The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing yesterday issued a favorable recommendation to H.3929, An Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care and referred the legislation to the House Committee on Ways and Means. As previously reported, the proposal makes sweeping changes to the suitability review process for licensure and change of ownership, seeks to address workforce shortages by establishing career ladder grants, subject to funding. The legislation would also increase state AGO and DPH licensures fines, as well as direct the DPH to work with the sector to establish and implement best practice training and education programs for nursing facilities based on most frequently cited deficiencies, require facilities to develop infection outbreak response plans, require EOHHS, beginning in 2025 to set Medicaid nursing facility rates using a base year no more than 2 years from the rate year, and require CHIA to conduct a complete cost trends analysis. The full House is expected to approve the bill by Thanksgiving. Mass Senior Care continues to work with lawmakers to expand the bill to further address our workforce challenges and funding inequities.