AN ACT TO PROMOTE SAFE PATIENT CARE AND SUPPORT THE NURSING PROFESSION

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 876 | Status of the bill
Features: Strengthening the Nursing Profession

This bill will provide a process to bolster the supply of nurses and nurse faculty through incentives for students and matching grants for hospitals. It also creates a public accountability process for developing staffing patterns for patient care. The bill further provides a process to evaluate and report on measures to improve the quality of patient care through staffing patterns.

AN ACT REQUIRING HOSPITALS TO NOTIFY PATIENTS OF PHYSICIAN DISCIPLINE

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 856 | Status of the bill

This bill will require that hospitals have a procedure in place to notify patients when a physician treating patients at that hospital is disciplined or suspended. A recent case involving a physician who left a patient during surgery to go and cash a check, revealed that hospitals do not have formal policies in place to notify patients when physicians are under suspension or subject to disciplinary action. Such a policy is necessary to ensure that patients are properly treated and that they have access to full information about their treatment.

An Act Relative to Patient and Medical Intern and Resident-Physician Safety and Protection

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 845 | Status of the bill

This bill would authorize and direct the Department of Public Health to promulgate rules and regulations relative to limiting the number of hours medical interns and resident-physicians work in any given week. Currently, most interns and resident-physicians work anywhere from 100-120 hours a week. This bill would also create an advisory board within DPH that would assist the department in drafting the regulations and would serve in an advisory capacity for future revisions of said regulations. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 846 | Status of the bill

The Board of Registration of Medicine will grant or renew a qualified physician's registration for free so the physician can participate in the free care program operated by a non-profit organization. The Board may restrict, by regulation, physicians’ scope of practice whose registration is granted or renewed under this section. Physicians licensed to provide voluntary care are not required to carry malpractice insurance but are required to meet all other Board requirements regarding care, education and competence in medicine.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 847 | Status of the bill

This legislation creates a Board of Registration of Midwifery to regulate the practice of certified nurse midwives, certified midwives and certified professional midwives. The bill also authorizes the Board and the Department of Public Health (DPH) to promulgate regulations relative to the prescription-writing and medication administration privileges of midwives.

AN ACT RELATIVE TO MASSHEALTH ENROLLMENT FOR PERSONS LEAVING CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 848 | Status of the bill

This bill would allow inmates the ability to sign up for MassHealth benefits as a process of their discharge from incarceration. This would allow for a continuum of care for a population of people who traditionally receive little or no health care services. 

AN ACT REQUIRING AN ANALYSIS OF MEDICAID HOME HEALTH RATES

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 552 | Status of the bill

This legislation directs the Division of Health Care Finance & Policy to conduct an analysis of Class Rates, and Pediatric Private Duty reimbursement rates under Medicaid. The Division of Health Care Finance & Policy is to hire an outside consultant with experience with the home health field for reviewing regulations, current practices and policies regarding commercial third party liability

AN ACT RELATIVE TO RESERVING BEDS IN NURSING HOMES DURING CERTAIN LEAVES OF ABSENCE

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 319 | Status of the bill

This bill would codify current MassHealth regulation to allow a MassHealth nursing home resident to leave a nursing home for twenty days for medical reasons and fifteen days for non-medical reasons. The Division of Medical Assistance would be required to reimburse nursing homes, at the same daily rate the facility received prior to the resident’s leave, for residents who have to leave the nursing home for medical or non-medical reasons.

AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE MODERNIZATION OPTOMETRIC PATIENT CARE

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 1756 | Status of the bill

This bill would add to §66C to M.G.L. c. 112, which would enable registered optometrists, duly certified and registered to issue written prescriptions, to treat eye conditions with oral therapeutic agents. Optometrists can currently treat eye conditions excluding glaucoma with topical therapeutic agents only. This bill requires the optometrists to exercise professional judgment to refer any patient to a licensed physician or other qualified health practitioner if the presenting problems of the patient are not within the scope of practice of the optometrist.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 558 | Status of the bill

This bill would require that hospitals receive reasonable annual rate adjustments, commensurate to the Medical Consumer Price Increase for the previous year. This bill is necessary to ensure that the state recognizes that hospitals’ costs increase, and therefore should be adjusted appropriately. Over the past four years, the Medical CPI would have averaged approximately 3.35% per year.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 866 | Status of the bill

This bill would shield from liability, any person who in good faith files a complaint, or makes a report to the BORN regarding a nurse’s alleged violation of nursing laws or regulations. This immunity would also apply to any person assisting the BORN or providing information to the BORN at said board’s request. 

