RCW 74.39A.310: Contract for individual home care services providers—Cost of change in wages and benefits funded or increase in labor rates.

(1) The department shall convert and distribute any change in the total amount of wages and benefits negotiated and funded in the contract for individual providers of home care services pursuant to RCW 74.39A.270 and 74.39A.300 or labor rates established under RCW 74.39A.530 into a per-quarter-hour amount. This must be accomplished in each odd-numbered year within sixty days after adjournment sine die of the legislative session.

(2) The per-quarter-hour amount shall be added to or subtracted from the statewide home care agency vendor rate and any increase shall be used exclusively for improving the wages and benefits of home care agency workers who provide direct care, and for paying any resulting change in required employer contributions or premiums.

(3) When determining the per-quarter-hour amount, the department must include:

(a) The changes to wages, benefits, and compensation negotiated and funded each biennium, including but not limited to:

(i) Wages;

(ii) Benefit pay, such as vacation, sick, and holiday pay;

(iii) Mileage;

(iv) Contributions to a training partnership;

(v) Contributions to the health benefit trust; and

(vi) Contributions to the defined contribution retirement trust; and

(b) The change in the average costs experienced by medicaid contracted home care agencies, as determined by the department in its sole discretion, of employer contributions or premiums required by law including, but not limited to:

(i) Federal insurance contributions act;

(ii) Federal unemployment tax act;

(iii) State unemployment tax authority;

(iv) State paid family medical leave act; and

(v) State workers' compensation system; and

(c) An adjustment, as determined by the department in its sole discretion, for cost of compensation for work time that may not be billed as service hours, such as travel time, that must be paid to direct service workers under wage and hour laws and any related employer tax contributions or premiums.

(4) For fiscal year 2027, the department shall determine, in its sole discretion, the portion of the total vendor rate dedicated to wages, benefits, and required employer contributions for home care agency workers who provide direct care. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, the portion of the total vendor rate dedicated to wages, benefits, and required employer contributions or premiums for home care agency workers who provide direct care is equal to the total portion from the previous fiscal year plus the increments established in subsection (3) of this section.

(5) The portion of the vendor rate calculated for health care benefits, including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision benefits, may only be used for health benefits for home care agency workers who provide direct care.

(6) The portion of the vendor rate calculated for training may only be used for training, testing, and certification costs, and associated costs for the administration of training, testing, and certification scheduling and compliance for home care agency workers who provide direct care.

(7) When establishing the per-quarter-hour amount for the vendor rate, the department must prevent duplicate accounting for the same cost.

(8) Beginning July 1, 2027, the department or its designee shall verify that home care agencies have expended funds in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(a) To assist the department or its designee with the verification requirement in this section, each home care agency shall submit to the department:

(i) An independent third-party audit conducted by a qualified, accredited firm to validate compliance with requirements established in this section; or

(ii) A written attestation from the labor organization that is the exclusive bargaining representative of the home care workers who provide direct care that are employed by the agency, confirming that the home care agency has complied with the wages and benefits, health care rate, and training rate requirements.

(b) The department may adopt rules to establish reasonable objective criteria through a transparent process to temporarily exempt a home care agency determined to be facing extraordinary circumstances that prevent their compliance with this section. The department shall develop these criteria through a transparent process that includes public notice and opportunities for public comment from interested parties.

(9)(a) The department shall determine a home care agency administrative rate using the process established in RCW 74.39A.530.

(b) The home care agency administrative rate is the portion of the home care agency vendor rate, as defined in RCW 74.39A.530, designated to support the administrative functions and essential operations of a home care agency. These functions and operations may include but are not limited to:

(i) Compliance with administrative requirements related to department of health licensing provisions and department contracts for personal care and respite services;

(ii) Payment of all taxes and costs associated with obtaining and maintaining a licensed business in the state of Washington, as well as compliance with all labor and industry, local, state, and federal standards and laws;

(iii) Business and occupation tax on any increases to the labor rate;

(iv) Funding for electronic visit verification; and

(v) Funding for personal protective equipment.