As we reported to members last week, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) on Tuesday notified nursing facilities that it will extend the current 10% COVID-19 supplemental workforce payment through June 30th. The new 3-month funding for workforce brings the cumulative total of COVID-19 supplemental payments to $60 million for the 6-month period of January through June 2022. We expect that each payment will be made in the first week of the 3 upcoming months.
These payments are to be used to pay for increased direct care staffing costs incurred for dates of service beginning January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022. Each facility is required to report to EOHHS on the ways in which it expects to use, and ultimately uses, its received supplemental payments. The required reporting is incorporated into the interim and final DCC-Q reports that facilities are required to submit by March 1, 2022, and July 30, 2022, respectively.
This new COVID-19 supplemental funding is on top of the over $750 million invested by the state for general Medicaid rates and previous COVID supplemental payments in the last two years to help nursing facilities address the COVID-19 pandemic. Mass Senior Care will continue our aggressive advocacy efforts to secure additional funding for resident care and workforce investments