[ Text of section added by 2012, 139, Sec. 60 effective July 1, 2012 until November 4, 2012. See 2012, 139, Sec. 229. For text effective November 4, 2012, see below.]

  Section 2FFFF. There shall be established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund.

Chapter 29: Section 2FFFF. Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund

[ Text of section as amended by 2012, 224, Sec. 28 effective November 4, 2012 until January 1, 2013. For text effective until November 4, 2012, see above. For text effective January 1, 2013, see below.]

  Section 2FFFF. There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund, hereinafter called the fund. The fund shall be administered by the secretary of labor and workforce development in consultation with the Health Care Workforce Advisory Board, established in subsection (b) ; The secretary shall make expenditures from the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund, without further appropriation; provided, however, that not more than 10 per cent of the amount held in the fund in any 1 year shall be used by the secretary for the combined cost of program administration, technical assistance to grantees and program evaluation. The secretary may contract with any appropriate entity to administer the fund or any portion therein.

  (b) There shall be a Health Care Workforce Trust Fund Advisory Board constituted to make recommendations to the director secretary concerning the administration and allocation of the fund and establishing evaluation criteria.

  The board shall consist of the following members: the secretary of labor and workforce development who shall serve as chairperson; the executive director of the commission or a designee; the commissioner of public health or a designee, and no more than 13 members who shall be appointed by the secretary and who shall reflect a broad distribution of diverse perspectives on the health care system and health care workforce needs, including health care providers, health care payers, health care employers, labor organizations, educational institutions, and consumer representatives.

  (c) The comptroller shall annually transfer not less than 20 per cent of available funds in the fund to the department of public health, without requiring the approval of the secretary of labor and workforce development, to be expended on the following programs:

  (1) The health care workforce loan repayment program, established under section 25N of chapter 111, as administered by the healthcare workforce center;

  (2) The primary care residency grant program, established under section 25N 1/2 of chapter 111;

  (3) a primary care workforce development and loan forgiveness grant program at community health centers, established under section 25N 3/4 of chapter 111.

  The secretary may also designate up to 10 per cent of available funds to be transferred by the comptroller to the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Trust Fund established in section 33 of chapter 305 of the acts of 2008 to develop and support strategies that increase the number of public higher education faculty members and students who participate in programs that support careers in fields related to nursing and allied health. The secretary shall only designate funds for this purpose to the extent that the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Trust Fund does not receive adequate funding in the annual appropriations bill approved by the general court.

  (d) Remaining monies from the fund shall be expended on programs that have 1 or more of the following purposes, with a focus on aligning expenditures with industry needs:

  (1) support the development and implementation of programs to enhance health care worker retention rates;

  (2) address critical health care workforce shortages;

  (3) improve employment in the health care industry for low-income individuals and low-wage workers;

  (4) provide training, educational, or career ladder services for currently employed or unemployed health care workers who are seeking new positions or responsibilities within the health care industry;

  (5) provide training or educational services for health care workers in emerging fields of care delivery models; or

  (6) fund rural health rotation programs, rural health clerkships, and rural health preceptorships at medical and nursing schools to expose students to practicing in rural and small town communities.

  (e) The secretary shall establish a competitive grant process for funds expended on programs under subsection (d). Eligible applicants shall include: employers and employer associations; local workforce investment boards; labor organizations; joint labor-management partnerships; community-based organizations; institutions of higher education; vocational education institutions; one-stop career centers; local workforce development entities; and any partnership or collaboration between eligible applicants. Expenditures from the fund for such purposes shall complement and not replace existing local, state, private, or federal funding for training and educational programs. All approved activities funded through the fund shall support the commonwealth's efforts to meet the health care cost growth benchmark established under section 9 of chapter 6D.

  (f) A grant proposal submitted under subsection (e) shall include, but not be limited to:

  (1) a plan that defines specific goals for health care workforce training and educational improvements;

  (2) the evidence-based programs the applicant shall use to meet the goals;

  (3) a budget necessary to implement the plan, including a detailed description of any funding or in-kind contributions the applicant or applicants will be providing in support of the proposal;

  (4) any other private funding or private sector participation the applicant anticipates in support of the proposal; and

  (5) the anticipated number of individuals who would receive a benefit due to the implementation of the plan.

  Priority may be given to proposals that target areas of critical labor needs for the health care industry or that are projected to be critical labor needs of the health care industry in the near future, consistent with the state health plan developed under section 16T of chapter 6A. Priority may also be given to proposals that target geographic areas with specific health care workforce needs or that target geographic areas with unemployment levels higher than the state average. If no proposals were offered in areas of particular need, the secretary may provide technical assistance and planning grant funding directly to eligible applicants in order to develop grant proposals.

  The secretary shall, in consultation with the Health Care Workforce Advisory Board, develop guidelines for an annual review of the progress being made by each grantee. Each grantee shall participate in any evaluation or accountability process implemented by or authorized by the secretary.

  (g) There shall be credited to the fund all monies payable pursuant to (1) funds that are paid to the health care workforce loan repayment program, established under section 25N of chapter 111 as a result of a breach of contract and private funds contributed from other sources; and (2) any revenue from appropriations or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund, and any gifts, grants, private contributions, investment income earned on the fund's assets and all other sources. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the following fiscal year.

  (h) The fund shall supplement and not replace existing publically-financed health care workforce development programs.

  (i) he secretary shall annually report on its strategy for administration and allocation of the fund, including relevant evaluation criteria, and short-term and long-term programmatic and policy recommendations to improve workforce performance, and on expenditures from fund. The report shall include, but shall not be limited to: (1) the revenue credited to the fund; (2) the amount of fund expenditures attributable to administrative costs; (3) an itemized list of the funds expended through the competitive grant process, loan repayment program, and primary care residency program, and a description of the grantee activities; and; (4) the results of the evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities funded through grants. The report shall be provided to the secretary of administration and finance, the chairpersons of the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on public health, the joint committee on health care financing and the joint committee on labor and workforce development and shall be posted on the executive office of labor and workforce development's website.

  (j) The secretary center shall promulgate regulations necessary to carry out this section.

Chapter 29: Section 2FFFF. Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund

[ Text of section as recodified by 2012, 165, Sec. 112 effective January 1, 2013. See 2012, 165, Sec. 137. For text effective until January 1, 2013, see above.]

  Section 2FFFF. There shall be established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund.