Tag Archives for John E. Gage

Advocates, providers on new Nursing Home mandates

Published in RINewsToday on April 29, 2024

In the shadow of Rhode Island’s ongoing staffing shortage, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its 329-page final rule on Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Standards (CMS 3442-F) on April 22 in the Federal Rule. 

CMS affirmed its commitment to hold nursing homes accountable for providing safe and high-quality care for the nearly 1.2 million residents living in Medicare-and Medicaid-certified long-term care facilities.  

According to CMS, over 46,000 public comments submitted in response to the proposed rule. Central to this final rule are new comprehensive minimum nurse staffing requirements, which aim to significantly reduce the risk of residents receiving unsafe and low-quality care within nursing homes.

Just the Nuts and Bolts

CMS say that central to its final rule are new comprehensive minimum nurse staffing requirements that would significantly reduce the risk of residents receiving unsafe and low-quality care within nursing homes.  The agency is finalizing a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 hours per resident day (HPRD), which must include at least 0.55 HPRD of direct registered nurse (RN) care and 2.45 HPRD of direct nurse aide care. Facilities are given the flexibility to use any combination of nurse staff (RN, licensed practical nurse [LPN] and licensed vocational nurse [LVN], or nurse aide) to account for the additional 0.48 HPRD needed to comply with the total nurse staffing standard.

CMS is also finalizing enhanced facility assessment requirements and a requirement to have an RN onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide skilled nursing care. 

This final rule provides a staggered implementation timeframe for facilities to meet the minimum nurse staffing standards and 24/7 RN requirement based on geographic location as well as possible exemptions for qualifying facilities for some parts of these requirements based on workforce unavailability and other factors. The requirements of this final rule prioritize safety and health care quality while taking into consideration the unique workforce challenges some nursing homes are facing, especially those operating in rural areas. 

CMS will closely monitor and evaluate the provisions of this final rule, including but not limited to, the minimum staffing standards, the 24/7 RN requirement, the exemption process, and the definition of rural, as they are implemented over the next several years to determine whether any updates or changes are necessary in the future. 

Additionally, to increase transparency related to compensation for workers, CMS will also require states to collect and report on the percent of Medicaid payments that are spent on compensation for direct care workers, and support staff, delivering care in nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities, for individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

Provider, advocate positions on new CMS final rule

At press time, the RI Department of Health (RIDOH) had no comments about CMS’s new final rule released last week, say Joseph Wendelken, RIDOH’s public information officer.  The state agency is reviewing the rule and assessing its impact and applicability in Rhode Island,” he says.

With the final rules release, senior advocates and providers are expressing their opinion about its impact.

Former President Donald Trump, who is challenging President Joe Biden for the presidency, has not addressed quality of care in nursing homes with a formal position.  Kathleen Heren, Rhode Island’s Ombudsman, speculates that by releasing the CMS mandate before the upcoming presidential election, President Biden is just trying “to establish a record” of enhancing quality of care in nursing homes.

“Nursing homes cannot find  Registered nurses (RN), and Nursing Assistances to hire,” notes Heren.  The CMS mandate will force nursing homes to downsize, like we have just seen happen at the Scandinavian Home,” she predicts.

According to Heren, the final CMS rules do not include the minimum staffing of LPNs. More important, “it’s an unfunded mandate,” she says.

Gerontologist Deb Burton, MS, executive director of RI Elder Info, is pleased to see a Federal minimum staffing mandate of 3.48 hours of daily nursing care. “It’s important to understand mandates don’t make workers appear and a minimum staffing mandate is only an average amount of time allotted for care across all residents in the facility,” she says, noting that this rule doesn’t mean each resident will receive 3.48 hours of care each day.

According to Burton, the CMS Nursing Home Compare website, as of April 2024, notes there are 6 Rhode Island facilities that would not meet the lower federal minimum staffing mandate if it were enacted today. “The workforce shortage and the dire need to increase Medicaid reimbursements to attract and retain adequate staff with a proper wage are common topics of meetings,” says Burton. 

“When workers say ‘It’s only me on the floor – do I help the resident eat their supper or take the other resident to the bathroom? I can’t do both,’ – we need to listen,” says Burton. “The new federal minimum staffing mandate is a good step forward, but we need more. One day it will likely be us waiting for that workers’ help,” she warns. 

