Section 22 Commonwealth Taxpayer Relief Fund
Said chapter 29 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 2SSSSS the following 7 sections:-
Section 2TTTTT. (a) There shall be a Hospital Investment and Performance Trust Fund. The secretary of health and human services shall be the trustee of the fund and shall expend all money in the fund to make payments to acute hospitals or to care organizations under contract with the executive office of health and human services to provide MassHealth services pursuant to an approved state plan or federal waiver; provided, however, that such care organizations shall use all such payments to make payments to qualifying acute hospitals. There shall be credited to the fund: (i) any transfers from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E; (ii) an amount equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund; (iii) any revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; and (iv) interest earned on any money in the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended without further appropriation.
(b) Money in the fund shall be expended for Medicaid payments under an approved state plan or federal waiver; provided, however, that all payments from the fund shall be: (i) subject to the availability of federal financial participation; (ii) made only under federally-approved payment methods; (iii) consistent with federal funding requirements and all applicable federal payment limits as determined by the secretary; and (iv) subject to the terms and conditions of applicable agreements between acute hospitals or care organizations and the executive office of health and human services. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenue and related expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimates as certified by the secretary to be transferred, credited or deposited under this section. The secretary shall, to the maximum extent possible, administer the fund to obtain federal financial participation for the expenditures of non-federal money from the fund. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. The payments from the fund shall supplement and not supplant Medicaid payments that would be made to providers in the absence of such payments.
(c)(1) The secretary shall expend money in the fund, including all amounts credited to the fund, for payments to qualifying acute hospital providers under contract with the executive office of health and human services or under subcontracts with care organizations that contract with the executive office in connection with the MassHealth program as provided further, in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive.
(2) The secretary shall annually expend amounts from the fund averaging, over a period of 5 years, not less than $1,210,000,000 per year; provided, however, that all such payments shall fall into 1 of the following categories: (i) health equity incentive payments; (ii) clinical quality incentive payments; (iii) rate payments for services provided to MassHealth members; or (iv) targeted payments to: (A) freestanding pediatric acute hospitals; or (B) nonprofit teaching acute hospitals that provide medical, surgical, emergency and obstetrical services and are affiliated with a state-owned medical school. The secretary may determine funding allocations among and within each such category within a given year; provided, however, that such allocations shall be consistent with all approved federal waivers and state plan provisions; and provided further, that the secretary shall allocate an average of not less than $560,000,000 per year, over a period of 5 years, for the rate payments described in clause (iii).
(3) Of the targeted payments described in clause (iv) of paragraph (2), the secretary shall expend annually from the fund: (i) $25,000,000 to freestanding pediatric acute hospitals, of which 90 per cent shall be paid to the freestanding pediatric hospital with the largest volume of inpatient discharges in fiscal year 2019; and (ii) $25,000,000 to nonprofit teaching acute hospitals that provide medical, surgical, emergency and obstetrical services and are affiliated with a state-owned medical school.
(4) Of the health equity incentive payments and clinical quality incentive payments described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (2), the secretary shall make interim payments to qualifying hospitals based on the secretary's estimate of each such hospital's final payment for the measurement period, with each such estimate as determined by the secretary. As soon as practicable after the close of the measurement period, the secretary shall determine the final amount of each qualifying hospital's health equity incentive payment and clinical quality incentive payment and shall reconcile each hospital's interim payment with its final payment.
(d) If any portion of the final annual amount allocated by the secretary to health equity incentive payments or clinical quality incentive payments is unearned during the relevant measurement period for such payment, as determined by the secretary, the secretary shall transfer the state's share of that unearned amount to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E.
(e) If the amount in the fund exceeds, for a reason other than that described in subsection (d), the amount sufficient to make the payments described in subsection (c), at any point in time, as determined by the secretary, the secretary may transfer the state's share of such amount to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in said section 66 of said chapter 118E.
Section 2UUUUU. (a) There shall be a Population Health Investment Trust Fund. The secretary of health and human services shall be the trustee of the fund and shall expend money in the fund to make payments to providers or care organizations under contract to provide MassHealth services pursuant to an approved state plan or federal waiver. There shall be credited to the fund: (i) any transfers from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E; (ii) an amount equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund; (iii) any revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; and (iv) interest earned on any money in the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended without further appropriation.
(b) Money in the fund may be expended for Medicaid payments under an approved state plan or federal waiver; provided, however, that all payments from the fund shall be: (i) subject to the availability of federal financial participation; (ii) made only under federally-approved payment methods; (iii) consistent with federal funding requirements and all applicable federal payment limits as determined by the secretary; and (iv) subject to the terms and conditions of applicable agreements between providers or care organizations and the executive office of health and human services. To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenue and related expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimates as certified by the secretary to be transferred, credited or deposited under this section. The secretary shall, to the maximum extent possible, administer the fund to obtain federal financial participation for the expenditures of non-federal money from the fund. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. The payments from the fund shall supplement and not supplant Medicaid payments that would be made to hospitals in the absence of such payments.
