§ 13C — Establishment of rates of payment for health care services

Section 13C. The secretary of the executive office shall establish rates of payment for health care services; provided, that the secretary may designate another governmental unit to perform such ratemaking functions. The secretary of the executive office shall have the responsibility for establishing rates to be paid to providers for health care services by governmental units, including the division of industrial accidents. The rates shall be adequate to meet the costs incurred by efficiently and economically operated facilities providing care and services in conformity with applicable state and federal laws and regulations and quality and safety standards and which are within the financial capacity of the commonwealth. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, the secretary of the executive office shall have the responsibility for establishing fair and adequate charges to be used by state institutions for general health supplies, care and rehabilitative services and accommodations, which charges shall be based on the actual costs of the state institution reasonably related, in the circumstances of each institution, to the efficient production of the services in the institution and shall also have sole responsibility for determining rates paid for educational assessments conducted or performed by psychologists and trained, certified educational personnel under the tenth paragraph of section 3 of chapter 71B.The secretary of the executive office shall have the responsibility for establishing rates of payment for social service programs which are reasonable and adequate to meet the costs which are incurred by efficiently and economically operated social service program providers in providing social service programs in conformity with federal and state law, regulations and quality and safety standards; provided, that the secretary may designate another governmental unit to perform such ratemaking functions. When establishing rates of payment for social service programs, the secretary of the executive office shall adjust rates to take into account factors, including, but not limited to: (i) the reasonable cost to social service program providers of any existing or new governmental mandate that has been enacted, promulgated or imposed by any governmental unit or federal governmental authority; (ii) a cost adjustment factor to reflect changes in reasonable costs of goods and services of social service programs including those attributed to inflation; and (iii) geographic differences in wages, benefits, housing and real estate costs in each metropolitan statistical area of the commonwealth and in any city or town therein where such costs are substantially higher than the average cost within that area as a whole. The secretary of the executive office shall not consider any of the resources specified in section 13G when establishing, reviewing or approving rates of payment for social service programs.