Bill > S84

This bill aims to provide a livable wage for human services workers in Massachusetts. It requires the state's executive offices of Health and Human Services, Elder Affairs, and Housing and Community Development to increase reimbursement rates paid to human service providers in order to reduce the pay disparity between human services workers and comparable state-employed positions like direct care workers and nurses. The bill sets a timeline to eliminate this pay disparity by 2027, with incremental reductions to be achieved by 2024, 2025, and 2026. The increased reimbursement rates must be used to increase compensation for human services workers. The bill also requires the state to provide regular reports on the implementation of this policy, including the current pay disparity, the annual increases in reimbursement rates, and the appropriations needed to achieve the pay parity goals.