An Act Promoting Healthy Alternatives in Public School Food Program

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 861 | Status of the bill

Though certainly not a cure-all, S. 861 aims to harness this ethic of cooperation to begin to change the food culture in our public schools.  It would place in statute the nutritional guidelines established by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.  Led by the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation, this group has brought together the food and beverage industry, political leaders, and school officials to establish meaningful and realistic nutritional standards that will begin to make our schools healthier places.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 871 | Status of the bill

This bill would require EOHHS agencies to compensate behavioral health hospitals their full negotiated rate for behavioral health services provided to MassHealth Patients who are also clients of such agencies, for whom no appropriate alternative placement is available. EOHHS agencies would no longer be allowed to use the “AND” rate category to reimburse hospitals for services provided to an individual who the agency could not appropriately place elsewhere. Hospitals would have to demonstrate a good faith effort to make such appropriate alternative placement before receiving such full rate.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 494 | Status of the bill

Requires all state-licensed carriers to use statewide uniform credentialing and re-credentialing applications and to complete the credentialing process for 95% of clean physician applications within 30 calendar days. Facilities delegated to complete the credentialing function on behalf of the carrier are exempt from these requirements.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 533 | Status of the bill

This bill establishes a standard definition of observation services and guidelines for health plans and providers to use to ensure that medically necessary care is provided to patients in the appropriate setting. It would also ensure that physicians and providers can communicate the correct information to hospitalized patients who under current practices are often confused when they are told that their hospital care is considered outpatient care when they are hospitalized overnight. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 849 | Status of the bill

This bill reduces excessive costs to hospitals and clinics related to unnecessary regulatory and administrative requirements. The bill would reduce the current medical record retention period for hospitals from 30 years to 15 years which is greater than: (1) the national average among other state laws - which is 10; (2) the Abandoned Property Act requirements requiring all financial records to be kept for 9 years, (3) the Federal Medicare and Medicaid record retention laws of 5 years; (4) HIPAA provisions of retention for 6 years; and (5) all other providers and health insurers in the state which are 7 years. The bill includes appropriate safeguards for alerting the Department of Public Health prior to destroying any records. During the past two legislative sessions, this bill has been engrossed by the Senate and advanced in the House to the Committee on Bills in Third reading.

An Act Reforming the Medical Malpractice System

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 1755 | Status of the bill

This bill will make several fundamental changes to the medical malpractice system such as, stricter standards on expert witnesses, the elimination of joint and several liability, and extension of the collateral source rule to future sources of compensation. In addition, the bill sets up a system of medical malpractice “reinsurance” for physicians to help lower premiums, requires that the DOI approve increases in medical malpractice premiums, mandates that surgeons use patient education to lower rates of postoperative surgery complications, that hospitals file nurse staffing plans to ensure appropriate coverage by nurses and that mediation by made available to avoid costly litigation.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 874 | Status of the bill

This bill would limit variability in patient flow through a hospital’s Emergency Room. Each hospital with an Emergency Department would be required to file a plan with the Department of Public Health that demonstrates it has implemented measures to smooth out variability, thereby easing patient backlog and the need for emergency diversions. The plan would be subject to approval by the Department. No one method would be mandated; rather hospitals would be permitted to determine on their own how best to achieve the result.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 850 | Status of the bill

This bill would instruct the Department of Public Health to maintain a vision care registry. Such a registry is important in ensuring that both children and senior citizens are not only getting their eyes screened but are also getting the treatment they need to maintain their vision.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 19 | Status of the bill

Patient specific and provider specific data relative to issuance of prescription medications is currently sold to pharmaceutical companies to market drugs to patients directly or to reward or punish physicians who prescribe a company’s products. The marketing generated from the identification of such data increases the cost of health care by promoting high cost brand name drugs when generic drugs or lower cost brand drugs that are therapeutically equivalent would be just as effective. New Hampshire in 2006 enacted legislation to protect prescription data.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 560 | Status of the bill

This bill is necessary to ensure that hospitals that provide acute psychiatric services are compensated for the costs of complying with Chapter 66 of the Acts of 2000 “An Act Requiring Competent Interpreter Services in the Delivery of Certain Acute Health Care Services”. Chapter 66 mandated that hospitals that provide acute mental health services must also provide competent interpreter services. There is direction in Chapter 66 to the Division of Medical Assistance to provide reimbursement for said interpreter services, yet is silent on any DMA “carve-out” firm’s obligation, or the obligation of other third party payers, including private insurers. It seems that if there is agreement that one payer should be obligated to meet the hospital’s costs of providing a service that it would be fair that all third-party payers be held to the same standard. 

