Home Care Voice Blog

Massachusetts is on the verge of a major milestone for the home care industry. The Massachusetts Legislature has approved legislation establishing a statewide licensure framework for home care providers, and the bill is expected to be signed into law by the Governor in the coming days.

The legislation, S.3170, creates a phased implementation process that will provide time for both providers and state agencies to prepare for the transition to licensure.

Key implementation timelines include:

• Within 180 days of enactment: Temporary licenses will be issued to Medicaid providers.
• Within one year: The state must develop and finalize regulations governing the licensure program.
• One year after regulations are finalized: Home care agencies will be required to obtain licensure.

​While many details will be determined during the regulatory process, this legislation represents an important step toward establishing a formal licensing structure for home care providers in Massachusetts. Providers should watch for future guidance from the Commonwealth as regulations are developed and implementation moves forward.

Members interested in reviewing the legislation can access the enrolled bill text by visiting the Massachusetts Legislature's bill history page for S.3170 and selecting "View Text."

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Elder Affairs is set to discuss H.789, a bill discusses licensure of non-medical home care agencies. 

John Sneath, founder and CEO of HCAOA member Tribute Home Care, was recently featured on the Home Health Care News Disrupt podcast. Sneath shared insights about why Tribute is doubling down on private-pay personal care and how the agency approaches caregiver recruitment and hiring.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently handed down a key ruling that the three-prong test for independent contractors applies to the relationships between a franchisor and its franchisee, where the franchisor must also comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Franchise Rule.
 
The SJC held that the independent contractor statue applies to the franchisor-franchisee relationship and is not in conflict with the franchisor’s disclosure obligations set forth in the FTC Franchise Rule. The SCJ determined a franchisee providing services to a franchisor under the terms of a franchise agreement may, in fact, be classified as an “employee” of the franchisor under state wage-and-hour law.
 
Read more here.

​Last month in Jinks v. Credico (USA) LLC, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the appropriate method for determining whether two companies were “joint employers” for purposes of the Massachusetts wage and hour laws is to evaluate the “totality of the circumstances of the parties’ working relationship.” This is the same test courts apply when analyzing this issue under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

​As part of National Home Care and Hospice, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, collected first-hand stories from home care agencies – including several HCAOA members! – about the front-line challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. The stories were collected into a single podcast and read by middle school drama students. An interesting listen for your next commute!