1199ers Unveil 2023-2024 Legislative Agenda

March 2, 2023

The pandemic has impacted our healthcare system forever. It has exposed inadequacies that have been ignored for far too long, pushing caregivers out of the industry, and putting the health of those we care for at risk.

The present state of care isn’t working for the majority of us.

This is our moment to re-imagine the future of care that works for us all, and that starts with us leading the conversation.

By telling our stories, advocating for policies that invest in us and our communities, and winning contracts that protect good jobs and strengthen care, we are shaping the future of care.

For our policy agenda, it was informed by YOU. 1199ers completed a survey at the end of 2022 that lifted up wages and staffing as critical areas that impact home care, health systems, and long-term care. Those priorities are reflected below in the bills below:

Statewide Minimum Wage and Enhanced Care Worker Minimum Wages

  1. An Act Relative to Raise the Minimum Wage Closer to a Living Wage in the Commonwealth (Lewis; SD2032)
  2. An Act to Establish a Hospital and Community Health Center Worker Minimum Wage (Mark/Fluker-Oakley; SD1947/HD2995)
  3. An Act to Promote an Enhanced Care Worker Minimum Wage (R. Kennedy/Nguyen; SD1285/ HD636)

Nursing Homes

  1. An Act to Address the Overuse of Temporary Nursing Service Agencies at Massachusetts Skilled Nursing Facilities (Miranda/Balser; SD1042/HD3451)
  2. An Act to Improve Quality and Oversight of Long-Term Care (Jehlen/Stanley; SD1244/HD2564)

Home Care Agencies & the Personal Care Attendant Program

  1. An Act to improve Massachusetts home care (Jehlen/Stanley; SD1245/HD2201)
  2. An Act to Improve Infection Control in Massachusetts Home Care (SD877/HD1013)

Health Systems - Hospitals, Community Health Centers & Other 

  1. An Act to Promote the Recruitment and Retention of Hospital Workers (Cyr/Moran; SD386/HD347)
  2. An Act to Prohibit Mandatory Overtime (Oliveira/Cahill; SD731/HD3477)