Like other RI senior advocates, Maureen Maigret, policy director for the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI, sees the importance of CMS releasing its final rules.  “It is important that these regulations have been finalized as providing for minimum nurse staffing levels in nursing homes helps  ensure residents across the country will receive quality and resident-centered care,”  she says. 

According to Maigret, Rhode Island has had a provision for 24/7 RN coverage even before the state’s minimum staffing law was passed so that is not a new requirement here. She pointed out the regulations will also promote transparency and accountability by requiring public reporting on how much of the Medicaid payments are spent on direct care staff and that the federal government has committed to invest over $75 Million in an initiative to increase the number of nurses working in nursing homes through such things as financial incentives for tuition reimbursement.   

“We are dismayed that the Biden Administration is moving forward with this one-size-fits-all staffing mandate,” says John E. Gage, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association. “In the midst of a historic and deepening caregiver shortage, this unrealistic policy will put access to care at risk for countless seniors in Rhode Island and across the country,” he warns, noting that when nursing homes can’t find nurses and/or certified nursing assistants (CNAs), they will be forced to downsize or, even worse, close their doors altogether, leaving seniors with fewer options to receive the care they need.

New final rule just another unfunded mandate

Like the 2021 RI staffing law, the Federal rule is an unfunded mandate, charges Gage. “Every nursing home wants more workers, but rather than blanket mandates from Washington, we need supportive policies and investments that will help us recruit and retain caregivers, he states.

According to Gage, nationally, the nursing home workforce has declined by 124,200 individuals (-7.8%) since the start of the pandemic. Rhode Island’s numbers are even worse, down 1,495 individuals (-15.3%). Gage calls on Congress to step up and support the bipartisan Protecting America’s Seniors’ Access to Care Act, which would prevent CMS from enforcing this unfunded and flawed mandate.

“Together with our national association, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), we will continue to fight for more common-sense solutions and do everything we can to preserve access to care for Rhode Island seniors,” says Gage.

“The good news about the Biden Administration’s final rule, there are phase-ins over multiple years that will provide an opportunity to challenge the mandates through legislation and/or possible AHCA litigation on the national level,” adds Gage. “The federal mandate highlights how much of an outlier RI’s staffing mandate is.  The RI statute has the highest staffing metrics and the highest fines in the country – 10% above the federal standards.  Without the Executive Actions of Governor McKee, RI nursing homes would be fined $90 million in the first full year of enforcement – devastating facilities and forcing further closures.  RI excludes hours worked by administrative nurses from counting toward the RN metric, yet they are included in the federal standards.  RI also excludes med techs’ and nurse aides in training’s hours from the CNA metric, while CMS includes them,” noted Gage.

Gage adds that the CMS final rules consider Rhode Island to be “urban.” As a result, the state has 2 years to phase-in the 24×7 RN requirement.

Rhode Island regulations and law have required 24×7 RN coverage in nursing homes for many decades, says Gage. “While challenging to maintain compliance given the shortage of registered nurses, this should not be a major concern for RI facilities,” he adds, noting that there will be 3 years to comply with the required 0.55 HPRD for RNs and 2.45 HPRD for CNAs. 

Additionally, Gage says that there are also waiver opportunities in certain circumstances.  “During the implementation phase, facilities and all stakeholders must be laser-focused on building a sufficient pipeline of qualified nurses and CNAs to the nursing home workforce,” he says.  

Like Gage, James Nyberg, executive director LeadingAgeRI, sees the CMS mandate as less onerous than the RI staffing mandate that “fortunately” remains suspended. “We remain concerned about the impact of this national mandate on providers in Rhode Island, and its broader impact on consumers and the health care industry,” he says.

According to Nyberg, the state’s current workforce shortages are already preventing nursing homes from filling open positions, limiting new admissions, and forcing organization closures (six nursing homes have already closed since the COVID pandemic began and two more have embarked on significant downsizing). 

“These challenges are also resulting in backlogs at hospitals, which are unable to discharge patients due to reduced capacity in nursing homes,” says Nyberg, noting that LeadingAgeRI is working with numerous stakeholders on various initiatives to develop a pipeline of workers. “But the simple fact is that it will take time and an infusion of resources,” he adds.

“CMS proposes to spend $75 million on a nursing home staffing campaign.  That amount might help a state like Rhode Island, but that money is national, so it is a drop in the bucket in terms of the support the industry needs, states Nyberg.  “On the home front, we have been working with the Administration and the General Assembly to provide an infusion of funding to try and rescue the homes from their dire financial straits and try to stabilize the industry.  But the federal mandate, and all the related details and requirements embedded in the rule, do nothing to further that cause,” he says.

