Senator Sal DiDomenico

Press Releases

Press releases and opinion editorials from the Office of Senator Sal DiDomenico.

DIDOMENICO’S BILLS INCLUDED IN COMPREHENSIVE LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF CHILDREN

BOSTON – Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness. This comprehensive bill includes two pieces of legislation filed by Senator DiDomenico this session:  An Act ensuring continuous healthcare coverage for youth who have aged-out of the department of children and families (S.35) and An Act relative to children with medical complexity (S.680). 

“The wellbeing of children has been a longtime priority of mine, and I am thrilled that our chamber has passed this comprehensive piece of legislation,” said Assistant Majority Leader Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett). “There are many critical components of this bill, but I would especially like to highlight the provision that authorizes MassHealth to provide benefits to youth who have aged out of the state foster care system. By ensuring continuous healthcare coverage until age 26 for these young people, we guarantee they have the same access to basic healthcare that their peers are afforded and give more at-risk youth a better chance to lead healthy and successful lives.” 

Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid became available to former foster children up to age twenty-six, provided they were in foster care at the age of 18. However, when the ACA went into effect in January 2014, many foster youth who had aged out of the Department of Children and Families (DCF)— but were under the age of 26— were unaware of their eligibility for health insurance through MassHealth.  Consequently, many who were in foster care on their 18th birthday lost MassHealth coverage after aging-out of the system.  The provision from Senator DiDomenico’s legislation addresses this inequity by codifying the policy that allows youth who have aged out of DCF to receive MassHealth benefits until they turn 26, and requires that these youth be automatically enrolled until they are no longer eligible.

An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness also includes DiDomenico’s bill (S.680) that would authorize a comprehensive statewide study of children with medical complexity (CMC) and provide valuable data on this special population. Children with medical complexity are a relatively small, yet growing group. With advancements in medical technology and care, the amount of child-fatalities as a result of medical complexity is decreasing, but the population of CMCs has increased steadily. With the growing number of children with medical complexity comes a growing need to understand this population to make sure the Commonwealth’s laws and medical systems continue to adapt and meet their needs.

The comprehensive bill passed by the Senate also: 

  • addresses issues effecting the Department of Children and Families (DCF) by establishing a new data working group to help streamline the agency’s reporting process;

  • calls for an examination of the barriers to mental and behavioral health supports for children;

  • establishes a commission to study mandated reporting laws and calls for increased education around child sex abuse and exploitation;

  • directs insurance provider directories to have the most up-to-date and consumer-friendly information available to avoid so-called ‘ghost networks’; and

  • calls for the formation of a task force to study and recommend further improvements to provider directories — particularly information about behavioral health providers.

An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness now moves to the House for further consideration.

 

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Sal DiDomenico