An Act to Improve Access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 744 | Status of the bill

This legislation is important because Licensed Educational Psychologists provide services to children and adolescents more cost-effectively than some other providers who currently get insurance reimbursement.  They are also uniquely prepared to work with young people whose problems are related to or are affecting their educational experience. Finally, this bill would impact only a small number of Educational Psychologists who are in private practice or who work in agencies such as mental health clinics and hospitals.  Most Educational Psychologists are directly employed by school systems to work in the schools and will not be affected by this legislation.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 851 | Status of the bill

At this time SHIP exists only by Trust Fund and a line item in the budget. There would be no funding attached to this bill since all it does is amend the MRC statute in Chapter 6 section 78. to codify the program.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 495 | Status of the bill

The study conducted of the merger of the individual and small group health insurance markets projects that individuals (about 42, 000 people) will experience an average 15% reduction in rates, while those in small groups (about 500,000 people) will experience an average 1.5% increase in rates. In order to prevent an increase in small group rates specifically triggered by the market merger, the bill would establish a reinsurance fund to “normalize” the impact of the merger. Experts estimate that the reinsurance would require an appropriation of $33 million for every one percent of reinsurance, therefore a fund of about $50 million would be needed.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 554 | Status of the bill

The community hospital system is financially stressed, yet needs to significantly invest in capital improvements.  Other states have utilized a system known as Moral Obligation Bonds that don’t legally mandate repayment by the state, but utilize the state’s credit rating.  The financial market has recognized this mechanism and there have been no defaults.  This bill will utilize the expertise of the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority to establish such a system for capital investment in our fifty plus community hospitals.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 852 | Status of the bill

This bill clarifies benefits for MassHealth members needing post-acute care services by ensuring that ventilator dependent patients meeting MassHealth approved medical necessity criteria can receive services in any non-acute care hospital. The legislature recently amended the MassHealth statute to allow ventilator dependent patients to remain in a public payor-dependent non-acute hospital at the full contracted rate provided that there were no medically appropriate post-acute facilities (e.g., Skilled Nursing Facility or nursing home) in the service areas capable of accepting the patient (see Outside Section 162 of Chapter 149 of the Acts of 2004). Unfortunately the term used to define non-acute hospitals (public payor-dependent non-acute hospital) was incorrect, leaving large geographic areas where ventilator dependent patients are unable able to receive medically appropriate non-acute hospitals services. The bill corrects the current inequity.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 853 | Status of the bill

Under Chapter 495 of the Acts of 1991, the legislature effectively deregulated the Determination of Need requirement for acute care hospitals under the belief that the market would drive the need for expansions and changes in services. Similar changes were not made for non-acute hospitals when their licensure requirements were changed in the late 1990’s. Although a non-acute care hospital provides a similar level of services and requires a similar level of resources as an acute care hospital, it is treated like a nursing home for the purpose of reviewing changes in services, capital expenditures, or major construction. It is important to note that this bill does not decrease overall licensure or regulatory oversight of non-acute hospitals, but allows these providers to make important and necessary improvements to their facilities to increase the delivery of patient care.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 854 | Status of the bill

This bill authorizes Massachusetts to join the growing the list of states that have adopted the national Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC).  The NLC follows the mutual recognition model of nurse licensure that allows a nurse to have one license in his or her state of residency and to practice in other states, subject to each state’s practice law and regulation. The NLC will decrease barriers to nursing care and will help ensure the availability of licensed nurses in the Commonwealth, especially during a disaster or during other times of great need for qualified nursing services.  The NLC will also provide for greater nurse mobility and will enhance access to essential data on the nursing workforce.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 862 | Status of the bill

This bill would require certain chain restaurants to provide nutritional information to their customers.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 865 | Status of the bill

