Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday signed a $187.5 million spending bill closing the books on the 2016 fiscal year, a move that gave extra money for elder care.
The biggest spending item in the bill is $164 million for MassHealth, the insurance program that frequently needs supplemental appropriations.
Other appropriations in the bill include $3.8 million in new funding for elder home care services, $1.2 million to pay for operations at the new state office that will oversee the app-based ride-hailing industry, and $8.75 million for the in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where officials are working to develop a new standardized test for Massachusetts students.
Al Norman of Greenfield, executive director of Mass. Home Care, which advocates for low-income elders in the state, lauded the supplemental budget’s $3.78 million to the elder home care services.
The governor has rescued 2,000 seniors from the “No Care Zone,” he said
“This should result in the end of the home care wait list that began on Sept. 1. If no action had been taken, this wait list could have reached 2,000 elders by next June.”
“Even with this funding, the home care programs are just about level to our appropriation level in FY 16 – so there are still some challenges ahead this fiscal year,” said Norman Thursday.
He credited Senate President Stan Rosenberg, the Amherst Democrat that represents much of Franklin County, with playing a critical role in securing the funding.