Notices of Public Hearing (Published 05/24/2024)

Health and Human Services, Executive Office of
101 CMR 451.00 

Notice of Public Hearing 

Under the authority of M.G.L. c. 118E and in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) will hold a remote public hearing at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, relative to the adoption of the following new regulation.

The proposed new regulation contains rates effective for dates of service on or after January 1, 2025. There is no fiscal impact on cities and towns.

101 CMR 451.00: Rates for Certain Youth and Children Services

101 CMR 451.00 governs payment rates for certain youth and children services purchased by a governmental unit including, but not limited to, the Department of Children and Families. In accordance with the requirements set forth in M.G.L. Chapter 118E, Section 13D (f/k/a Chapter 257 of the Acts of 2008), the proposed new regulation contains rates for reorganized support and stabilization services. These rates are based on updated model budgets and contain a cost adjustment factor (CAF) of 2.78%. Salary benchmarks are derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) median salary, May 2022 edition at the 53rd percentile. The CAF was determined by using baseline and prospective Massachusetts Economic Indicator data from IHS Economics – Fall 2023 Forecast, optimistic scenario data. The CAF reflects the period between the rates’ base period (calendar year 2024, Q4) and the prospective calendar year 2025, Q1 through calendar year 2026, Q4. The tax and fringe rate has been benchmarked to 27.38% and the administrative allocation has been benchmarked to 12%. The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families will seek to purchase these reorganized support and stabilization services in an upcoming procurement. The current annual spending for support and stabilization services is approximately $161M-$167M, depending on utilization. The upcoming procurement and rates for the reorganized support and stabilization services will result in an estimated increase in spending of $17.5M, depending on utilization.

To register to testify at the hearing and to get instructions on how to join the hearing online, go to www.mass.gov/service-details/executive-office-of-health-and-human-services-public-hearings.
To join the hearing by phone, call (646) 558-8656 and enter meeting ID 935 397 8200# when prompted. 

You may also submit written testimony instead of, or in addition to, live testimony. To submit written testimony, please email your testimony to ehs-regulations@mass.gov as an attached Word or PDF document or as text within the body of the email with the name of the regulation in the subject line. All written testimony must include the sender’s full name, mailing address, and organization or affiliation, if any. Individuals who are unable to submit testimony by email should mail written testimony to:
 
EOHHS, c/o D. Briggs
100 Hancock Street, 6th Floor
Quincy, MA 02171.

To review the current draft of the proposed new regulation, go to www.mass.gov/service-details/executive-office-of-health-and-human-services-public-hearings or request a copy in writing from MassHealth Publications, 100 Hancock Street, 6th Floor, Quincy, MA 02171. To view or download related supporting materials, go to www.mass.gov/infodetails/proposed-regulations-supporting-materials.

Special accommodation requests may be directed to the Disability Accommodations Ombudsman by email at ADAAccommodations@mass.gov or by phone at (617) 847-3468 (TTY: (617) 847-3788 for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled). Please allow two weeks to schedule sign language interpreters.

EOHHS may adopt a revised version of the proposed regulation taking into account relevant comments and any other practical alternatives that come to its attention.

In case of inclement weather or other emergency, hearing cancellation announcements will be posted on the MassHealth website at www.mass.gov/service-details/executiveoffice- of-health-and-human-services-public-hearings.

May 10, 2024

CMR No: 101 CMR 451.00
Small Business Impact Statement

(As required by M.G.L. c. 30A §§ 2, 3 & 5) 

• Estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation:

  Unknown until after procurement

• Will small businesses have to create, file, or issue additional reports?

  No.

• Will small businesses have to implement additional recordkeeping procedures?

  No.

• Will small businesses have to provide additional administrative oversight?

  No.  

• Will small businesses have to hire additional employees in order to comply with the proposed regulation?

  No.

• Does compliance with the regulation require small businesses to hire other professionals (e.g. a lawyer, accountant, engineer, etc.)?

  No.  

• Does the regulation require small businesses to purchase a product or make any other capital investments in order to comply with the regulation?

  No.  

• Are performance standards more appropriate than design/operational standards to accomplish the regulatory objective?