This bill would have the Division of Medical Assistance promulgate regulations that are designed to conform with Chapter 160 of the Acts of 2006, governing independent clinical laboratory services by revising its definition of “authorized prescriber” to include, for the purpose of urine drug screenings, Department of Public Health-licensed substance abuse programs, state agencies and those vendors that contract with state agencies and are designated by the contracting agency to request such screenings.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 496 | Status of the bill

Optometrists are recognized by Massachusetts General Law as eye care providers. In this capacity, optometrists routinely diagnose, manage and treat ocular diseases and abnormalities. They also prescribe drugs for certain diseases and eyeglasses or contact lenses for vision correction. As such, optometrists should be included as providers of eye care services under the various health insurance plans. This legislation will expand freedom of provider choice resulting in the patient having the ability to receive quality eye care services from their local optometrist. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 555 | Status of the bill

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 863 | Status of the bill

The Board of Registration of Medicine has the statutory mandate to protect the public by removing incompetent physicians from the practice of medicine. Shortening the time period for reporting this critical information to the Board protects the public safety. This legislation does not add to the numerous reporting requirements of these entities. It simply expedites getting critical public safety information into the hands of the Board.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 855 | Status of the bill

Under the Department of Public Health's current regulations, houses of corrections and other state-run residential care facilities cannot re-dispense medications that their clients or detainees fail to use prior to their release, even if the medication are "bubble packed," in an unopened tamper proof package. This leads to waste of costly medications and directly increases the cost of providing health care to these inmate and client of other organizations.

S. 855 would address this.  It directs the Department of Public Health and the Board of Registration in Pharmacy to establish safe methods to reduce medication waste in facilities licensed by DPH, the Department of Mental Health, and the Department of Corrections; it further stipulates that the methods include a re-assessment of the Commonwealth’s standards for the return to pharmacy and re-dispensing of otherwise previously patient specific schedule VI medications.

An Act to Improve Nurse Safety

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 1757 | Status of the bill

This legislation strives to improve the safety of both nurses and patients through increasing protections for health care professionals, establishing safe patient handling procedures in health care facilities and ensuring that nurses are trained in evidence-based strategies for the movement of patients.  Doing so will reduce workplace risks and provide nurses with the tools they need to keep themselves and, in turn, patients safe.

An Act Prohibiting the Use of All Latex Gloves and Products by Persons who Handle Food

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 857 | Status of the bill

S. 857 would prohibit any manufacturer, handler, and/or processor of any food product designated for consumption from using natural latex gloves or utensils.

This legislation has been submitted in response to a constituent, who had the misfortune of falling ill due to latex glove usage with food handling.  While this is a single-case scenario, countless individuals have allergic reactions that are attributed to natural latex, and in many cases, individuals may not even be aware that all natural latex products afflict them. 

An Act Relative to Equitable Funding for the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 556 | Status of the bill

This bill will create a more equitable assessment to support the administrative operations of the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (Division).  The original rationale of the hospital assessment was to cover the costs of administering the Uncompensated Care Pool (now the Health Safety Net) and analyzing hospital data.  The Division’s role has since expanded to the development of health care policy, rate setting, and data analysis for all health care providers, as well as the recent addition of administering the operations of the Health Care Quality and Cost Council.  Currently, acute care hospitals are responsible for at least sixty-five percent of the Division’s total expenses, including not only the state’s budget appropriations, but also additional fringe and employee benefits.  In FY2009, the Division’s budget increased by 22 percent to $17 million. While the work performed by the Division is an important resource for the entire health care community, the cost of that work should be apportioned equitably.

An Act to Promote Collaboration on Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Improvement Initiatives

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 557 | Status of the bill

This bill facilitates the creation of a state-specific “safe harbor” for health care providers and health care insurers to collaborate on efforts to minimize health care costs, increase access to services, improve quality of care, and reduce health care disparities.  This Act authorizes the Attorney General to develop regulations that will grant state immunity to such collaborations while ensuring appropriate safeguards and oversight.

