SENATE DOCKET, NO. 734        FILED ON: 1/14/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Michael D. Brady

_________________

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 funding for nursing home staffing.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 734        FILED ON: 1/14/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act relative to funding for nursing home staffing.

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

SECTION __. Chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 official edition is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new sections:-

Section ___. In setting Medicaid rates for nursing homes licensed pursuant to section seventy-one of chapter 111 of the general laws, the executive office of health and human services shall annually adjust such payments with an inflation adjustment consistent with the annual unadjusted Skilled Nursing Facility Market Basket Update, as established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 42 C.F.R. § 413.337.

Section __. Nursing homes licensed pursuant to section seventy-one of chapter 111 of the general laws must have sufficient nursing staff with the appropriate competencies and skills sets to provide nursing and related services to assure resident safety and attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident, as determined by resident assessments and individual plans of care and considering the number, acuity and diagnoses of the facility's resident population in accordance with the facility assessment required at 42 CFR 483.70(e). For the purpose of setting Medicaid rates for nursing homes licensed pursuant to section seventy-one of chapter 111 of the general laws, the executive office of health and human services shall recognize its full share of the actual nursing costs of meeting this requirement.