For the Minimum Nursing Standard final rules, go to https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-08273.pdf

For the CMS Fact Sheet  on Minimum Nursing Standard final rules, go to https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-minimum-staffing-standards-long-term-care-facilities-and-medicaid-0

Shortage of direct care professionals a local and national concern

Published in RINewsTdoay on April 22, 2024

Last week, at  the Senate Dirksen Building, Room SD-562,  Chairman Bob Casey, of the U.S. Special Committee on Aging, (D-PA), showcased S. 4120, legislation that he introduced with U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). The Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act, introduced during the 118thCongress, would ensure that direct care professionals have a sustainable, lifelong career by providing substantial new funding to support these workers in every part of the long-term care industry, from nursing homes to home care, to assisted living facilities.

The Senate Aging Committee details a number of statistical findings showing the need for Congress to address the nation’s severe ongoing direct care professional workforce shortage. “A recent survey revealed 92% of nursing facility respondents and nearly 70% of assisted living facilities reported significant or severe workforce shortages.

In 2022, a survey of nursing facilities showed more than 50% of the facilities were limiting the number of new admissions due to staffing vacancies or shortages.  Another recent survey of Home and Community Based Service providers showed that all 50 states were experiencing home care worker shortages, and 43 states reported that some HCBS provider groups have closed due to worker shortages,” says the fact sheet.

Addressing the cause

By improving compensation, benefits, and support systems, S.4120  would ensure the United States has a “strong, qualified pipeline of workers to provide desperately needed care for older adults and people with disabilities.” notes a statement announcing the introduction of Casey’s legislative proposal.  

Specifically, S. 4120 would increase the number of direct care professionals, especially in rural communities.  It also would provide pathways to enter and be supported in the workforce for women, people of color, and people with disabilities.

S. 4120 would also improve wage compensation for direct care professionals to reduce vacancies and turnover.  It ensures that direct care professionals are treated with respect, provided with a safe working environment, protected from exploitation, and provided fair compensation.

The legislative proposal also documents the need for long-term care, identify effective recruitment and training strategies, and promote practices that help retain direct care professionals. It also would strengthen the direct care professional workforce in order to support the 53,000,000 unpaid family caregivers who are providing complex services to their loved ones in the home and across long-term care settings.

At press time, S. 4120 is endorsed by 50 organizations, including Domestic Workers Alliance, SEIU, AFSCME, Caring Across Generations, National Coalition on Aging (NCOA), Justice in Aging, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), and the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN).

And a companion legislative proposal was introduced in the House by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI).

Senate Aging Committee puts spotlight on Direct Care Staffing Shortage 

The April 16th hearing entitled, “The Long-Term Care Workforce: Addressing Shortages and Improving the Profession,” examined the challenges currently facing long-term care workers who are often underpaid and overworked, leading to widespread worker shortages that threaten the availability of care for those who need it.  

“It’s a crisis that stems largely from a lack of support for and investment in our caregiving workforce,” warns Casey in his opening statement. “Between 50 to over 90 percent of long-term care settings and providers report significant staffing shortages, affecting their ability to provide services, accept new clients, or even to remain open,” he says.

Casey noted that many direct care professionals have to work multiple jobs or overtime just to be able to support themselves and their families.  In 2022, their medium wage was just above $15 dollars an hour, well below what is paid for warehouse and convenience store jobs, per Casey.

“The direct care workforce, the majority of whom are women of color, are more likely to live in poverty compared to the general public,” notes Casey.

“Cumbersome federal regulations, requirements, and protections” and a “one-size fits all approach” won’t fix the direct care staffing shortage, responds Ranking Member Mike Braun (R-IN).

“To grow the long-term care workforce, the federal government should make it easier for people to enter by removing barriers,” says Braun, in his opening statement, calling for “productive approaches to build and grow the care professions.”

Overworked and not enough money

Nicholas Smith, a direct support professional at SPIN, a Pennsylvania-based organization that provides lifespan services for over 3,000 people with intellectual disabilities and autism, came to testify. “I work nearly 65-70 hours a week… due to my work, I have missed family events, nieces’ and nephews’ recitals, and school functions… a lot of people are leaving this field to make more money,” said the Philadelphia resident who has worked in the long-term care industry for over 25 years.

