Massachusetts § 2AAAAAA - Portable Order for Life Sustaining Treatment Trust Fund

§ 2AAAAAA. Portable Order for Life Sustaining Treatment Trust Fund

Section 2AAAAAA. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Portable Order for Life Sustaining Treatment Trust Fund. The secretary of health and human services shall be the trustee of the fund and shall expend money from the fund to: (i) develop, implement and operate a program governing the statewide use of a portable order for life-sustaining treatment, in this section referred to as POLST, program administered by the department of aging and independence, pursuant to section 44 of chapter 19A; (ii) support the transition from the use of the medical order for life-sustaining treatment, also known as MOLST, program in the department of public health to the POLST program in the department of aging and independence; (iii) develop, implement and operate a statewide electronic POLST, in this section referred to as ePOLST, program administered by the department of aging and independence; and (iv) provide for any other program purpose related to the transition from MOLST to POLST, or the establishment, maintenance or operation of the POLST or ePOLST program.

(b) There shall be credited to the fund an amount equal to: (i) any revenues under section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117–2, designated for the purposes described in subsection (a); (ii) any federal financial participation revenues claimed and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from the fund; (iii) any appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (iv) interest earned on any money in the fund; and (v) any other grants, premiums, gifts, reimbursements or other contributions received by the commonwealth from any source for or in support of the purposes described in subsection (a).

(c) Amounts credited to the fund may be expended without further appropriation. For the purpose of accommodating timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the fund may incur expenses, and the comptroller shall certify for payment, amounts not to exceed the most recent revenue estimate as certified by the secretary of aging and independence, as reported in the state accounting system. Any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year.