(c)(1) The secretary shall annually expend money in the fund for payments to qualifying providers or care organizations under contract with the executive office as further provided in paragraph (2).
(2) The secretary shall annually expend amounts from the fund averaging, over a period of 5 years, not less than $255,000,000 per year; provided, however, that such payments shall promote the continued implementation of certain federally-approved delivery system reform activities, including to support primary care and complex care management and to address health-related social needs.
Section 2VVVVV. (a) There shall be a Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative Trust Fund that shall be administered by the commissioner of higher education, in consultation with the executive office of education. The fund shall consist of: (i) amounts credited to the fund from any appropriations, grants, gifts or other money authorized by the general court or another party and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; and (ii) any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the fund. Any unexpended balance in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.
(b) All amounts credited to the fund shall be used without further appropriation to make grants to support public institutions of higher education providing access to inclusive higher education opportunities to students with severe intellectual disabilities, severe autism spectrum disorder or other severe developmental disabilities pursuant to section 30A of chapter 15A.
(c) Annually, not later than October 1, the commissioner shall report to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on higher education and the senate and house committees on ways and means on the activities of the fund.
Section 2WWWWW. There shall be a Behavioral Health Access and Crisis Intervention Trust Fund to be administered by the secretary of health and human services. The secretary may expend money from the fund, without further appropriation, to support a statewide, payor-agnostic community behavioral health crisis system including, but not limited to, all necessary costs to support: (i) a behavioral health access line to connect individuals to behavioral health services, including clinical assessment and triage; and (ii) a statewide system to deliver behavioral health crisis intervention services 24 hours per day and 7 days per week in mobile and community-based settings, available to all residents without regard to insurance.
There shall be credited to the fund all monies paid to the commonwealth under section 69A of chapter 118E and any other federal reimbursements, grants, premiums, gifts, interest or other contributions from any source received that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund. In the discretion of the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of health and human services, revenues equal to the amount of federal financial participation received by the General Fund for expenditures for the behavioral health access line may also be credited to the fund.
The fund may incur expenses and the comptroller shall certify for payment amounts in anticipation of the most recent estimate of expected receipts, as certified by the secretary of health and human services. Any balance in the fund at the close of a fiscal year shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years and shall not be transferred to any other fund or revert to the General Fund. Annually, not later than August 1, the secretary shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery on the revenue and expenditure activity within the fund.
Section 2XXXXX. (a) There shall be a Communications Access Trust Fund to be administered by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of public safety and security. The fund shall consist of: (i) money transferred to the fund by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on such money. Amounts credited to the fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.
(b) Amounts credited to the fund may be expended, without further appropriation, by the secretary of administration and finance for the purposes of making payments to the department of correction and the sheriffs for providing voice communication services, including phone calls, and other communication services free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the communication pursuant to section 87A of chapter 127. The secretary of administration and finance shall make said payments to the department of correction and the sheriffs services on a quarterly basis; provided, that sufficient documentation shall be received by the secretary of administration and finance consistent with subsection (c); provided, however, that no payment from the fund shall be for any financial incentive received in connection with a communication services contract, including, but not limited to a commission.
(c) The department of correction and the sheriffs shall submit quarterly to the secretary of administration and finance documentation of communication services provided free of charge in order to receive payments from the fund pursuant to subsection (b); provided, that documentation shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for each facility: (i) the number of phone calls; (ii) the length of each phone call; (iii) other communication services provided; and (iv) the length of each other communication service; and provided further, that the secretary of administration and finance may require additional documentation as deemed necessary by the secretary.
(d) Quarterly, the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the department of correction and the sheriffs, shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on the judiciary on payments from the fund to the department of correction and the sheriffs, including, but not limited to: (i) amounts expended for communication services by each department; (ii) a breakdown of the cost of each call by minute for each department; (iii) a breakdown of the cost of each other communication service offered by minute for each department; (iv) the number of phone calls, video communications, electronic communications and other communications services at each facility; and (v) any changes in contracts for voice communication services, including any progress in maximizing purchasing power and consolidating contracts between the sheriffs and the department of correction.
Section 2YYYYY. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund known as the High-Quality Early Education & Care Affordability Fund. The fund shall be credited with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, including, but not limited to gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) any interest earned on such money. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, for the implementation of initiatives to promote a high-quality early education and care system. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. The fund shall not be subject to section 5C of chapter 29.
Section 2ZZZZZ. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund known as the Commonwealth Taxpayer Relief Fund. The fund shall be credited with appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended to support the implementation of new tax relief measures taking effect in tax year 2022 and thereafter. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. The fund shall not be subject to section 5C of chapter 29.