Bringing Beacon Hill to You

The Healthcare Financing Committee reports out legislation, the revenge porn bill takes another big step forward, and my office hosts a wonderful visitor. Here's a look at some of our legislative priorities and ongoing focuses that my office was working on in April.

Legislation................................................

With the Revenge Porn Bill having passed the House and Senate, a conference committee comprised of Senate and House members will meet to reconcile these two different versions of the bill into a single version, which, we hope, Gov. Maura Healey will sign into law.  

As you may recall in an earlier newsletter, most committees in the Legislature have to decide whether to advance the bills under review by an established deadline early in the year that we refer to as Joint Rule 10 Day. However, due to the comparatively higher volume of bills they receive, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing (HCF) gets a bit more time to make determinations on legislation. 

This month, I am pleased to report that HCF gave favorable recommendations to some of my high-priority bills that were under consideration.

S.658, An Act relative to dual diagnosis treatment coverage, applies to a common situation related to substance use disorder (SUD). Often someone with SUD will have an additional mental health diagnosis, which, like SUD can result in admission to an in-patient healthcare setting. Unfortunately, being admitted to one facility for one treatment may mean losing access to an ongoing treatment for the other condition. This bill requires insurance coverage to extend to treatment for both diagnoses, preventing disruption in care.

 

S.659, An Act relative to removing barriers to non-opioid pain management, was also reported out favorably by HCF. Interestingly, a physician may prescribe a strong opioid without review or approval by an insurer (a process often referred to as "prior authorization”). Yet, when a physician feels that an alternative to a strong opioid is preferable, the physician must get approval from the insurer. This prior authorization many times results in slower access to treatment or denial of certain types of treatment. This legislation eliminates mandatory prior authorization in cases of physicians prescribing non-opioid pain management options like physical therapy, acupuncture, and massage therapy. The bill also directs carriers to distribute educational materials to providers and members annually to increase awareness. 

There was a variety of events that had me criss-crossing the district throughout April, including the 100th anniversary of Quincy’s Merrymount Association. It was a great occasion to reflect on a century of neighborhood residents joining together to preserve and celebrate their community. 

I also had the honor of attending the Career Technical Initiative graduation ceremony at South Shore Technical Institute in Hanover. This state-funded program has become an essential part of reaching our workforce development goals and supporting workers and employers. Graduates are trained in fields like automotive technology, welding, culinary sciences, carpentry, HVAC, landscaping, and manufacturing engineering. I was so inspired seeing these young people from my district and across the region participate in a program that will set them up for meaningful careers and uplift industries across the Commonwealth. 

In Braintree, I attended the ribbon-cutting of the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office H.O.P.E. Center, which will provide reentry and treatment services to at-risk youth and adults to help reduce recidivism.

I also attended the opening ceremony of the Special Hockey International Annual Tournament, an event that brought together developmentally challenged hockey players from around the world to compete in the new Lovell Arena in Rockland. 

The start of Spring also marked the beginning of Town Meeting season. This month I attended Abington’s annual town meeting, held to discuss the town’s FY25 budget and other matters, authorizing more than $1 million in CPA funding for local projects, zoning for the MBTA Communities Act, and proposing to ban nip bottles.

. Just a Quick Story...........................

Like you, I have spent the past couple years watching the war in Ukraine from a safe distance. I follow the debates in Washington, the news coverage of the fighting, and reports of the tragic losses of life. This distance has shrunk in recent weeks due to the arrival of a guest in my office.

Olena Bondarenko came to Beacon Hill through the American Councils for International Education’s fellowship program. For three weeks, she worked in my office, attending briefings and meetings, researching legislation, and sharing her own personal experiences with my staff and me. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience for all of us. 

Olena is from Poltava, where she works as the head of the foreign economic activity department at the Yednist Group. Due to her work, we all spent a lot of time discussing agricultural and economic policies here, and how they could relate to her work back home, but those aren’t the conversations that stick with me most vividly. 

She shared her experiences of being displaced by war, seeing her children try to adapt to life in a foreign country, and ultimately her decision to return to Ukraine. She told us of her family members who are serving in the military and how some of these relatives had already been killed in the fighting. She showed us the app on her phone that went off to alert Ukrainians to missile strikes.

We also got to hear what she thought of Boston. How much she enjoyed Fenway Park and pizza in the North End. By the end of her time here, she could commiserate about the Red Line alongside any lifelong Bay-stater. 

 

Too often, our compartmentalizing the events of the world means losing track of the humans involved and, along with them, their deeper meaning. After the last few weeks, I feel like we have gained some of that back. I am so grateful to Olena for spending time with us.