SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1955        FILED ON: 1/15/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 310

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to adult day transportation..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. There is hereby established a task force to examine issues related to transportation of participants in Adult Day Health programs.  The task force shall include the secretary of the executive office of health and human services or her designee the secretary of elder affairs or his designee an appointee of the secretary of elder affairs from within state government and 3 providers of adult day health services appointed by the Governor from a list provided by the Massachusetts Adult Day Services Association at least one of which shall operate an in-house transportation system.  The task force shall examine such issues as routing scheduling vendor selection and contracting staffing supervision reimbursement quality control and compliance with state and federal regulations.  It shall make a report of its findings along with any recommendations for administrative regulatory or statutory changes necessary to carry out its recommendations.  Until such time as the task force established herein reports its findings and recommendations to the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs and the Joint Committee on Transportation the Executive Office of Elder Affairs shall make no change which diminishes a program’s operational control in the reimbursement system or operations of Adult Day Health programs as they relate to transportation of program participants.  For the purposes of this section operational control shall include but not be limited to issues related to routing scheduling vendor selection and contracting staffing and supervision.  Notwithstanding the prior provisions of this section the executive office may grant periodic rate increases as appropriate for transportation services.