Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts 2011-2012 Session Legislative Priorities
An Act Establishing Cost Avoidance Through Care At Home
Lead Sponsor, Senator Steven Tolman
Caring for individuals at home is not only preferred by individuals and families, but it also saves costs by avoiding
more expensive facility-based services. This bill includes the following provisions:
- Allows MassHealth to reimburse home care agencies for telehealth remote patient monitoring services
- Allows home health nurses to delegate certain medication administration tasks to a qualified and certified home health aide
- Places MassHealth home health rate reviews on an annual basis with other providers
- Establishes a MassHealth "care transition" rate for home health agency follow-up for high risk patients being discharged from a hospital to home
An Act Relative To Home Health Aides
Lead Sponsor, Senator Richard T. Moore
To provide quality care to home health patients, this bill seeks to refine the Commonwealth's Nurse Practice Act (NPA) to specify appropriate nurse
delegation practices and allows the administering of certain medications to a home health patient by a trained and certified home health aide.
Other states like Oregon, Washington and New Hampshire have established successful state-based nurse-directed medication administration models.
Allowing appropriate delegation under the supervision of a skilled nurse would improve patient care and safety by increasing nurse oversight for many
patients whose medication needs may not otherwise be properly addressed.
This proposal acknowledges the need for more nurses in home care with a plan to utilize their skills most effectively. To ensure accountability and responsibility, this proposal also requires that home health agencies provide training and establish documentation protocols (according to the nurse delegation model) and regulations drafted by the Board of Registration in Nursing and he Department of Public Health.
To support Senate Bill 1138, please contact Senator Richard Moore's office at (617) 722-1420.
An Act Allowing Out-of-State Physicians To Order Home Care Services
Lead Sponsor, Michael Knapik
By removing a barrier to home health servies for residents of the Commonwealth who live near a neighboring state or who have recently moved to
Massachusetts from a neighboring state, this bill would permit an out-of-state physician licensed in a bordering state (such as a specialist or trusted
primary physician) to order home health care, if such services are deemed necessary.
To support Senate Bill 1864, please contact Senator Knapik's office at (617) 722-1415.
An Act Relative To Pediatric Home Care Services
Lead Sponsors, Senator Michael Moore/Rep. Michael Brady
By shifting existing costs in the payment methodology, this bill would establish a more equitable rate of payment for home care agencies providing
continuous skilled nursing care to children. Demand for pediatric home care services exceeded supply due to reimbursement that is inadequately
matched to the training and education of skilled nurses providing such care. Home Care agencies are unable to recruit and retain these nurses based
on insufficient reimbursement from MassHealth. The bill also calls for a study of data collected by MassHealth to determine if a special rate is warranted
for maternal child health services.
To support House Bill 2341 or Senate Bill 281, please contact Senator Michael Moore's office at (617) 722-1485 and Rep. Brady's office at (617) 722-2014.
Contact: James Fuccione, Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts - (617) 482-8830