  (Performance standards express requirements in terms of outcomes, giving the regulated party flexibility to achieve regulatory objectives and design/operational standards specify exactly what actions regulated parties must take.)

  No. The regulation is required by statute under M.G.L. Chapter 118E, Section 13D, and establishes the rates to be paid by governmental units to providers of certain social service programs.

• Do any other regulations duplicate or conflict with the proposed regulation?

  No.

• Does the regulation require small businesses to cooperate with audits, inspections or other regulatory enforcement activities?

  Yes. The regulation requires providers to periodically file cost data to enable EOHHS to develop rates for certain social service programs. This cost reporting requirement is applied uniformly to all providers to enable EOHHS to develop accurate rates that reflect cost data from all providers.

• Does the regulation require small businesses to provide educational services to keep up to date with regulatory requirements?

  No. This regulation does not require small businesses to provide educational services to keep up to date with the regulatory requirements.

• Is the regulation likely to deter the formation of small businesses in Massachusetts?

  No. The regulation is not likely to deter or encourage the formation of small businesses in Massachusetts as this regulation establishes rates by which providers of certain social service programs are to be paid when services are purchased by governmental units.

• Is the regulation likely to encourage the formation of small businesses in Massachusetts?

  No. The regulation is not likely to deter or encourage the formation of small businesses in Massachusetts as this regulation establishes rates by which providers of certain social service programs are to be paid when services are purchased by governmental units.

• Does the regulation provide for less stringent compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses?

  No. The regulation contains requirements to report cost data to EOHHS to enable EOHHS to develop rates for certain social services. This cost reporting requirement is applied uniformly to all providers to enable EOHHS to develop accurate rates that reflect cost data from all providers.

• Does the regulation establish less stringent schedules or deadlines for compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses?

  No. The regulation contains requirements to report cost data to EOHHS to enable EOHHS to develop rates for certain social services. The time frame for cost reporting is applied uniformly to all providers to enable EOHHS to timely develop accurate rates that reflect cost data from all providers.

• Did the agency consolidate or simplify compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses?

  No. The agency did not consolidate or simplify compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses. The requirement to report cost data to EOHHS is applied uniformly to enable EOHHS to timely develop accurate rates that reflect cost data from all providers.

• Can performance standards for small businesses replace design or operational standards without hindering delivery of the regulatory objective?

  No. The establishment of rates for certain social service providers by regulation is a statutory requirement under M.G.L. Chapter 118E, Section 13D.

• Are there alternative regulatory methods that would minimize the adverse impact on small businesses?

  No. The regulation does not have an adverse impact on small businesses. The regulation establishes rates by which certain social service providers are to be paid when services are purchased by governmental units. The establishment of rates for these social services by regulation is a statutory requirement under M.G.L. Chapter 118E, Section 13D.

Public Health, Department of
105 CMR 130.000

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, §2, that the Department of Public Health will hold a public hearing and comment period on the recent amendments, filed on May 3, 2024, on an emergency basis, to 105 CMR 130.000: Hospital Licensure. These emergency amendments require hospitals to report certain hospital capacity data to the Department and are being promulgated on an emergency basis to address a change in federal reporting requirements.

Beginning in 2020, hospitals were required to report certain hospital capacity data, pursuant to federal requirements. In order to streamline data reporting requirements for hospitals, the Department became certified to collect this data and report it to the federal government on the hospitals’ behalf. These data were not only used to inform the Department’s COVID-19 response, but were also critical to allowing the Department to perform necessary planning and coordination to improve patient access to care. These data are critical in allowing the Department to: 1) monitor overall trends in hospital capacity, 2) designate the appropriate capacity tier for each region in the Commonwealth, and 3) have a better understanding of available capacity by service line. Further, these data allow for individual hospitals to have a better understanding of regional and statewide capacity. 

On April 8, 2024, the federal government announced hospitals would no longer be required to submit these data after April 30, 2024; while there are currently proposed federal rules to require these data be submitted beginning in October 2024, there is currently no federal reporting requirement for hospitals to submit these data. These emergency amendments are necessary to minimize the gap in reporting of these critical data to the Department.

