HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2510        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2072

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Thomas A. Golden, Jr.

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to stabilizing the Commonwealth’s nursing facilities.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Thomas A. Golden, Jr.

16th Middlesex

1/19/2017

David M. Nangle

17th Middlesex

 

James Arciero

2nd Middlesex

 

Paul J. Donato

35th Middlesex

 

Patricia A. Haddad

5th Bristol

 

John H. Rogers

12th Norfolk

 

Carole A. Fiola

6th Bristol

 

F. Jay Barrows

1st Bristol

 

Lori A. Ehrlich

8th Essex

 

Edward F. Coppinger

10th Suffolk

 

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

 

Kimberly N. Ferguson

1st Worcester

 

Daniel M. Donahue

16th Worcester

 

David Paul Linsky

5th Middlesex

 

Sarah K. Peake

4th Barnstable

 

James J. O'Day

14th Worcester

 

Susannah M. Whipps

2nd Franklin

 

William M. Straus

10th Bristol

 

Daniel Cullinane

12th Suffolk

 

Carlos González

10th Hampden

 

Jack Lewis

7th Middlesex

 

Harriette L. Chandler

First Worcester

 

Antonio F. D. Cabral

13th Bristol

 

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

 

Chris Walsh

6th Middlesex

 

Hannah Kane

11th Worcester

 

Tackey Chan

2nd Norfolk

 

Danielle W. Gregoire

4th Middlesex

 

Mathew Muratore

1st Plymouth

 

Marjorie C. Decker

25th Middlesex

 

Gerard Cassidy

9th Plymouth

 

Thomas J. Calter

12th Plymouth

 

Joan B.  Lovely

Second Essex

 

Daniel Cahill

10th Essex

 

Claire D. Cronin

11th Plymouth

 

William C. Galvin

6th Norfolk

 

Louis L. Kafka

8th Norfolk

 

Ann-Margaret Ferrante

5th Essex

 

Michael J. Moran

18th Suffolk

 

John J. Mahoney

13th Worcester

 

William Driscoll

7th Norfolk

 

Rady Mom

18th Middlesex

 

Frank I. Smizik

15th Norfolk

 

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

 

Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.

12th Hampden

 

Kate Hogan

3rd Middlesex

 

Michael S. Day

31st Middlesex

 

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

 

Josh S. Cutler

6th Plymouth

 

James M. Cantwell

4th Plymouth

 

Elizabeth A. Poirier

14th Bristol

 

Christopher M. Markey

9th Bristol

 

John J. Lawn, Jr.

10th Middlesex

 

Diana DiZoglio

14th Essex

 

Paul Tucker

7th Essex

 

Thomas M. Petrolati

7th Hampden

2/2/2017

Ryan C. Fattman

Worcester and Norfolk

 

Daniel J. Hunt

13th Suffolk

 

Bruce J. Ayers

1st Norfolk

 

Marc T. Lombardo

22nd Middlesex

 

Colleen M. Garry

36th Middlesex

 

Adrian Madaro

1st Suffolk

 

James J. Dwyer

30th Middlesex

 

Kevin J. Kuros

8th Worcester

 

Steven S. Howitt

4th Bristol

 

Paul Brodeur

32nd Middlesex

 

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

 

James R. Miceli

19th Middlesex

 

Aaron Vega

5th Hampden

 

Bradford R. Hill

4th Essex

 

Brendan P. Crighton

Third Essex

 

David K. Muradian, Jr.

9th Worcester

 

RoseLee Vincent

16th Suffolk

 

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

 

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

 

Michael O. Moore

Second Worcester

 

James M. Murphy

4th Norfolk

 

Nick Collins

4th Suffolk

 

Brian Murray

10th Worcester

 

Jennifer E. Benson

37th Middlesex

 

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

 

David T. Vieira

3rd Barnstable

 

Denise C. Garlick

13th Norfolk

 

David F. DeCoste

5th Plymouth

 

Walter F. Timilty

Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth

 

Sean Garballey

23rd Middlesex

 

Marc R. Pacheco

First Plymouth and Bristol

 

Susan Williams Gifford

2nd Plymouth

 

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

 

Christine P. Barber

34th Middlesex

 

Joseph W. McGonagle, Jr.