According to Smith, the national average for direct service professional wages is only $15.43 in long-term care. “We spend time training new hires only to lose them because they cannot make a living wage,” he says, noting that other industries are offering more money.

“While people want to stay in this field, they cannot make ends meet. Pennsylvania has a long waitlist for home and community-based services, and this is due to the workforce crisis,” he says.

In her testimony, Brooke Vogleman, a licensed Practical Nurse with Huntington, Indiana based TLC Management, stated:  “I’ve seen what happens when long-term care facilities lack workers, resources and government support, like during the pandemic. Many of my colleagues got burned out and left the profession, forcing facilities to rely on costly temporary staffing agencies.”

Vogleman called on federal policy makers, including members of the Senate Aging Committee, to address the challenge through “targeted investments, not blanket mandates.”  

For instance, she told the Senators that LPNs are integral to the facility’s interdisciplinary team. “Staffing mandates that do not include our contributions to patient care or recognize us as nurses are very concerning to me and will have unintended consequences on residents,” she says.

Staffing mandates will force facilities to depend more on expensive staffing agencies, warns Vogleman. “Personally, I’m concerned they will actually increase staff burnout, as current caregivers will be stretched thin and working longer hours in order to comply with these impossible standards,” she says.

Matthew Connell, Ed.D., of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, came to share the work and achievements of his community college in addressing the shortage of healthcare and long-term care workers in Indiana.

According to Connell, serving more than 190,000 students at 19 campuses and 26 satellite locations as well as on-line, graduates more associate level nurses in Indiana.  Nearly half of these students are pursuing college credit while in high school. Ivy Tech is the nation’s single largest provider of dual credit.

Ivy Tech’s programs are especially designed to help graduates enter the workforce quickly and provide critical services for the state’s long-term care population at a tuition rate that is the lowest in the state, he notes. “One in three Registered Nurses [in Indiana] is an alum. More than 90% of its nursing graduates choose to remain in Indiana, working in hospitals and care settings,” he adds.

The last witness, Jasmine L. Travers, assistant professor at New York University’s College of Nursing,  concisely summed up how to fix the nursing shortage.  She suggested: “To improve access to and quality of long-term are, we must ensure that all direct care workers receive a living wage, a safe, respectful work environment, opportunities for advancement, adequate training, and accessible benefits to maintain their health and well-being.  Only when we recognize that these workers are critically important, hardworking processionals, can we begin to improve equity and health outcomes for staff and patients alike.”

Putting the spotlight on Rhode Island’s Direct Care Staffing Shortage

According to John E. Gage, MBA, NHA, President & CEO, of the Rhode Island Health Care Association (RIHCA), the Covid-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on the healthcare sector across the country and especially in Rhode Island, and a disproportionate impact on nursing facilities. On a national level, in February 2020 nursing facilities workforce totaled 1,587,000. Today, it is 1,462,800, down by 124,200 or 7.8%. In Rhode Island, it is more dramatic. Pre-pandemic RI nursing facility workforce was 9,797 (2/2020). Current BLS data shows the most recent number of workers in RI nursing facilities is 8,300 – down 1,497 workers or 15.3%.  This is just about double the rate of loss of workers post-pandemic in RI compared to the national statistics.

“There are some local efforts to attract workers back to RI nursing homes,” says Gage, noting that there is a need to be laser-focused on workforce development efforts. 

Gage calls for RI Medicaid to increase reimbursements to nursing facilities to cover today’s actual cost of care, not on facility costs from 2011 (13 years ago!) with minimal average inflationary increases in the 11 years since the price-based reimbursement methodology began in 2013.  According to Gage, RI nursing facilities need an adequate, sustainable reimbursement system to foster continued high-quality care and services and provide nursing home with rates that enable them to retain current workers and recruit more caregivers.

RIHCA, a non-profit trade association representing more than 80 percent of the nursing homes in the state, and its parent organization, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) support the legislative efforts of Senator Casey’s Long-Term Care Support Act. “We support all efforts to increase Medicaid rates to enable facilities to regain and grow their workforce – both direct care and ancillary staff, to enhance the quality of care and quality of life for our nation’s and RI’s most frail elder citizens today and for the years ahead,” he says. 

“It is heartening to see the Senate Committee on Aging and leading members of Congress addressing the care worker crisis in long term care including supporting our many thousands of unpaid caregivers who provide a significant portion of long term supports and services,” says Maureen Maigret, policy advisory of the Senior Agenda of RI (SACRI). Multifaceted solutions are needed, adds Maigret that include supporting training programs for nurses and paraprofessionals, career ladders and providing adequate Medicaid provider payments as Medicaid is the primary payer for long term care.