An Act to Provide Coverage for Tobacco Use Cessation Under Commonwealth Care

 Documents & Status: Text of Senate 563 | Status of the bill

An Act Relative to the Health Disparities Council

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 858 | Status of the bill

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE PROPER PREVENTION OF PNEUMONIA IN HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 860 | Status of the bill

This bill seeks to refine the Commonwealth’s Nurse Practice Act (NPA) to specify appropriate nurse delegation practices by allowing the administering of certain medication to a home health patient by a trained and certified home health aide; ensuring accountability and responsibility; and stipulating that any licensed nurse who delegates a task in compliance with the adopted rules shall not be subject to disciplinary action by the Board of Nursing for the performance of a person to whom the nursing activity or task is assigned.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 1213 | Status of the bill

This legislation stipulates that each health insurer in the Commonwealth shall contribute annually to the Fund an amount determined by the Commissioner of Insurance, based upon the estimated cost of routine childhood immunizations for children who are not eligible for federally purchased vaccines and are covered by health insurers in the Commonwealth and the percentage of children insured by each health insurer, who are not eligible for federally purchased vaccines. The Commissioner of Insurance is to promulgate regulations establishing dates for the annual assessment and contribution, with the initial contribution by July 1, 2010.  Additionally, Every health insurer shall provide benefits for routine childhood immunizations for Massachusetts residents until age 19, and health insurers shall cover up to 100% of the immunizations.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 561 | Status of the bill

This bill would create an office of the Program Coordinator, Adverse Event Disclosure Program within the Betsy Lehman Center, which currently serves a clearinghouse for the development, evaluation and dissemination of best practices for patient safety and medical error reduction.  The Program would provide for the disclosure of adverse events to patients and families in order to reduce the incidence of these events, improving patient access to compensation and reducing medical liability costs to health care providers.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 562 | Status of the bill

This bill would dissolve and reestablish the Quality and Cost Council, whose funding was severely reduced as part of the Governor's 9C cuts in 2008.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 864 | Status of the bill

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 564 | Status of the bill

This bill requires health care providers who are not included in a MassHealth or Commonwealth Care managed care organization's (MCO) network to accept a rate equal to the rate paid by Medicaid for emergency, post-stabilization and certain services that have received prior approval by a MassHealth or Commonwealth Care MCO.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 566 | Status of the bill 

This bill would enforce the use of electronic transactions in health care.  Beginning on January 1, 2010, the legislation offers that eligibility for a health plan transaction, health care payments and remittance, and health care claims would all be filed electronically

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 867 | Status of the bill

This bill shall have the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Quality and Cost Council, study the feasibility of developing a consolidated center of excellence focused on technology, performance measurement and quality improvement. The study shall include an examination of existing centers for quality, including the health care quality and cost council, the Betsy Lehman Center, and the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, as well as potential opportunities to increase efficiency and avoid duplication of efforts. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 1299 | Status of the bill

This bill aims to continue the promotion of Health IT in the Commonwealth by offering tax credits for providers that utilize e-prescribing technology.  Massachusetts has ranked #1 in the nation for use of e-prescribing for the third year in a row, according to Health IT network Surescripts.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 868 | Status of the bill

This bill shall have the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in conslatation with the Quality and Cost Council, establish an independent entity, known as the Massachusetts Comparative Cost Effectiveness Institute.  The Institute shall examine, research and issue guidelines on the comparative effectiveness of medical procedures, drugs, devices, and biologics. These results can be used as a basis for health care purchasing and payment decisions that limit cost, create efficiencies and eliminate clinical waste, in turn reducing inappropriate, ineffective or redundant care. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 869 | Status of the bill

This bill follows on the heels of a Potentially Preventable Readmission (PPR) Steering Committee, organized by the Division of Health Care Finance & Policy, to evaluate a specific methodology for use in tracking the number and rate of potentially preventable readmissions in order to spur reduction in unnecessary readmissions and improve quality of care. It mandates the public reporting of PPRs with a link to the HCQCC website and establishes a task force within the Division to study the drivers of PPR and make recommendations by December 2009.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 870 | Status of the bill

This bill shall require the professional licensure of personal trainers, thereby reducing risk or harm to clients who may be receiving inadequate instruction.  Under this bill, an applicant for licensure as a personal trainer must be a graduate of an accredited educational program, must hold a certification in personal training from a national certification organization that is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, and have passed an examination administered by National Commission for Certifying Agencies within the Commonwealth.  

