A pair of public hearings will take place in Amherst and Boston this month to help guide the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services as they look to shape their fiscal year 2015 budget.
It is well documented that approximately half of the state government’s budget goes to health and human services so the department is constantly encouraged to find ways to do more with less.
HCA members and advocates are encouraged to email written comments to eohhshearings@massmail.state.ma.us by the time of the Boston hearing on December 11th. Subjects should include and focus on the following:
- Raising MassHealth rates for skilled nursing
- Encouraging a certificate/determination of need process for home health agencies
- Urging formal support for S.1064, An Act Relative to Home Health and Hospice Aides, which allows nurses to delegate limited medication administration tasks to home health aides and CNA’s. With the hearings focusing on the EOHHS budget, commenters should focus on potential cost savings potential of “nurse delegation” issue.
- Highlighting your agency’s efforts to reduce readmissions and other cost-effective programs.
For those interested in attending the hearings, the Amherst hearing will take place on December 6th from 10:00am to 2:00pm at Commonwealth Honors College while the Boston hearing will take place from 2:00pm to 6:00pm on December 11th at the UMass Boston Campus Center.
Any questions can be directed to James Fuccione at the Alliance.
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