1599-6903 Chapter 257 and Human Service Reserve

For the fiscal year 2027 costs of rate implementations under chapter 257 of the acts of 2008; provided, that rate implementations under said chapter 257 may include, but shall not be limited to, costs associated with any court order or settlement between providers of services and the commonwealth related to the rate implementation process; provided further, that preference in distributing funds from this item shall be given to personnel earning wages less than $20 per hour; provided further, that home care workers shall be eligible for funding from this item; provided further, that workers from shelters and programs that serve homeless individuals and families that were previously contracted through the department of transitional assistance and the department of public health who are currently contracted with the executive office of housing and livable communities and direct care workers that serve homeless veterans through the executive office of veterans' services shall be eligible for funding from this item; provided further, that no funds from this item shall be allocated to special education programs under chapter 71B of the General Laws, contracts for early education and care services or programs for which payment rates are negotiated and paid as class rates as established by the executive office of health and human services; provided further, that no funds shall be allocated from this item to contracts funded exclusively by federal grants as delineated in section 2D of this act; provided further, that the secretary of administration and finance may transfer from the sum appropriated in this item to other items of appropriation and allocations thereof for fiscal year 2027, amounts that are necessary to meet these costs where the amounts otherwise available are insufficient for the purpose of rate implementations; provided further, that the executive office for administration and finance shall submit quarterly reports to the house and senate committees on ways and means on transfers made from this item; provided further, that the report shall identify, by item and service class, all transfers made from this item as of the date of the report and all transfers expected to be made before the end of the fiscal year; provided further, that not later than February 3, 2027, the executive office of health and human services shall submit a report to the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the implementation of rates under said chapter 257 of the acts of 2008, including, the: (i) state costs for rates promulgated as of July 1, 2026 by regulation, department and program; (ii) state costs for rates promulgated as of January 1, 2027, delineated by regulation, department and program; (iii) per cent of increase in state funding for rates to be reviewed between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027, delineated by regulation, department and program; and (iv) fiscal impact for increases in state funding versus prior fiscal year actual costs for rates to be reviewed between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027, delineated by regulation, department and program; provided further, that contracts between providers and the departments within the executive office of health and human services and the executive office of aging and independence shall require providers to report on the impact of the rate implementations on employee salaries, employee--related costs and operations; provided further, that not later than April 1, 2027, the executive office of health and human services shall submit a report to the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the implementation of ongoing and proposed initiatives to promote equitable salaries for human services workers, direct care workers, nurses, clinicians or other comparable employees employed by state--operated human services providers and equitable rates paid to human service provider employees in community--based human services organizations funded by the executive office of health and human services, the executive office of aging and independence or the executive office of housing and livable communities; provided further, that the report shall include, but not be limited to: (a) average uniform financial report provider data on employee tax and fringe benefit information of the preceding 2 state fiscal years, as validated with information from the uniform financial report or a method determined by the executive office; (b) the median salary and compensation information of the preceding 2 state fiscal years classified by direct care and frontline staff, medical and clinical staff and management staff, as validated with information from the uniform financial report or a method determined by the executive office; (c) a comparison of the median salary for each classification of staff position with the seventy--fifth percentile wage estimate for that position as determined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the commonwealth using the available data for that rate review; and (d) the average employee vacancy rates of direct care and frontline staff for the preceding 2 state fiscal years and the current fiscal year from the date of new rate implementations; provided further, that not later than March 4, 2027 the executive office health and human services shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means a comparison of the median salary for each classification of staff position with the seventy--fifth percentile wage estimate for that position as determined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for Massachusetts in the most recent available data; provided further, that not later than December 30, 2026 the executive office of health and human services shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means the methodology used to develop service rates for home health aides, personal care aides and homemakers; and provided further, that any human service provider receiving revenue under said chapter 257 shall use not less than 75 per cent of the funds received for compensation for their direct care, frontline and medical and clinical staff, which may include, but shall not be limited to, hourly rate increases, wraparound benefits, shift differentials, overtime, hiring and retention bonuses or recruitment, as defined by the executive office