Legislative Agenda

Transcription

1 Legislative Agenda The Providers Council surveyed its statewide human service membership prior to the start of the 2013 legislative session and created our legislative agenda based on their feedback. Those interests, along with supportive information from our Public Policy Committee and Board of Directors, helped us establish these five legislative priorities. An act relative to access to health insurance for human service providers & employees H.933: Access to the Group Insurance Commission: This bill would allow providers to access the state s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) in an effort to increase access to health insurance products and control costs. GIC s large buying power could make insurance more affordable. Recent action: Fin. Serv. reported favorably Dec. 13; now Health Care Financing. (Rep. Khan) An act relative to affordable health insurance group purchasing for human service providers S.538: Allow the Council to be an aggregator: This bill would enable the Providers Council to serve as a qualified association to aggregate members of any size for the purpose of procuring health insurance products at favorable rates. Recent action: Hearing held with Health Care Financing on 10/8/2013. (Sen. Moore) An act establishing a loan repayment program for direct care human services workers S.22: Establish an education loan repayment program: This bill would establish an education loan repayment program for direct care workers, allowing eligible credentialed workers to receive up to $150/month for up to 48 months to repay a qualified education loan. Recent action: CF&D fav. report in Aug. 13; now w/ Health Care Financing. (Sen. Candaras) Estimated FY 14 Fiscal Impact: $3 million An act to promote higher education among employees of human service provider organizations S.587/S.574: Expand the Tuition Remission benefit: This bill would expand the already existing Tuition Remission program by expanding benefits to graduate-level and continuing education courses. Program would run at no expense to the state. Recent action: Hearing held w/ Comm. on Higher Ed. on 6/19/2013. (Sens. Spilka & Candaras) An act to promote purchasing from human services social enterprises by governmental bodies H.2806: Grow human services social enterprises: This bill would allow state procurement officers to award small contracts to human services social enterprises without a formal RFP process, expanding an already existing state mechanism for helping small businesses. Recent action: Hearing held w/ State Admin & Regulatory Oversight on 2/26/2014. (Rep. Forry) For more information: Contact Bill Yelenak at

2 An act relative to access to health insurance for human service providers and their employees House Bill 933 Sponsored by: Representative Kay Khan Purpose of bill: To allow providers to access the state s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) in an effort to increase access to health insurance products and control costs. GIC s large buying power may make it more affordable for providers. Recent action: Reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Financial Services in December Referred to Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. While more than 98 percent of Providers Council members offer health insurance plans, only four of 10 employees elect to be covered. This is primarily due to expense. A recent news story said the GIC s six limited network plans offer premiums that are on average 20 percent lower than plans with broad networks. After payroll, the largest expense for state-funded providers is health insurance. Double-digit premium increases are becoming a budget buster; state contracts have not included additional funds to help providers meet these increased costs. A major workforce that serves one in 10 of Massachusetts most vulnerable residents is often not able to adequately care for itself due to low pay and the exponential increases in health insurance. Amend subsection (b) of Section 2 of Chapter 32A most recently amended by Chapter 130 of the Acts of 2008 by adding after the words of Suffolk County the following: persons who are employed by private human service providers that deliver human and social services under contracts with departments within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs. Allow human services providers to have access to the multiple plans and rates of the Commonwealth s Group Insurance Commission. Due to the GIC s large purchasing power, its pricing may be more favorable than what a provider can obtain for similar products. These plans will be similar to those offered to municipalities. Create new plans for human services providers. For an example of current rates and plans, please visit After bill passage, the Council will develop a costeffective plan to administer a program with the GIC.

3 An act relative to affordable health insurance group purchasing for human service providers Senate Bill 538 Sponsored by: Senator Richard Moore Purpose of bill: To enable the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Inc. to serve as a qualified association to aggregate members of any size for the purposes of procuring health insurance products at favorable rates. Recent action: Hearing held with Joint Committee on Health Care Financing on October 8. Many human service organizations have had to reduce the employer share of the monthly premium as human services contracts have been level funded or cut in recent years. Employees struggle to afford health insurance because recent year-to-year increases have been between 10 and 30 percent. The exponential increases in health insurance is financially destabilizing for both small and large human service providers. Massachusetts human services providers are already severely underfunded. A recent Urban Institute report found that: o four out of every five small providers are running a deficit o 30 percent have reported reducing programs or services After payroll, health insurance is the largest expense for human services providers. Double-digit premium increases are becoming a budget buster; state contracts have not included additional funds to help providers meet these increased costs. This sector exists to provide services mandated by the Legislature, and it is in the best interests of the state to make affordable health care available to these workers who serve the most vulnerable individuals in our society. Deem the Council to be a qualified association and an approved small business group purchasing cooperative, both as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 176J. Enable the Council to procure health care coverage for qualified association members subject only to the provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of Section 12 of Chapter 176J and Section 13 of Chapter 176J. Allow the Council to aggregate human services providers of any size for the purposes of potentially securing more competitive rates when buying health insurance.