The public hearing will be held on June 10, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. The hearing will be conducted on a moderated conference call. The information for the moderated conference call is:

Dial-in Telephone Number: 800-369-1170
Participant Passcode: 6410428
To Testify Press: *1

A copy of the proposed amendments to 105 CMR 130.000 may be viewed on the Department’s website at http://mass.gov/dph/proposed-regulations or requested from the Office of the General Counsel by calling 617-624-5220.

Speakers who testify at the public hearing are requested to provide a copy of their oral testimony. The Department encourages all interested parties to submit written testimony electronically to Reg.Testimony@mass.gov, or by mail to:
William Anderson, Office of the General Counsel
Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02108.
Please submit electronic testimony as an attached Word document and type “105 CMR 130.000: Hospital Licensure- Data Reporting” in the subject line of the email. All submitted testimony must include the sender’s full name and address.

The Department will post all electronic testimony that complies with these instructions on its website. All comments must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on June 10, 2024. All comments received by the Department may be released in response to a request for public records. 

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, or are a person with a disability who requires accommodation, please contact Stacy Hart at least 5 days before the hearing at Tel # 857-274-1120, or email Stacy.Hart@mass.gov. 

April 26, 2024

CMR No: 105 CMR 130.000: Hospital Licensure
Small Business Impact Statement

(As required by M.G.L. c. 30A §§ 2, 3 & 5)

• Estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation:

  Presently, there are approximately 112 hospitals in Massachusetts. It is unlikely that any of these businesses qualify as a small business

• Will small businesses have to create, file, or issue additional reports?

  Yes. Small businesses will be required to report hospital capacity data.

• Will small businesses have to implement additional recordkeeping procedures?

  No.

• Will small businesses have to provide additional administrative oversight?

  No. Small businesses are not required by 101 CMR 358.00 to provide additional administrative oversight. The proposed regulation establishes the rates to be paid by governmental units for applied behavior analysis services.

• Will small businesses have to hire additional employees in order to comply with the proposed regulation?

  No. 101 CMR 358.00 does not require small businesses to hire additional employees to remain in compliance.

• Does compliance with the regulation require small businesses to hire other professionals (e.g. a lawyer, accountant, engineer, etc.)?

  No.  

• Does the regulation require small businesses to purchase a product or make any other capital investments in order to comply with the regulation?

  No.  

• Are performance standards more appropriate than design/operational standards to accomplish the regulatory objective?

  (Performance standards express requirements in terms of outcomes, giving the regulated party flexibility to achieve regulatory objectives and design/operational standards specify exactly what actions regulated parties must take.)

  No - This regulation, which is required by statute, sets forth clear minimum standards to ensure consistency among programs and protect the health and safety of residents.

• Do any other regulations duplicate or conflict with the proposed regulation?

  No. There are no other regulations that duplicate or conflict with the proposed regulation.

• Does the regulation require small businesses to cooperate with audits, inspections or other regulatory enforcement activities?

  Yes. This regulation does require small businesses to cooperate with inspections and other regulatory enforcement activities in order for DPH to ensure the health and safety of residents.

• Does the regulation require small businesses to provide educational services to keep up to date with regulatory requirements?

  No.

• Is the regulation likely to deter the formation of small businesses in Massachusetts?

  No.  

• Is the regulation likely to encourage the formation of small businesses in Massachusetts?

  No. This regulation will not encourage the opening of additional small business health care facilities.

• Does the regulation provide for less stringent compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses?

  No. The reporting requirements are the same for all regulated parties

• Does the regulation establish less stringent schedules or deadlines for compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses?

  No. The compliance standards for and reporting requirements are the same for all regulated parties

• Did the agency consolidate or simplify compliance or reporting requirements for small businesses?

  No. The compliance standards for and reporting requirements are the same for all regulated parties

• Can performance standards for small businesses replace design or operational standards without hindering delivery of the regulatory objective?

  No. This regulation, which is required by statute, sets forth clear minimum standards to ensure consistency among providers, and protects the health and safety of residents.

• Are there alternative regulatory methods that would minimize the adverse impact on small businesses?

  No.