SENATE, No. 687

By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 687) of Richard T. Moore for legislation to establish a fair standard for rate setting. Health Care Financing.
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

AN ACT to establish a fair standard for rate setting

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 7 of chapter 112 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in the second sentence of the second paragraph after the phrase, “adjusted for reasonableness,” the following:-

“Reasonableness” shall include payment for such necessary services, which basis shall take into account as a factor the costs of such services including a projected cost for health care inflation. Cost of such services shall include reasonable costs mandated by collective bargaining agreements with certified collective bargaining agents or other agreements between the employer and employees, provided "employees" shall not include persons employed as managers or chief administrators or required to be licensed as nursing home administrators, and compensation for services rendered by proprietors at prevailing wage rates, as determined by application of principles of accounting as prescribed by said commissioner. Cost of such services shall not include amounts paid by the facilities to employees as salary, or to attorneys or consultants as fees, where the responsibility of the employees, attorneys, or consultants is to persuade or seek to persuade the other employees of the facility to support or oppose unionization. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit inclusion of amounts paid for legal counsel related to the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the settlement of grievances or normal administration of labor relations. The commissioner may, in his discretion, allow the inclusion of extraordinary and unanticipated costs of providing services which were incurred to avoid an immediate negative impact on the health and safety of patients. The commissioner may, in his discretion, based upon review of a facility's costs, patient acuity and any other related information, revise a facility's rate for any increases or decreases in nursing hours per patient day, total care hours per patient day, patient acuity, utilization of technology, and other appropriate factors.

SECTION 2.  This act shall be effective as of January 1, 2006 and thereafter.