BOSTON — State lawmakers are moving ahead with a plan aimed at improving the long-term care system, which is struggling amid a lack of federal funding, chronic labor shortages, and lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A proposal up for a vote in the House and Senate this week would set new restrictions on nursing home operators to prevent abuse and neglect, including beefed-up fines for violations. It would also provide incentives to boost the long-term care workforce and improve disease management in nursing facilities, among other changes.
The House and Senate approved the legislation earlier this year, but differences between the two bills needed to be worked out in a six-member conference committee before sending it to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk. It was one of several bills whose passage was uncertain amid the chaos of the Legislature’s July 31 end of formal sessions.
“Our respective teams are completing the work necessary to formalize the agreement,” the bill’s co-architect, state Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, said in a statement with other committee members. “We are confident that the conference committee report will be filed soon, ensuring that the House and Senate can act before the close of business this week to send the bill to the Governor’s desk.”
Under the plan, long-term care facilities would face new licensing regulations and additional oversight, including more extensive reviews of their financial status and whether they have a history of litigation or criminal sanctions.
They would be required to develop infection outbreak response plans, which would need to be submitted to state health officials annually for review.
Fines for abuse and neglect of patients would be increased, while the statute of limitations for investigating allegations of abuse would be increased to four years.
The bill also hikes fines for operating a facility without a license and other offenses.
“This comprehensive and historic legislation represents a profound commitment to the well-being of our seniors and the dedicated professionals who care for them, and it will have a lasting impact on the provision of care in Massachusetts,” said Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, which represents skilled nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
“We are deeply appreciative of the Legislature’s efforts to safeguard the dignity and quality of life for our most vulnerable citizens,” she added.
Staffing and capacity shortages at post-acute care facilities are among the major factors complicating efforts to find beds for patients. About two dozen nursing facilities in Massachusetts have announced plans to close since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with half of them closing in the last year, according to industry figures.
The legislation will create a fund with money from fines levied on nursing homes that would pay for capital improvements at nursing homes and a range of training programs, along with incentives to boost the workforce.
A number of the bill’s provisions were recommended by a state commission that issued a report in 2020 calling for giving the state Department of Public Health more regulatory authority and incentives to expand the long-term care workforce.
House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, has said he views the long-term care sector overhaul as a key agenda item for Democrats in the two-year session that began in January.
But the bill was delayed along with several other major pieces of legislation and was left in the committee when lawmakers recessed July 31 for the end of formal sessions.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com