According to Maigret, in homecare alone, 75% of persons referred for subsidized home and community care through the state Medicaid or the Office of Healthy Aging Home Cost Share program are waiting two months, and often longer, to get services. “Our nursing homes are challenged to recruit the nursing staff needed to provide resident-centered quality care. Federal funding during the pandemic brought some funding in to support worker wages but that funding has ended,” she says.

“The state Healthcare Workforce Initiative led by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor has been looking at needs across the healthcare system and addressing some of the training and education issues,” says Maigret, noting that advocacy groups, such as the SACRI, support the Medicaid reimbursement rate increases as recommended by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner. “These rate increases are necessary to reduce service wait lists and provide livable wages for direct care staff many of whom are women and women of color,” she says. 

Over 23 years ago, in his weekly commentaries in the Pawtucket Times, this writer reported on the crisis of a direct care staffing shortage and inadequate reimbursement being paid to  nursing facilities to care for Rhode Island’s fail seniors. Isn’t it finally time for the Rhode Island General Assembly to come up with the necessary funds and strategy to fix these problem once and for all?

To watch the Senate Aging Committee hearing held on April 16, 2024, go to https://www.aging.senate.gov/hearings/the-long-term-care-workforce-addressing-shortages-and-improving-the-profession

The legislative wish list of Rhode Island’s groups on aging

Published in RINewsToday on April 15, 2024

The Rhode Island General Assembly’s 2024 session kicked off on Jan. 2, 2024, scheduled to adjourn on June 30, 2024.  According to LegiScan, over the last three months 2,164 bills have been thrown into the legislative hopper.

“The state budget will likely be voted upon by the House Finance Committee in late May or early June.  Then a week later it is considered by the full House of Representatives, followed by votes by the Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate, and the final step would be consideration by the Governor. That process is usually completed  by mid-June to late June because the new fiscal year begins on July 1.” says Larry Berman, who has served as House Communication Director for 22 legislative sessions.“

According to Berman, the Senate and House both focus on their priorities within their own chambers first, and once those bills pass, then discussions take place between the leadership teams of both chambers to finalize bills for passage in both chambers before sending them to the Governor.  That time period will be May, and well into June. 

Legislative Wish List

Aging advocates are pushing for their legislative agenda’s to be included in the House budget.  They also are carefully monitoring the status of bills that have been introduced, specifically those that will have an impact on programs and services delivered to older Rhode Islanders.

Maureen Maigret, Policy Advisor, of Senior Agenda Coalition of RI (SACRI) puts the passage of H 7333 and S 2399 on ita priority legislative list to assist financially struggling seniors and persons with disabilities on Medicare. “As many older adults are struggling financially, SACRI is prioritizing H7333 (by Rep. Karen Alzate) and S2399 (by Senator Sandra Cano) to expand the Medicare Savings Program eligibility up to $28,000. These bills would put more money in the pockets of lower-income persons not on Medicaid by covering the Medicare Part B premiums that amount to $2,100 a year and also help them with prescription drug costs,” she says.

To provide financial help to our many unpaid caregivers we also support S2375 (by Rep. Linda L. Ujifusa) and H7490 (by Rep. Susan Donovan) to create a state tax credit up to $1,000 for half the costs incurred to care for an older family member needing supports and S2121 (by Sen. Valarie J. Lawson) and H 7171 (by (by Rep. Joshua J Giraldo) to increase the Temporary Caregiver Insurance program from six to 12 weeks.

According to Maigret, there are a number of bills addressing housing issues that SACRI also supports including those to promote ADU development, funding for affordable senior housing and incorporating accessibility features into new housing.

H. 7062, sponsored by Rep. June S. Speakman has passed the House. This bill would boost hosing production by helping Rhode Islanders to develop  ADUs has been identified by as a high priority this year for House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 13, Warwick).

“In looking at the Governor’s State FY2025 budget we are advocating to add about $660,000 to the Office of Healthy Aging budget to increase funding to local communities to support local senior centers/programs to reach a level of $10 per each person age 65 and older in the city or town,” notes Maigret. SACRI calls for increased funding to implement the recommended increases for social and human services providers beyond the one-third level proposed by the Governor to help address the long wait list for accessing homecare services and provide more livable homecare staff wages. This is critical as the average private cost of home health aide services in RI is $36/hour, she notes.

