Mass Senior Care testified at the October 20th EOHHS public hearing on the 2024 Medicaid nursing facility rate regulation. The regulation maintains the $165 million included in the December 2022 Rate Year 2023 update and invests an additional $134.5 million in Rate Year
2024 for Medicaid nursing facility care to cover resident and workforce costs across Fee-for-Service (FFS) and Managed Care days. The regulation includes critical new funding for a cost adjustment factor to ensure that rates are closer to current resident care costs, and expands member specific specialized and behavioral care add-ons to improve access and services for Medicaid residents. In addition, the 2024 regulation enacts the transition to a Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) acuity measure for the Nursing Component of the overall rate, a position Mass Senior Care has long advocated for the purpose of eliminating the administrative burden of operating two acuity systems and to better capture the cost of resident care.
Mass Senior Care expressed its commitment to continuing to work collaboratively with the agency to better ensure nursing facilities have the necessary resources to grow and invest in our workforce and quality resident care.