Bill > S352

This bill aims to stabilize nursing facilities by adjusting how their allowable costs are calculated for inflation, specifically by using the annual unadjusted Skilled Nursing Facility Market Basket Update from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which is a federal agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid. It also mandates that for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services will use 2011 costs as the base for setting MassHealth nursing facility rates, and that when setting Medicaid nursing facility rates, no "utilization occupancy penalty" (a penalty for not meeting a certain occupancy level) will be imposed that exceeds the actual median occupancy rate of nursing homes in the base year. Furthermore, the bill proposes establishing an "extended care career ladder grant program" through the Commonwealth Corporation to provide grants for entry-level long-term care workers, including certified nurses' aides and home health aides, for training and education, with a reporting requirement to legislative committees and administrative costs capped at 4%. Finally, it calls for a scholarship program for certified nurses' aide and direct care worker training, funded by the Department, which will cover tuition and may include support for adult basic education and English as a second language training, with outreach and administrative costs capped at 3% each, and will involve consultation with various stakeholders to improve the direct care workforce and quality of care.