State long-term care bill would fund workforce initiatives but stiffen provider penalties

Eight months after its passage through the Massachusetts State House, a bill to fund investments in the long-term care workforce and increase state oversight powers appears poised to pass the State Senate. 

Policymakers and consumer advocates have characterized the Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care as an important step to improving the quality and capacity of nursing home care in the state. 

“Addressing persistent challenges within this important sector will not only improve the quality of care that residents receive, it will increase capacity and help acute-care hospitals more efficiently discharge patients to the appropriate post-acute care settings,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D) in a statement following the House’s passage of its version of the bill in September.

Mariano was referring, in part, to the significant hospital backlogs that have plagued states around the nation in recent years and been particularly severe in Massachusetts.

Providers’ struggles with a nationwide staffing shortage has exacerbated those backlogs and limited the capacity of the senior care sector. The act seeks to remedy that by creating new grant programs for workforce training and developing career ladders for certified nursing assistants. 

Less welcome news for providers is that at least some of the funding for those grants will come from civil monetary penalties — which could be significantly more severe if the act passes.

The maximum penalties the state Attorney General can give to nursing homes could be quadrupled, with a statute of limitations for penalties doubled to four years after a violation. Penalty caps for abuse or neglect would range from $25,000 with no bodily injuries to $250,000 if a death results from the incident.

Under the potential new provisions, half of any fines leveled by the Attorney General would go into the pool of workforce and career ladder grant funding. 

The state senate is prepared to pass its version of the act before the end of the current legislative session, according to WWLP-22News.