“ As our industry continues to fight off the existential threats of inadequate funding and staffing shortages, our Association is staying laser focused on our homes receiving sufficient and sustainable financial reimbursements and supporting all initiatives to improve staff availability. Without substantive help from the General Assembly, we will continue to lose more homes and our ability to care for our most fragile RI citizens,” states John E. Gage, MBA, NHA, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association. 

At AARP Rhode Island’s 2024 Legislative reception, State Director Catherine Taylor called for passage of H 7127 to provide an optional, voluntary Roth-IRA plan to the 172,000 Rhode Island employees who do not have access to a convenient, low-cost voluntary retirement savings plan through their employer.

The Secure Choice program, endorsed by Gov. Dan McKee and AARP Rhode Island, would be administered by the office of the General Treasurer, would see retirement savings accumulated in individual accounts for the exclusive benefit of the participants or their beneficiaries.  

The legislation has been referred to the House Finance Committee. A similar measure (S 2045) has been introduced in the upper chamber by Sen. Meghan E. Kallman.

According to Taylor, Secure Choice has been enacted in 18 states to date. In Connecticut, the program led to over 25,0000 workers saving over $19 million dollars in the first year of operation. These savings would not have been realized without Secure Choice.

Taylor also noted that Rhode Island is one of only 8 states that tax hard-earned Social Security benefits. “Our state tax on Social Security undermines the purpose of Social Security, which was designed to lift older adults out of poverty – not to fund state government,” she says.

AARP Rhode Island supports the efforts of Sen. Elaine Morgan (S 84) to completely eliminate the state tax on Social Security income and Sen. Walter Felag (S 246) to increase the thresholds to $ 110,000 for single, and $ 140,000 got joint filers, says Taylor.

“We would like to see the passage of S. 2556 [by Senators Lou Dipalma, Bridget Valverde, John Burke, and Pam Lauria] and H. 7493, sponsored by Rep. Scott Slater and Rep. Grace Diaz, that would establish a 20% add-on to the Medicaid per diem rate for nursing homes that have single-occupancy rooms and bathrooms,” says James Nyberg, executive director of LeadingAge RI.

According to Nyberg, there is a growing body of research that shows the benefits of single rooms on residents’ physical ad mental health and well-being, which was clearly exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  “There is also the simple fact that it promotes human dignity. Older Rhode Islanders should not have to share a bathroom and shower with strangers during a frail time of life,” he says.

“As for the budget, we want to ensure that the nursing home funding included in the Governor’s budget is maintained, and the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner recommended rate increases be expedited, if possible, as well,” says Nyberg.

Just a Few More to Watch

Here is a sampling of other bills, of interest to aging advocates, thrown into the legislative hopper this legislative session:

Sen. Linda L. Ujifusa and Rep. Megan Cotter are sponsoring a bill (H 7208, S 2063) to provide relief to some of the state’s most vulnerable households by raising the eligibility limit and the maximum credit for the “circuit breaker” tax credit, which benefits low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities. The bills have been referred to their chamber’s Finance Committee.

The circuit breaker credit program provides an income tax credit to low-income Rhode Island homeowners and renters who are over 65 or disabled, equal to the amount that their property tax exceeds a certain percent of their income. That percent ranges from 3 to 6 percent, based on household income. In the case of renters, a figure representing 20 percent of their annual rent is used in the place of property tax in the calculation.   

The Senate approved S 2082, sponsored by Sen. Melissa A. Murray, to limit insured patients’ co-pays for supplies and equipment used to treat diabetes to $25 for a 30-day supply.

The legislation would apply to private insurers, health maintenance organizations, nonprofit hospital service or medical service corporations and the state employee health insurance plans that cover such supplies. Under the bill, beginning Jan. 1 (or, for state employees, the next time the health plan contract is purchased or renewed by the state), co-pays for insulin administration and glucose monitoring supplies shall be capped at $25 for a 30-day supply, or per item when an item is intended to be used for longer than 30 days.

During this legislative session, S 0089 and H 5417 were introduced by Senator Meghan Kallman and Rep. Evan P. Shanley and take their savings with them when they change jobs. The legislative proposals have been referred to the House Finance and Senate Committees for consideration.

For more details about legislation being considered by the Rhode Island General Assembly, go to https://legiscan.com/RI/legislation/2024.

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