The MA legislature shifted into overdrive during the last few days of the 2011/2012 legislative session, which ended on July 31. Healthcare cost containment was among the major pieces of legislation that were approved during the last days of the session, and several provisions of the bill have significant impacts on home care providers.
Section 142 of the bill will significantly ease the burden of the Fair Share Contribution (FSC) requirement that employers offer health insurance to their workers. Under this section, any employees that have health insurance through a spouse’s coverage, military, disability, or Medicare will not be included in the calculation of an employer’s compliance with the FSC mandate. This change should be a relief to many home care agencies. Section 51 of the bill establishes appeal processes for employers faced with a FSC audit.
The bill also includes a number of provisions related to home health’s role within Accountable Care Organizations and names the Alliance to a couple of new advisory panels.
The Alliance has prepared a more detailed summary of the bill’s provisions: http://www.thinkhomecare.org/associations/1892/files/HealthcareCostContainmentSummary.pdf.
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