To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and other appropriation acts for fiscal year 2006, the sums set forth in section 2 are hereby appropriated from the Health Care Expanded Access Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this act or in those appropriation acts, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act or in those appropriation acts, and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, but these sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of these items; and all funds appropriated in this section shall not revert and shall be available for expenditure until June 30, 2006. 

SECTION 2.

OFFICE OF HEALTH SERVICES.

Department of Public Health.

4120-6000       ................................................................................................................. $1,500,000

4510-0600       .................................................................................................................... $500,000

4513-1026       ................................................................................................................. $1,000,000

4513-1112       ................................................................................................................. $1,000,000

4513-1114       ................................................................................................................. $1,250,000

4513-1115       .................................................................................................................... $500,000

4530-9000       ................................................................................................................. $1,500,000

4590-0300       ................................................................................................................. $6,000,000

SECTION 2A.  To provide for certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations, and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth in this section  are hereby appropriated from the Health Care Expanded Access Fund unless specifically designated otherwise in this section, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this section, and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, but  these sums shall be in addition to any amounts previously appropriated and made available for the purposes of these items; and all funds appropriated in this section shall not revert and shall be available for expenditure until June 30, 2006.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION and FINANCE.

Reserves.

1599-0041       For the Commission on End of Life Care as established by section 480 of chapter 159 of the acts of 2000........................... $50,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.

Office of the Secretary.

4000-0140  For the operation of the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction established pursuant to section 16E of chapter 6A of the General Laws.. $500,000

4000-0352       For the purposes of enhancing Mass Health enrollment and providing outreach mini-grants to public and private non-profit groups to be administered by the executive office of health and human services to leverage community-based and school-based resources and to enroll Medicaid eligible children and parents; provided further, that the department shall report to the joint committee on health care financing and the house and senate committees on ways and means and the executive office regarding these mini-grants, including a detail of recipients and amounts received, uses of the funds administration and finance, not later than March 1, 2006, the quarterly expenditure of and a cost-based analysis of effectiveness and impact of these mini-grants on increasing enrollments and promoting awareness of this program....... $3,000,000

OFFICE OF HEALTH SERVICES.

Department of Public Health.

4513-1111  For an osteoporosis education and prevention program; provided, that the program shall include, but not be limited to: (1) development or identification of educational material to promote public awareness of the cause of osteoporosis, options for prevention, the value of early detection and possible treatments, including their benefits and risks, to be made available to consumers, particularly targeted to high risk groups; (2) development or identification of professional education programs for health care providers; (3) development and maintenance of a list of current providers of specialized services for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis; and (4) a program for awareness, prevention and treatment of the ‘silent disease’ hip fracture.........$175,000

4515-1113  For a bladder cancer screening, education and treatment program; provided, that screening, education and treatment shall have a particular focus on the high rate of prostate cancer among  fire service personnel, truck drivers, and smokers; and provided further, that no funds shall be expended in the AA subsidiary for any personnel-related costs................ $500,000

4513-1116: For renal disease program; provided that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for renal disease programs administered by the national Kidney Foundation of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire, including organ donor awareness, nutritional supplements and early intervention services for those affected by renal disease and those at risk of renal disease.................................................................................... $250,000

4513-1121  For a statewide stroke education and public awareness program; provided, that such program shall expend funds to educate the public and providers, including emergency medical systems personnel, medical dispatchers and fire and police department personnel, about the warning signs of stroke, the recognition of stroke symptoms, and the importance of timely and appropriate acute care treatment; provided further, that the department shall coordinate such program with any ongoing federally-funded statewide efforts, including any program funded by federal cardiovascular health initiative grants; and provided further, that the program shall seek to maximize, through grant development or public-private partnerships, available sources of funding to accomplish the goals of the program................................................................................... $300,000

4516-0264: For a diabetes screening and outreach program to raise public awareness and provide outreach and education for high risk individuals, including but not limited to targeted populations of adolescences and elderly................................................................................................... $500,000

4570-1500       For the operation of the early breast cancer program, a mammography program for the uninsured, and a breast cancer detection awareness program, and, if available, a program utilizing detection of NMP66 proteins found in the blood of women with breast cancer to enable physicians to more effectively manage uninsured women with or at a risk or breast cancer ...........................................$5,500,000

4570-1501       For the funding of a pilot cooperative agreement with Seven Hills Foundation and UMASS Memorial Health Center for the development of a residential intermediate care facility to serve the needs of Massachusetts veterans, including members of the Massachusetts National Guard, Armed Forces of the United States or Reserves who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan, with traumatic head injuries received on active duty; provided, that every effort shall be made to secure resources and financial support from the United States Veterans Administration or other federal agencies and from third party sources including, but not limited to Medicaid; and provided further, that the Institute of Commonwealth Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School shall receive funding from this appropriation to evaluate the success of the pilot project ..............................................$1,500,000

4570-1502       For the purposes of implementing a proactive statewide infection prevention and control program; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public health shall, through its division of health care quality, develop a proactive statewide infection prevention and control program in every licensed health care facility following protocols of the Centers for Disease Control for the purpose of implementation and adherence to infection control practices that are the keys to preventing the transmission of infectious diseases, including respiratory diseases spread by droplet or airborne routes; provided further, that recommended infection control practices shall include, but not be limited to, hand hygiene; standard precautions and transmission-based precautions, including, contact, droplet and airborne, and respiratory hygiene; and provided further, that the infection prevention and control program shall include mandatory education in the recommended infection control practices for all licensed health care personnel and employees of licensed health care facilities and penalties for individual and institutional non-compliance with CDC protocols................................... $1,000,000

4590-1503       For the Pediatric Palliative Care program established by section 24K of chapter 111 of the General Laws, inserted by section 3........ $950,000

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

Department of Labor.

