Mills Administration Issues $25 Million in COVID-19 Payments to Support 211 Long-Term Care Organizations | Office of Governor Janet T. Mills -…

Governor Mills proposed and the Legislature approved the payments as part of bipartisan budget to help facilities recover from the pandemic

Governor Janet Mills announced today that her Administration has issued $25 million in one-time COVID-19 payments to 211 long-term care organizations to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Mills proposed the MaineCare (Medicaid) payments in her supplemental budget that was passed by the Legislature on a bipartisan basis. Additionally, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is increasing flexibility in the use of these and related funds, such as for fuel and other costs related to global inflation.

Long-term care facilities provide critical services for Maine people, and they are still feeling the impacts of the pandemic challenges that have only been made more difficult by inflation, said Governor Janet Mills. I am proud the Legislature supported my proposal to provide additional funding, and I am pleased we are getting these resources into the hands of our caregivers quickly so they can continue to do their important work it could not come at a better time.

This injection of funding will help long-term care facilities offset unexpectedly high costs such as contract staff, food, and other pandemic-related expenses,said Jeanne Lambrew, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. The grants are part of unprecedented support for these facilities that not only recognizes their critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic but reflects Governor Mills commitment to making high-quality long-term services and supports affordable and accessible for Maine residents.

Today's announcement is welcome news as Maine's long-term care facilities and their dedicated caregivers continue to feel the impact of COVID-19, said Angela Westhoff, President and CEO of the Maine Health Care Association.Weappreciate Governor Mills' recognition of the persistent strain on providers and are thankful that additional resources are being distributed. We are also pleased with the Administrations response to our request for greater flexibility in the use of these funds with respect to labor costs, as our members persevere toprovide care tothousands of vulnerable Maine citizens each day.

The 211 organizations receiving grants represent 272 service locations throughout the state. The $25 million will be distributed proportionally based on each facilitys 2019 MaineCare revenue and total MaineCare bed days in 2021. For facilities that received little to no MaineCare revenue in 2019, the Department will use revenue from a more recent 12-month period to determine distribution of the supplemental payment amounts by facility.

The Department is also informing long-term care facilities about greater flexibility on the uses of one-time funding to help them recover from the pandemic and combat rising costs associated with inflation. This includes addressing pandemic-related cost increases of hiring and retaining staff and higher expenses, such as for food, fuel, and energy bills. This flexibility applies to the new $25 million announced today as well as to any remaining funds from last years $123 million one-time COVID-19 supplemental payments to nursing facilities, residential care facilities, and adult family care homes.

These payments build on the Mills Administrations historic financial and operational support for nursing facilities, which includes:

This is in addition to at least $50 million in financial relief distributed directly by the Federal government to nursing facilities across Maine.

Pandemic Support: Since the beginning of the pandemic, nursing facilities have submitted and received over 330,000 COVID-19 test results from Maines Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory and these facilities have also placed over 6,400 personal protective equipment (PPE) requests and received over 2.1 million pieces of PPE. Since January 2021, the Department has used over $2 million in Federal funds to support 23,910 hours of emergency nurse and related staffing to nearly one-third of Maine long-term care facilities to support care for residents during the pandemic.

Workforce Training: Recognizing the need to address the workforce challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Mills included $20 million in theMaine Jobs and Recovery Planto support health care workforce training. This includes scholarships and student loan relief to enable more people to become behavioral health specialists, long term support workers, emergency medical services staff, and other health professionals. The Jobs Plan additionally supports marketing campaigns aimed at promoting health care careers in Maine andHealthcare Training for ME, a program to expand the availability of free and low-cost career training to help health care workers advance their careers, support workforce training needs of health care employers, and attract new workers to fast-growing fields. The Jobs Plan is also supporting the Caring for ME campaign to educate and encourage residents to become direct care providers.

Cabinet on Aging: Governor Mills established the Cabinet on Aging on June 13, 2022 to help Maine prepare for and address demographic changes by advancing policies that will support Maine people in aging safely, affordably, and in ways and settings that best serve their needs. The Cabinet will bring together State government agencies to improve coordination and to accelerate action. It held its first meeting on July 28 and is likely to consider reforms to long-term services and supports in Maine.

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Mills Administration Issues $25 Million in COVID-19 Payments to Support 211 Long-Term Care Organizations | Office of Governor Janet T. Mills -...