Sec. 501. Evaluation of implementation and outcomes
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/bill/118/hr/7994/ih/section-501·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor, shall evaluate the implementation and outcomes of this Act in the aggregate through a contract with an external evaluator who has experience in evaluating— home and community-based services; disability programs; programs for older individuals; nursing homes and intermediate care facilities; and health care workforce programs, including direct care professional workforce programs. The external evaluator shall document and evaluate the implementation and outcomes of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, including outcomes based on— the impact on workforce creation, training, education, recruitment, retention, professional development, and advancement of the direct care professional workforce, including direct care professionals from low-income families; the economic effects, including the impact on compensation and benefits, on the direct care professional workforce; the impact on working conditions, including scheduling flexibility and stability, for direct care professionals; the impact of workforce investment activities, including supportive services, on recruitment, wages, benefits, and advancement of direct care professionals; the impact on burnout, attrition, and stability of the direct care professional workforce; the impact on vacancy rates and crude separation rates of the direct care professional workforce; the economic effects on— individuals enrolled for medical assistance under a State Medicaid program; people with disabilities and older individuals receiving long-term care services, including home and community-based services; and the families of any such individuals or persons described in subparagraph
(A)or (B); the impact on the capacity of States to ensure the delivery of long-term care services and on the costs to the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the capacity of the direct care professional workforce to provide services for individuals needing long-term care services or changes in access, availability, and quality of long-term care services; the impact on State waiting lists for home and community-based services; the impact on mental health outcomes, including substance use disorders and suicidality, among direct care professionals; promising practices identified by activities authorized or conducted pursuant to this Act, or the amendments made by this Act; and any other factor as determined appropriate by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor, shall contract with an independent external evaluator to track spending by States and providers of funding provided to States under sections 101 and 102 (including the amendments made by such sections). The evaluator shall— collect spending data from each State receiving funds under such sections; analyze the data to determine what percentage of funding under such sections was expended to improve wages and benefits of direct care professionals, disaggregated by subcategories of direct care professionals described in section 3(11); beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter through fiscal year 2039— publish an annual report of State spending and the analyses conducted under paragraph (2); and provide all such reports to the appropriate committees of Congress; and share the data described in paragraph
(1)with researchers to encourage further analysis. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall— disseminate the findings from the evaluations conducted under this section, and from any other evaluation conducted under this Act or an amendment made by this Act, to— all State Medicaid agencies; and the appropriate committees of Congress; and make all such findings publicly available in an accessible electronic format and any other accessible format determined appropriate by the Secretary.