Amendment #435 to H3400

Clinician Salary Reserve

Mr. Mahoney of Worcester moves to amend the bill in section 2 by inserting after item 1599-4444 the following item:

1599-6000. For a reserve to adjust the reimbursement rates for outpatient behavioral health services paid to providers that deliver outpatient behavioral health services reimbursed by Medicaid, or by a health maintenance organization under contract with the Division of Medical Assistance to provide behavioral health insurance benefits, provided further, that the secretary of administration and finance may allocate the funds appropriated in this item to the departments in order to implement this initiative; provided further, that the executive office of health and human services shall condition the expenditure of funds from this item upon assurances that the funds shall be used solely for the purposes of equal percentage adjustments to wages, fees, compensation or salary for the masters and above level clinicians providing these services; provided further, that not later than January 15, 2014, the executive office of health and human services shall submit to the house and senate committees on ways and means a report delineating the number of employees, by job title and average salary, receiving the adjustment in fiscal year 2014 and the average percentage adjustment funded herein; provided further, that the report shall also include, for each contract scheduled to receive an allocation from this item in each such department, the total payroll expenditures in each contract for the categories of personnel scheduled to receive the adjustments; provided further, that all increases provided from this salary reserve shall be above and beyond any previously negotiated or agreed upon increases; provided further, that the total fiscal year 2014 costs of salary adjustments and any other associated employee costs authorized hereunder shall not exceed $1,000,000 provided further, that the executive office of health and human services shall submit an allocation schedule to the house and senate committees on ways and means not less than 30 days after disbursement of funds; and provided further, that the annualized cost of the adjustments in fiscal year 2014 shall not exceed the amount appropriated in this item..........................$1,000,000