Massachusetts nursing homes would have to report on all individuals who hold a 5% or larger ownership share, create fresh infection control plans and conduct annual training under a reform plan moving through the Legislature.
The wide-ranging legislation also would limit rebasing Medicaid rates to no more than two years prior to the current rate year. The state House’s Joint Committee on Elder Affairs advanced the proposal, which also creates a tuition reimbursement program for certified nursing assistants and others interested in furthering healthcare careers.
“The career ladder and loan repayment provisions in the bill for direct care staff will help address the workforce crisis in nursing homes,” committee Chair Thomas Stanley (D) said in a statement to the Worcester Business Journal. “The licensure and suitability reforms will ensure owners and operators never compromise on providing high-quality care to their residents.”
A committee spokesperson characterized the effort as including “new tools to monitor and take punitive action on facilities,” the Business Journal reported.
But the legislative language also directs the Department of Public Health to create a grant program to cover costs, including childcare and transportation “to enable eligible workers to attend classes and secure practical nursing certificates.” The program would create a “three-level career pathway” for CNAs or for facilities to develop “employee competencies in specialized areas of care.” Grants would be available to CNAs, home health aides, homemakers, and other entry-level workers already in the long-term care sector.
Nursing home reforms are a priority for state House Speaker Ron Mariano (D).
The legislation also gives the Department of Health the authority to review extensive information about all individuals and companies that hold at least a 5% ownership stake or a controlling interest in facilities, including the civil and criminal histories of applicants in either Massachusetts or any other state.
Amid a push from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control to have the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services require a full-time staff member to oversee infection control, the Massachusetts law would require facilities to develop an outbreak plan for isolating infected residents and monitoring staff and visitors. There should be “clear policies” for notifying residents, their families, visitors, and staff as well as developing screening protocols.
If the proposed legislation takes effect, facilities would have to provide biannual training on the “most frequently cited deficiencies, identified deficiency trends, both state and federal and best practices to ensure resident quality of care.”
The bill also doubles the statute of limitation for abuse charges to four years from two years.
