers are able to take advantage of all of the State’s heat-related benefits as well.”

“It’s hard to imagine why the governor wouldn’t sign this common-sense bill. Doing otherwise would only leave millions of federal dollars on the table, and thousands of older New Yorkers without the help they need, and deserve, with home heating and cooling costs,” Reggie Nance, AARP New York Associate State Director – Multicultural Engagement said at a press event held during Senator Cleare’s Senior Day celebration at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem. “The Legislature has done its part. Now it’s up to Governor Hochul.”

Photo credit: HWM.