4 An act establishing an education loan repayment program for direct care human services workers Senate Bill 22 Sponsored by: Senator Gale Candaras Purpose of bill: To encourage direct care workers to enter and continue working in community-based human services programs. The bill would help human service organizations recruit and retain a stronger, more qualified workforce. Recent action: Receive favorable comm. report, sent to Health Care Financing (Aug. 2013). Workers in the community-based human services sector make an average of $12 per hour to do some of the most demanding work in the Commonwealth. The lack of affordable higher education for direct service workers and the burden of student debt carried by younger workers are two main reasons why it is difficult to recruit and retain qualified employees in the human services sector. According to Help Wanted, median earnings among human services direct care workers is nearly $15,000 less than workers providing similar services in the health care sector. According to Help Wanted 2, more than 80 percent of respondents at human services agencies report direct care and support positions routinely have the most turnover. Amend Section 16 of Chapter 6A to create a loan repayment program for credentialed direct care human service workers. Help low-paid direct care workers by having the state repay qualified education loans at a rate not to exceed $1,800 per year ($150/month) for a period not to exceed 48 months. Payments will only be made during months the participant is working as a direct care human services worker in the state and will be made directly to the lender. Help human service providers recruit and retain credentialed direct care human service workers, defined as a worker who provides services by supporting individuals and families efforts to function in daily living situations and has been issued a credential by the Massachusetts Council of Human Services Providers, Inc. A qualified education loan shall mean any indebtedness including interest to pay tuition or other direct expenses incurred in connection with the pursuit of a certificate, undergraduate or graduate degree by an applicant. Direct EOHHS to administer the program in accordance with Dept. of Ed. guidelines.

5 An act to promote higher education among employees of human services provider organizations Senate Bill 587 Sponsored by: Senator Karen Spilka Senate Bill 574 Sponsored by: Senator Gale Candaras Purpose of bill: To expand the already successful Tuition Remission program. This bill will assist in the recruitment and retention of human services workers in community-based programs and advance the professional skills of the human services workforce in Massachusetts at no additional cost to the state. Recent action: Testified before Joint Committee on Higher Education June 19, Since the Tuition Remission program began in 2000, more than 17,000 certificates have been issued allowing eligible human services workers to attend classes. The program only admits students on a space available basis, meaning only seats that would remain empty in a classroom are used. The Providers Council administers the Tuition Remission program, and there is no cost to the Commonwealth for its operation. The Tuition Remission program is an extremely low-cost way for human services workers to gain additional skills by taking courses at state institutions without paying tuition. While the classes are tuition free, eligible employees still pay fees and for materials, generating additional revenue for the school. Establish this successful program in law. Expand the current Tuition Remission program operated by the Massachusetts Council of Human Services Providers, Inc. (Providers Council) by amending Chapter 15A of the General Laws to allow for access to additional courses. Create benefits for this Tuition Remission program to be on parity, as nearly as possible, with Tuition Remission benefits provided to employees of the Commonwealth. Provide additional access to classes, including continuing education and graduate-level courses. Continue to admit students on a space available basis to courses, and ensure the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Inc. administers the program at no expense to the Commonwealth.

6 An act to promote purchasing from human services social enterprises by governmental bodies House Bill 2806 Sponsored by: Representative Linda Dorcena Forry Purpose of bill: To add to the growth of human services social enterprises and increase their fiscal stability. Bill would also allow organizations to diversify their revenue streams and create new jobs. Recent action: Hearing held w/ State Administration/Regulatory Oversight on Feb. 26, Social enterprises are quickly becoming a new and innovative model for human services providers to create jobs for the people they serve and others, provide important job training opportunities and develop new revenue sources to support their missions. Social enterprises strengthen the fibers of the state s safety net by adding to the fiscal stability of community-based nonprofits. Growing social enterprises allows nonprofits to provide employment and job training to clients and consumers, two critical aspects of making individuals more self-sufficient. Development of social enterprises provides a great opportunity for innovation and diminishes a provider s dependence on state funds. Define a social enterprise as an activity or program that a) produces goods or services as a means of creating jobs for participants in, or revenues to further, social service programs as those programs are defined in Section 1 of Chapter 118G; and b) is operated by an organization that is established for nonprofit purposes Provide support for human services social enterprises that are developing products or services that are needed by the Commonwealth. Allow state procurement officers to award contracts valued at less than $25,000 to human services social enterprises without a formal Request for Proposal process. Expand an existing mechanism that benefits small businesses and allow state procurement officers to make purchases from human services social enterprises. Enable human services organizations to grow their social enterprises and provide additional opportunities for clients and consumers to receive job training and other employment placements.