News

Interviewer: Dignity Digest
Guest: Peter Tiernan Note: For more details on this issue, visit DignityMA Campaign to Restore Elder Care Services. Dignity Digest: Peter, let’s start with the problem. What’s happening with the Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP) in Massachusetts right now? Peter Tiernan: The situation is deeply concerning. Over the ...

Issue Nursing home ownership changes and facility closures are often carried out with limited transparency and minimal opportunity for public input, despite their profound impact on residents, families, and staff. Greater transparency and oversight are essential to protect residents, families, and staff. Urge lawmakers to strengthen disclosure, review, and transition ...

Issue Another explanation of this issue and proposal is a DignityMA Interview with Pete Tiernan: Unlocking Federal Funding to Eliminate Home Care Waitlists. In February 2025, the Healey-Driscoll Administration critically impacted a vital program that provides home care services to low-income seniors with complex care needs. The Executive Office of ...

Providing Long-Term Supports and Services at Home for Our Nation’s Elders March 2026, By Richard Frank, Sherry Glied, Jonathan Gruber, Vani Agarwal, and Wendell Primus This twenty-page report proposes a fundamental shift in how the United States finances and delivers long-term supports and services (LTSS). Scroll down to see responses ...

Sent to the Joint Ways and Means on March 1, 2026 Download the FY2027 Budget Amendment Justification Recommendation (docx) or the FY2027 Budget Amendment Justification Recommendation (pdf). Introduction Re: Aligning the Impacts of Aging and Caregiving with the FY 2027 General Appropriations Bill (H.2) Thank you for the opportunity to ...

April 10, 2026 Presented by Pat Baker, Senior Economic Justice Advocate, Mass Law Reform Institute This 1 hour webinar covered the July 2025 cuts to SNAP benefits as a result of the GOP''s "Big Beautiful Bill" - including eligibility cuts to legal immigrants, imposition of work rules on persons age ...

April 1, 2026: A Tutorial in the Use of Artificial Intelligence Applications by Advocates Presented: James Lomastro, PhD, Chair , DignityMA Facilities
Workgroup and Coordinating Committee Member What AI does for advocates:

• Finds information
• Analyzes patterns
• Translates complexity
• Produces outputs

This session will review basic concepts and techniques appropriate ...

Are Nursing Homes Lying About Their Patients To Increase Profits? You Decide
Forbes, March 27, 2026
By Peter Ubel The Forbes article by Peter Ubel, titled "Are Nursing Homes Lying About Their Patients To Increase Profits? You Decide," explores a contentious trend in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) industry following major shifts ...

Problem Last June, Governor Healey capped the ECOP ( Enhanced Community Options Program) at 7,322 from 9,000. Once the cap is reached, new enrollees are put on a waiting list. Requiring frail elders to wait months for home care will inevitably lead to many developing worse health problems and ending ...

Caregiver tax credits are overdue *Salem News, March 23, 2026 There is a reckoning coming. Massachusetts, like the rest of the country, is growing older. While it is certainly good news that Bay State residents are living longer lives, the uncomfortable, inevitable fact remains that with longevity comes infirmity. Older ...

To make cuts, state asks those affected *Boston Globe
March 8, 2026, By Jason Laughlin Summary: Facing a significant fiscal cliff driven by federal Medicaid spending reductions, Massachusetts is implementing $32 million in cuts to its 50-year-old Personal Care Attendant (PCA) program, which currently supports approximately 56,000 seniors and people with ...

March 5, 2026 Topics

• Implementing C. 197 of the Acts of 2024, reforming long-term care
• Implementing E.O. No. 642 for an "age-friendly' government
• Implementing Marsters v. Healey helping return home from nursing home placements
• Advancing River Terrace Operator LLC v. Mass DPH
• House 2 Impact : Budgeting for Older ...
  
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Nursing Home Staffing Resource Center Long Term Care Community Connection (LTCCC)
Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Presented by Richard Mollot, Executive Director, LTCCC The Nursing Home Staffing Resource Center created and managed by the Long-Term Care Community Coalition's "NursingHome411" platform) serves as a central hub for data, advocacy tools, ...

A long journey home: Hundreds of disabled people have new homes thanks to court settlement WGBH News
By Megan Smith
February 12, 2026 Summary:
Following a landmark 2024 settlement of a federal lawsuit against Massachusetts, at least 350 disabled individuals have successfully transitioned from nursing homes to community-based housing, with the state aiming ...

America’s Home-care Crisis: Will vulnerable elders be forced into nursing homes? Op-ed By Margaret Morganroth Gullette, February 10, 2026 in American Society on Aging - Generations Home care is what people want when they are offered a choice. You remain in a familiar neighborhood with people who respect you. Friends, ...

Why Budget Priorities Now Amplify System Fragility February 2, 2026: Commentary about the proposed FY 2027 Massachusetts State Budget (H.2) Massachusetts enters this moment with almost no margin for error. The Governor’s FY27 budget reflects a defensive posture: approximately $22.5 billion for MassHealth and another $10.8 billion for Health and ...

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By Richard T. Moore, February 1, 2026 A wellness check is one of the simplest tools we have to prevent harm. It is not a diagnosis, an accusation, or a solution in itself. It is a pause prompted by concern—a moment to ask whether someone is safe, supported, and able ...

By Richard T. Moore This commentary was posted on the “Members’ Forum” of the American Geriatric Society on January 25, 2026. Not long ago, I watched a CNA gently turn an older resident to adjust her pillows. As her body shifted, a deep pressure ulcer came into view - the ...

January 26, 2026 How Prolonged Litigation is Keeping Nursing Home Residents in Unsafe, Crowded Rooms. The Case of River Terrace Operator LLC, et al. v. MA Department of Public Health. Resident Safety. Dignity. Infection control. None should be optional. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY When Delay Becomes Harm Nearly four years after the ...

By Richard T. Moore, January 19, 2026 Executive Summary Massachusetts cannot meaningfully reduce acute care costs without confronting the systemic failures in long‑term care that drive avoidable hospitalizations, emergency department congestion, delayed discharges, and preventable complications. Chronic understaffing, inadequate clinical oversight, opaque ownership structures, and insufficient investment in public health ...