28th Middlesex

 

Shaunna L. O'Connell

3rd Bristol

 

Gailanne M. Cariddi

1st Berkshire

 

Jerald A. Parisella

6th Essex

 

Thomas P. Walsh

12th Essex

 

Natalie Higgins

4th Worcester

 

Angelo L. D'Emilia

8th Plymouth

 

James E. Timilty

Bristol and Norfolk

 

Alice Hanlon Peisch

14th Norfolk

 

Paul W. Mark

2nd Berkshire

 

Peter V. Kocot

1st Hampshire

 

Jeffrey Sánchez

15th Suffolk

 

Paul R. Heroux

2nd Bristol

 

Mark J. Cusack

5th Norfolk

 

John W. Scibak

2nd Hampshire

 

Aaron Michlewitz

3rd Suffolk

 

Solomon Goldstein-Rose

3rd Hampshire

 

Michael J. Finn

6th Hampden

 


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2510        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2072

By Mr. Golden of Lowell, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2072) of Thomas A. Golden, Jr. and others for legislation to make investments in the long term care workforce and close the gap between Medicaid payments and the actual cost of providing nursing home care.  Elder Affairs.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 520 OF 2015-2016.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

 

An Act relative to stabilizing the Commonwealth’s nursing facilities.

 

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. Chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 official edition is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new section: -

Section 78. for the purpose of determining the annual inflation factor for nursing home allowable costs, the executive office of health and human services shall apply the annual unadjusted Skilled Nursing Facility Market Basket Update as established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid in the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility prospective payment system rule.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, effective July 1, 2017 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, the executive office of health and human services shall use calendar year 2014 costs as the base year for the purpose of setting MassHealth nursing facility rates.

SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the executive office of health and human services in setting Medicaid nursing facility rates shall not impose any so-called 'utilization occupancy penalty' efficiency standard that is in excess of the actual median occupancy for nursing homes in the base year.

SECTION 4. Chapter 23 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 official edition is hereby amended by inserting after section 9U the following new section:

Section 9V. The Commonwealth Corporation shall, subject to appropriation, establish an extended care career ladder grant program, consistent with section 410 of chapter 159 of the Acts of 2000. Grants shall be available for certified nurses' aides, home health aides, homemakers and other entry level workers in long-term care. The grants may include training for English for speakers of other languages and other language and adult basic education programs to improve quality of care and improve direct care worker access to and participation in career ladder training. The length of such grants shall not exceed a period of 3 years. The Commonwealth Corporation shall submit quarterly reports to the house and senate committees on ways and means on said grant program including, but not limited to, the number of grants awarded, the amount of each grant, a description of the career ladder programs, changes in care-giving and workplace practices that have occurred and their impact on quality of care and worker retention and the certificates, degrees or professional status attained by each participating employee. The administrative and program management costs for the implementation of said grant program shall not exceed 4 per cent of the amount of the grant program. Each grant may include funding for technical assistance and evaluation.

SECTION 5. Chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 official edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 4O the following new section:-

Section 4P. The Department shall, subject to appropriation, establish a scholarship program for certified nurses' aide and direct care worker training. The department shall establish appropriate guidelines and application criteria for the administration of the program. The scholarships shall cover the full cost of tuition to an approved certified nurses' aide or long-term care direct worker training program, including approved programs providing for cross-training. Funds may also be available to provide adult basic education and English as a second language training for applicants otherwise meeting criteria for the scholarships, as well as pilot training programs using enhanced curricula designed to support increased retention. The department shall, in consultation with the nursing home industry, consumer groups, the department of labor and workforce development, the Commonwealth Corporation, training providers and other appropriate state and local agencies, conduct outreach regarding the availability of such scholarships. The department shall consult with the scholarship program advisory council to review and recommend new training requirements for certified nurses' aides, home health aides and home care workers to improve the quality of the direct care workforce and the quality of care provided in all long-term care settings by developing skill standards, supporting the transition from training to work, improving retention, promoting portability, recognizing career advancement curricula and addressing language and education barriers. The costs for outreach activities shall not exceed 3 per cent of the amount of the program and administrative costs of the program shall not exceed 3 per cent of the amount of the program.