On May 29, 2026, the Providers’ Council submitted testimony to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) on the proposed rates for 101 CMR 432.00: Rates for Certain Lead Services. Representing 220 community-based human services organizations across Massachusetts, the Council emphasized that insufficient rates depress workforce salaries, worsen the sector’s recruitment crisis and result in residents on wait lists due to programs unable to run at full capacity.
The Council’s testimony can be found here.
The Council included several points in their testimony, including:
- Urging EOHHS to use no less than the 75th percentile of BLS when setting benchmark salaries for all positions. For example, this would set the benchmark wage for Direct Care Specialist workers at $38.22/hour (based on May 2024 BLS data), compared to the currently proposed $31.99/hour at the 53rd percentile.
- Thanking EOHHS for adopting the baseline scenario data (a compromise between optimistic and pessimistic projections) in the proposed 3 percent CAF, but request continued evaluation to ensure sufficiency relative to market conditions.
- Asking EOHHS to hold the tax and fringe rate harmless from the prior year’s rate of 27.38 percent and include an additional 5.1 percent for retirement benefits, setting the total rate at 32.48 percent — noting concern that the proposed decrease to 24.97 percent does not account for the double-digit health insurance increases members are experiencing.
- Recommending an increase in the administrative allocation from the current 12 percent to a range of 15–18 percent, noting that the current allocation remains inadequate to cover true operational costs.
For more information on the Council’s testimony, or other Chapter 257 hearings, please contact Caroline O’Neill.
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