JUNE 2021
PAgE 23
business review
MRMC earns Rep. Soter supports bill to provide unemployment insurance rate relief State Representative Michael J. Soter from 9.23% to 1.12%. The compromise Charlie Baker and House and Senate posed amendment filed by Governor consecutive “A” (R-Bellingham) recently supported leg- was unanimously approved by the leadership on April 14th urging imme- Baker that would have excluded for Patient Safety islation that will provide additional House of Representatives on a 157-0 diate steps be taken to protect employ- municipal employees from qualifying Milford Regional Medical Center has been nationally recognized for the sixth time in a row with an “A” for the Spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. The distinction recognizes Milford Regional’s achievements in protecting patients from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to all general hospitals across the country and is updated every six months. It is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospitals’ prevention of medical errors and other harms to patients in their care. “To be nationally recognized for our commitment to patient safety for the sixth consecutive time is an extraordinary honor,” says Edward J. Kelly, president and CEO of Milford Regional. “Patient safety has remained our top priority, even as we navigate the challenges created by the pandemic. This continued achievement is due to the hard work and diligence of our entire staff who are dedicated to providing the highest quality care to our community.” “An ‘A’ safety grade is an elite designation that your community should be proud of,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The past year has been extraordinarily difficult for hospitals, but Milford Regional Medical Center shows us it is possible to keep a laser focus on patients and their safety, no matter what it takes.” Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grade’s methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. To see Milford Regional’s full grade details and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org. ABOUT THE LEAPFROG GROUP Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
financial relief to Massachusetts businesses facing huge pandemic-related increases in their unemployment insurance bills. Due to the record-breaking number of unemployment claims filed during the COVID-19 state of emergency, which prompted a statutorily-mandated increase in the formula used to calculate an employer’s experience rating, the annual unemployment insurance solvency fund assessment jumped from 0.58% to 9.23% for 2021, representing a staggering 1591% increase in just one year. Representative Soter said compromise language drafted by the BakerPolito Administration will mitigate the UI rate increase by spreading the costs over a 20-year period, effectively reducing the assessment for businesses
vote on May 18th, but still requires Senate approval. Under the compromise plan, a new COVID claims account will be set up to handle existing COVID claims that had been placed in the solvency account. The Department of Unemployment Assistance will recalculate first-quarter UI bills to reflect these changes, with payment on these bills due by July 31st. Beginning August 1st, new UI claims will be charged directly to employers’ accounts. The House and Senate had previously moved the due date for first-quarter bills from April 30th to June 1st. Representative Soter noted that employers who have already paid their first-quarter bills will receive a credit. Representative Soter was one of 53 legislators who wrote to Governor
ers from the solvency assessment increase and calling for the use of federal funding to replenish the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The compromise language approved by the House does not require the use of federal funding, although Representative Soter noted that this issue could be revisited at a later date. In closing Representative Soter made a strong point that we should have never penalized and created much red tape for these small business owners who kept our economy running during a very difficult time in our country and Commonwealth. I was very happy to see that we started to focus on fixing this problem that needed to be addressed many months ago. Before voting on the compromise UI plan, the House also rejected a pro-
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for the COVID-related paid sick leave program approved by the House and Senate in March. That bill also provided assistance to small businesses by freezing the UI rate at Schedule E for calendar years 2021 and 2022 and exempting forgiven federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans from being subject to the state income tax. The UI solvency fund assessment compromise language now moves to the Senate for its consideration.
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