Legislative Update

• By: Ben Hawkins
• On: 04/04/2024 15:45:49
• In: Legislative/Government Affairs

The legislature is scheduled to adjourn sine die April 17. With less than two weeks left, the Appropriations Committee is quickly voting through the remaining lines in the supplemental budget. 

On Tuesday, the committee voted to add the lines related to nursing home funding. That includes:

• $10 million to be added to base nursing home rates for rate reform in 2025 and onward.
• Authorization to distribute already approved funding to nursing homes as a one-time bridge payment before rate reform takes effect. This amount is anticipated to be approximately $15 million and will be distributed after the budget's effective date, which is likely to be mid-July. 
• Creation of a Nursing Facility Reform Transition Fund that will support facilities during the first three years of rate reform. The committee also voted to add $27 million in state funds and $45 million in federal funds into this account. 

The Appropriations Committee still has work to complete, and the budget will still need to be approved by the House and Senate and signed by the governor. MHCA will continue to advocate for long term care and make it clear that this funding is a valuable step in sustaining access to care throughout Maine.

MHCA also continues to advocate for residential care. Although specific funding was not allocated in this supplemental budget, we secured much-needed funding in the main biennial budget last session. We also anticipate PNMI needs to be addressed as residential care rate reform gets closer to implementation. 

Staff contact: bhawkins@mehca.org