Charles  Baker,  72nd and current Governor of Massachusetts

Baker eyeing $13.7M in cuts from long-term elder care

Home health care agencies may take a hit under a Baker administration proposal to save $13.7 million by cutting back on MassHealth funding that pays for long-term at-home care — a change advocates are decrying as harmful to poor elders.

In an effort to save costs and make services more efficient, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services has proposed, starting tomorrow, a 6.75 percent rate reduction for skilled nursing services — or rehabilitation care such as physical therapy, speech or occupational therapy — after 61 days, according to a public hearing notice published yesterday.

There would also be a 2.6 percent increase in the rates for a nurse visit of more than two hours.

In July, the proposal calls for changing the rate structure to a three-tiered system that would reduce reimbursements over time.READ MORE

Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/