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 873 | Status of the bill

This bill will build on the successes of health reform, which has expanded health care access to over 440,000 people across Massachusetts.  Despite the successes of health reform, gaps in coverage still exist, affecting people’s ability to access health care services.  This bill addresses these gaps several different ways: by helping eligible Commonwealth Care applicants and members maintain uninterrupted coverage, prohibiting lifetime caps in all Massachusetts health insurance plans, making Health Safety Net retroactive coverage consistent at 6 months for all eligible patients, giving the Office of Medicaid flexibility to provide the most cost-effective health care to elderly and disabled legal immigrants, and ensuring that Massachusetts residents get help navigating the health care system and retaining coverage right in their communities.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 568 | Status of the bill

This bill creates a new category of discounts to patients receiving treatment through the Health Safety Net at health facilities.  It further requires the facility to develop self-pay programs--procedures for patients to apply and publish the self-pay program's information.  The health facility must provide the patient or patients representative with an estimate of the cost and they cannot exceed that cost by 20% or $1,000 without prior approval by the patient or representative.  The facility is allowed to provide additional treatment when unforeseen circumstances arise, and each patient must be given an itemizes bill.  Consequently, the patient is given the right to contest the charges on the bill, and the facility must establish an impartial method for reviewing complaints, keeping an accurate log of all appeals.    

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 569 | Status of the bill

The proposed legislation establishes a Primary Care Development Fund using an existing funding source – the surplus contained in the Commonwealth’s Health Safety Net Fund. The new fund would provide grants to community hospitals to aid in physician recruitment and retention activities thereby helping to ensure primary care physician access in their communities. There is a documented shortage of primary care physicians – particularly with more individuals insured under universal health insurance. Moreover, the effort required to identify, recruit and retain such individuals is a significant drain on scare community hospitals resources during this difficult economic times.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 872 | Status of the bill

This bill prohibits health care facilities from enforcing mandatory overtime on any member of the health care workforce unless there is a facility-wide staffing emergency in effect.  It also contains a provision that requires all members of the health care workforce to be given at least 10 hours of off-duty time immediately after working 12 hours due to overtime.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 875 | Status of the bill

This bill would allow podiatrists to perform surgery on patients including on the foot and ankle, partial amputation of the foot, and tendon surgery in the foot and ankle, including the Achilles tendon.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 260 | Status of the bill

This law establishes a pilot program within the department of education to create an incentive for schools to improve the nutrition of and amount of local Massachusetts-grown food in meals served.  This law would lay the foundation for school wellness policy improvement and both school incentives and accountability for wellness work, beginning with the nutrition of meals and a la carte offerings. The goal is to increase the nutritional standard of and proportion of fresh, locally grown food in meals served to public school students in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 609 | Status of the bill

This bill essentially repeals the current QSHIP program established for higher education students attending school in the Commonwealth, and replaces it with the requirement that students have health insurance coverage that meets the definition of "creditable coverage."  While the Chapter 58 Health Reform expanded access to health care by offering more affordable and comprehensive products, the student population was excluded from benefiting from these reforms.  The Division of Health Care Finance and Policy is currently working with an actuarial to review the QSHIP plans and compare them with other plans currently offered, such as the young adult plans.  It is anticipated that their findings will offer some further guidance. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 877 | Status of the bill

This bill offers that any health care facility must provide transportation via taxi, car or bus service for the return commute of all resident physicians, medical students and other health care providers who have worked for more than 16 consecutive hours, and for any health care provider who judges herself or himself to be too fatigued to safely operate a motor vehicle. 

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 878 | Status of the bill

This bill seeks a reduction in medical errors and infections in hospitals by using a “checklist of care.” The checklist, already utilized by many health care providers and endorsed by the World Health Organization, would save the Commonwealth hundreds of millions of dollars a year by decreasing patient harm from numerous procedures. It is estimated that 34,000 health care –related infections cost Massachusetts up to $473 million a year. If checklists were adopted nationwide, the country could save an estimated $15-25 billion a year.  The bill also specifies that the Department of Public Health would develop and distribute checklists of care for hospitals within the Commonwealth; additionally, the Department would have the ability to require hospitals to report on their use of checklists.

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 2170 | Status of the bill

This bill Creates a new health insurance option for small businesses that has benefits actuarially equivalent to Commonwealth Choice Bronze Level coverage.  It would be available to all small employers (50 or fewer employees) and individuals, and could be purchased through or outside the Connector Authority.  Setting reimbursement at a rate of 110 percent of Medicare would provide immediate and substantial relief to those who really need it, while helping to reduce the wide variation in reimbursement rates among providers as the Special Commission on Payment Reform develops a long-term plan to fix the payment system.