BOSTON- Nearly six years after legislation updating reimbursement rates for human services providers became law, the provider community expressed cautious optimism that it will be fully implemented.
The election last week of Charles Baker as governor has increased the hope that Chapter 257 will be fully implemented, providing needed services to individuals and families and easing the burden on hundreds of Massachusetts providers.
"Gov.-elect Baker looked us in the eye and pledged to fund the law," said Michael Weekes, President and CEO of the Providers' Council and a spokesman for The Collaborative. "We look forward to working with his administration to make this a reality as soon as possible."
The Collaborative is made up of human services member-driven organizations ABH, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers (ADDP) and the Providers' Council.
Speaking at a candidate forum hosted by the Providers' Council in September - in which all candidates for governor pledged support - Baker said Chapter 257 is the "train that never gets to the station. I can promise you, as governor, it will be funded."
Currently, hundreds of millions of dollars in funding are owed to providers, stretching the budgets of hundreds of non-profit organizations that provide vital supports and services. The Collaborative filed a lawsuit earlier this year to force the Commonwealth to follow the law. It will be heard in early January.
The Collaborative led the charge in the State House for the unanimous adoption of Chapter 257 in 2008. The law required the state to set reasonable and adequate rates for all human services organizations in Massachusetts by January 1, 2014. The human services industry provides needed services and supports for people living with disabilities and mental illnesses, children and women at risk of abuse, the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and many others.
