Amendment #540 to H3400

Notification of Senior Options in Health Care

Representatives O'Day of West Boylston, Hecht of Watertown, Fox of Boston, Miceli of Wilmington, Keefe of Worcester, Rogers of Cambridge, Garry of Dracut and Cabral of New Bedford move to amend the bill by adding the following section:

“SECTION XXXX.

Subsection (e)(3) of section 9D of Chapter 118E of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after said subsection the following paragraph:—

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the executive office of health and human services shall direct MassHealth to provide each beneficiary age 65 and over with an annual notice of the options for enrolling in voluntary programs including Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) plans, Senior Care Options (SCO) plans, Frail Elder Home and Community Based Waiver Program or any other voluntary elected benefit to which they are entitled to supplement or replace their MassHealth benefits. Provided that MassHealth receives approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, MassHealth shall arrange that such annual notice include the names and contact information for the program providers, general contact information for MassHealth and a general description of the benefits of joining particular programs in clear and simple language and method to request for the same information in a language other than English. Such notice shall include a method for the beneficiary to indicate interest in receiving additional information for any programs identified as of interest to them. A draft of the proposed language and format for providing information to beneficiaries will be circulated to the providers contracted to provide each of these programs for review and comment prior to finalization. In addition, the division will work with the program providers and other appropriate stakeholders to assess whether and to what extent barriers to program enrollment shall be alleviated through modifications to the program and or the enrollment process. The executive office of health and human services shall establish rules and regulations on or before December 31, 2013.”