HB 578, Senate Effort to Provide Relief to Long-Term Care Facilities Impacted by COVID-19 Sent to G
Contact Name: Sara Persechino
Phone: (603) 271-3479
Email: Sara.Persechino@leg.state.nh.us
CONCORD - Today, HB 578, a bill to establish a committee to study the safety of residents and employees in long-term care facilities, clarify cost controls in long-term care, and ensure facilities can be reimbursed from Medicaid for the costs of nurse training, was delivered to the Secretary of State. It next goes to the governor’s desk where he will have five business days to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.
Senator Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth) issued the following statement in response:
“The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on our nursing homes and long term care facilities have been devastating. Nearly 80% of New Hampshire’s fatalities have taken place in our nursing homes and long term care facilities, accounting for 1.5% of our residents. This trend cannot continue.
HB 578 as amended puts new systems in place to protect our vulnerable populations and helps to prevent future loss of life, including adequate testing for both residents and staff, greater access to PPE, and Medicaid reimbursements for training the nurses that provide critical care to our loved ones in these facilities. Too many families have lost a loved one without being able to say goodbye. I urge the governor to sign HB 578 into law and give our long term care residents and their staff the protection they deserve.”
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