7002-0900       For the cost of health insurance premium subsidies paid to employees of small businesses participating in the insurance reimbursement program pursuant to the provisions of section 9C of chapter 118E of the General Laws; provided, that said program shall be administered by the director of the department of labor in collaboration with the executive office of health and human services; provided further, that  all federal reimbursements received for expenditures from this item pursuant to the provisions of Title XIX and Title XXI of the federal Social Security Act shall be credited to the Children's and Seniors' Health Care Assistance Fund; and provided further, that expenditures made for the purposes of this item shall not exceed the amount appropriated herein............................................................................................................... $40,846,992

7002-0901       For the cost of health insurance subsidies paid to employers participating in the insurance reimbursement program under section 9C of chapter 118E of the General Laws; provided, that the director of the department of labor in collaboration with the executive office of health and human services, shall administer said program and shall directly market the program to small business across the Commonwealth and private human service providers that deliver human and social services under contract with departments within the executive office of health and human services and the executive office of elder affairs for the purpose of mitigating health insurance costs to the employers and their employees; provided further, that the director of the department of labor in collaboration executive office shall report quarterly to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the executive office of administration and finance monthly expenditure data for the program, including the total number of employers participating in the program, the percentage of the employers who purchased health insurance for employees prior to participating in the program and total monthly expenditures delineated by payments to small employers and self-employed persons for individual, 2-person family and family subsidies; provided further, that the executive office of health and human services shall seek federal reimbursement for the payments to employers; and provided further, that all federal reimbursements received for expenditures from this item, under Title XIX and Title XXI of the federal Social Security Act, shall be credited to the Children’s and Seniors’ Health Care Assistance Fund......................... $16,473,121

Division of Insurance.

7006-0201       For the purposes of funding the Consumer Health Information Board, pursuant to chapter 28B of the General laws...................................................................................... $2,000,000

7006-0202       For the purposes of funding an economic study of health care mandates in Massachusetts, pursuant to section 3 of this act................................................................. $100,000

SECTION 3. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 24J the following section: - 

Section 24K. There is hereby established the pediatric palliative care program. Said program shall be administered by the department, subject to appropriation, pursuant to this section and regulations promulgated hereunder. The program shall assist eligible children with a life-limiting illness and their families or guardians with services designed to achieve an improved quality of life and to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs experienced during the course of illness, death and bereavement.

Children less than 19 years of age shall be eligible for said program if they meet the requirements established by the department, which shall include

(a) a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, including but not limited to, cancer,    AIDS, congenital anomalies and other advanced illnesses;  provided however, no requirement regarding life expectancy shall be imposed; and

(b) a requirement that the eligible child’s family not be covered by a third-party payer for the services provided by said program.

Services provided by the program shall be determined by the department and shall include, but not be limited to, consultations for pain and symptom management, case management and assessment, social services, counseling, bereavement services, volunteer support services, and respite services, provided by professional or volunteer staff under professional supervision. Services shall be provided by hospice programs licensed under section 57D who meet such other criteria as the department may establish by regulation, including demonstrated expertise in pediatric palliative care. The department may by regulation establish limits on services provided by said program.

The program established by this section shall not give rise to enforceable legal rights in any party or an enforceable entitlement to the services described herein and nothing stated herein shall be construed as giving rise to such enforceable legal rights or such enforceable entitlement.

SECTION 4. Item 4510-0600 of said section 2 of said chapter 149 is hereby further amended by adding the following words:- provided further, that $140,000 shall be made available for an interdepartmental service agreement between the department of public health and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell to support research activities which investigate the association between ethnic diversity and childhood asthma incidence; provided further, that not more than $360,000 shall be expended by the department for outreach and education  grant programs including but not limited to programs servicing  underserved populations.

SECTION 5. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding, after section 2CC, the following new section:

Section 2DD. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, subject to appropriation, known as the Health Care Expanded Access Fund. The purpose of the fund shall be to support programs and services to improve health care and public health in the Commonwealth. 

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, on or before July 15, 2005, the comptroller shall transfer $50,000,000 from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund, established pursuant to section 2H of chapter 29 of the General Laws, to the Health Care Expanded Access Fund.

SECTION 7. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, on or before July 15, 2005, the comptroller shall transfer $37,320,113 from the Children’s and Seniors Fund to the Health Care Expanded Access Fund.