Mass Senior Care has provided public testimony on the following two proposed regulations:
- Emergency Adoption of MassHealth Nursing Home Rate Regulations/101 CMR 206.00: Standard Payments to Nursing Facilities This regulation revises Medicaid payments to nursing facilities, effective October 1, 2020. This regulation is a critical step forward in modernizing the state’s payment system for quality nursing home care as it better reflects current costs of resident care and introduces a set of structural adjustments intended to promote quality care, workforce investments and efficiency. The regulation also includes the criteria for continued COVID-19 supplemental funding and three policy reforms tied to staffing and the direct care workforce.
- Proposed Department of Public Health Amendments to 105 CMR 150.000: Standards for Long Term Care Facilities. The proposed regulations would (1) establish a minimum hour per patient day (HPPD) of 3.58, with a sub-minimum of .508 for RN hours, (2) prohibit bedrooms with 3 and 4 beds, and (3) revise square footage and spacing requirements in nursing facility bedrooms. This regulatory proposal is part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services’ (EOHHS) nursing facility accountability and support program announced in September in a continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.