Personal Care Attendant Quality
Home Care Workforce Council
600 Washington Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA  02111 

DEVAL L. PATRICK
Governor

TIMOTHY P. MURRAY
Lieutenant Governor

JUDYANN BIGBY, M.D.
Secretary

Tel.:  617-210-5715
www.mass.gov/pca

		

Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

Council Meeting

Minutes	December 8, 2009	2:00 P.M.	21st floor, 1 Ashburton Place 	
 	
coUNCIL
 members in attendance	Joe Bellil, Liz Casey, Paul Spooner, Joe Tringali	
 Staff attending	Jack Boesen, Michelle Byrd	
 chair	Jean McGuire	
Note taker	Michelle Byrd	
agenda setting	No issues were added to previously-issued agenda	

Jean McGuire called the meeting to order at 2:09 pm.

1. Council organizational matters

Approval of Meeting Minutes
Jean McGuire asked the Council to approve the general session and executive session minutes from October.  Joe Bellil made a motion to accept both minutes. Both motions passed unanimously.  

Approval of CY2010 Meeting Schedule
Council members reviewed the proposed meeting schedule for 2010.  Paul Spooner made a motion to accept the schedule.  Joe Bellil seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Report on Council appointments and reappointments
Jack Boesen reported that the council currently has three seats vacant.  Joe Bellil’s name was submitted for reappointment to the Office of Attorney General. Tony Williams’ name has been submitted for appointment and Paul Spooner and Liz Casey’s names for reappointment to the Office of the State Auditor.  Joe Bellil requested that an announcement be added to the Council’s website regarding council membership.

2.  PCA Recruitment & Training

Jack Boesen provided the council with a written report concerning outreach and training efforts.  The council office provided directory training to Options in Taunton on December 2, 2009.  Detailed Directory usage reports for Employers/Consumers and Workers were provided to council members.

Paul Spooner expressed concern regarding the need to log in every time with your MassHealth member number.  He asked if consumers could be provided with an easier method of accessing the website.  Jack Boesen responded that he would raise the issue with Rewarding Work Resources at the next directory planning meeting.  Joe Tringali recommended further outreach to working PCAs in the Springfield area.  Based on results from the report, Jean McGuire suggests further investigation into why consumer use of the directory is lagging behind PCA worker use.

Emergency and back-up PCAs
Liz Casey reported to the council on emergency and back-up procedures from other states.  Michigan and San Francisco, California have established an on-call system. Workers providing short-term coverage services receive a higher pay rate.  Washington State, which has an agency model, employs a referral directory system, whereby an active pool of 10 workers is available as back-up emergency PCA’s.  After her review, Liz recommends the Council establish a sub-committee to look into the development of a PCA back-up system in Massachusetts.  Jean McGuire agrees that this issue addresses both worker and consumer concerns and supports the idea of establishing a sub-committee.  She suggests scheduling a conference call including Liz, Joe Bellil and representatives of MassHealth as a first step in the process for addressing this issue.

Employment Now Coalition
Joe Bellil updated the Council on efforts to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities to become PCAs.  The Coalition is looking into a pilot program.

3. Labor matters

Jack Boesen reported to the Council that paid benefits checks were mailed to PCAs.  Jack recommended to the Council that they send a letter to Secretary Bigby expressing the Council’s appreciation for the work done by MassHealth and the Fiscal Intermediaries in accomplishing the distribution of the paid benefit.  Council members agreed and the request was passed unanimously. 

Jack also reported that the health study should be available during January and will outline existing exposure of the Commonwealth regarding PCA healthcare benefits.

4.	PCA program developments

Prior Authorization process
The PA process is undergoing redesign.  The new ISA for services are addressing new standards and measures for the PA process centering around areas of concern.

C.O.R.I.
Jean suggests that the preliminary issues regarding C.O.R.I. concern the voluntary nature of the process, consumer responsibility, program costs and timeliness of reporting.  Joe Tringali agrees to be the Council’s point person on this issue and to update the members on future developments.

5.  Council Budget

Joe Bellil reviewed the current expenditure report with Council members.

At 3:28 p.m., Joe Bellil made a motion to adjourn to executive session. Paul Spooner seconded the motion and it was agreed upon unanimously.    

The Council came out of executive session at 4:03 p.m.  A motion was made at 4:04 p.m. to adjourn.  It was seconded, and passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,
Michelle Byrd