BOSTON, MA – Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett) and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate recently passed legislation to protect patients’ access to confidential health care. In an effort to maintain the confidentiality of patients covered as dependents on another person’s insurance policy, the “PATCH Act” requires insurance carriers to issue common summary of payment forms directly to the patient.

“Every patient deserves the right to accessible health care that is both safe and confidential,” said Senator DiDomenico, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways & Means and a co-sponsor of the bill. “No one should have to worry that their personal and sensitive health care decisions will be shared with anyone other than their doctor, and I am proud to support this bill that will ensure every patients’ basic right to privacy is protected.”

“The PATCH Act ensures that every Massachusetts resident retains their fundamental right to privacy when making health care decisions,” said Senate President Harriette L. Chandler (D-Worcester). “A patient is entitled to confidentiality whether or not they are the primary subscriber. I am very pleased that the Senate has passed this legislation.”

 Some health insurers’ current billing and claims communication practices can unintentionally violate the basic right to privacy of a patient covered as a dependent on another person’s policy, for example a young adult, minor or spouse. Insurers routinely send summary of payment or Explanation of Benefits (EOB) forms, detailing the type and cost of medical services received, to the primary subscriber on an insurance plan. In many situations, young adults, minors or women may choose to forego certain types of treatment due to fears that a parent or spouse will see sensitive health information on an EOB form.

 The bill requires the Division of Insurance to develop a common summary of payments form to be used by all insurance carriers in the Commonwealth. Insurers would be required to issue these forms at the member level and allow each insured member to choose their preferred method of receiving the forms.

 The bill requires the Division of Insurance to define sensitive health care services that cannot be identified on the common summary of payments form. Instead, the EOB would provide generic information only, such as “office visit” or “medical care.”  Patients who are legally authorized to consent to care would be allowed to request suppression of summary of payment forms for a specific service or procedure if no payment is due.

 The bill also requires the Division of Insurance, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, to develop and implement a plan to educate providers and consumers regarding the rights of insured members and responsibilities of carriers to promote compliance. 

 The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration. 

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BOSTON- Senator Sal DiDomenico recently announced the release of over $100 million in funding allocated by the Massachusetts Legislature in the Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget. As Vice Chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, Senator DiDomenico played a key role in securing funding priorities for the state in the final FY18 budget, including $2.6M for pediatric palliative care, which will fully eliminate the waitlist for services for seriously and terminally ill children.

 Pediatric palliative care funding has consistently been one of the Senator’s top budget priorities throughout his tenure in the Senate. This year in particular, DiDomenico worked hard to ensure that the full amount needed to eliminate the waitlist was included in the final budget and was an outspoken proponent of overriding the Governor’s veto of this critical line item.

 “I was very proud when my Senate colleagues and I included the full $2.6M to completely eliminate the waitlist for pediatric palliative care services, and I worked very hard to secure this funding in the final FY18 budget that came out of the conference committee process,” said Senator DiDomenico. “After this funding was partially vetoed by the Governor, I was a vocal advocate for overriding this veto to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth who is in need of these services has access to them.”

 “This issue is not about numbers and figures,” DiDomenico continued. “This is about children's lives, so we cannot simply revert back to a lower funding amount. We must look at this and see the children who are dealing with this terrible experience and the families that are going through the most traumatic time in their lives. This is why pediatric palliative care has been one of my top priorities, and I will continue fighting for these critical services to ensure that these children and their families have the extra care and support that they need.”

The state’s Pediatric Palliative Care Network provides comprehensive care for children living with life-limiting illnesses and is an important source of support for their families. Services provided by the state’s pediatric palliative care program include consultation for pain and symptom management, nursing and on call services, counseling, sibling support, and bereavement care, if needed. However, for years, the pediatric palliative care program has been underfunded, and faced with limited resources, it has been unable to serve all the children and families in need of this care.

 Since Senator DiDomenico began advocating for this funding, the amount allocated for pediatric palliative care has steadily increased with each budget cycle.  The Senator is also the lead sponsor of legislation that would guarantee that adequate funding for the state’s pediatric palliative care program is always made available so all eligible children and their families have access to these vital services.

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Governor Charlie Baker signs the LOOK Bill into law, surrounded by Senator DiDomenico, conference committee members, and staff who helped to craft the new law. 

BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker recently signed into law Senator Sal DiDomenico’s bill that updates the existing statute relative to English language education in the Commonwealth’s public schools. An Act relative to language opportunity for our kids, also known as the LOOK bill, promotes research-based best practices for programs serving English learners (EL).

“As the Senate sponsor of this legislation for many years, I was very proud to see this bill signed into law” said Senator DiDomenico. “This legislation takes crucial strides towards guaranteeing every student receives a fair opportunity at educational success, and I have no doubt this bill will help to improve educational outcomes for all of our students, especially our schools’ English learners. We have worked very hard over the years to pass this bill, and I would like to thank my fellow conference committee members, staff, and the many advocates who helped to make this day possible.”

This bill expands on the current mandate requiring schools to use Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) by giving schools the flexibility to establish programs based on the diverse needs of their students. Under this legislation, school districts can maintain current SEI programming or choose to implement an alternative instructional program that meets federal and state standards.  

Recognizing bilingualism and biliteracy as valuable strengths for students in a 21st century world, this legislation establishes a state Seal of Biliteracy. The seal will be awarded by participating school districts to students who have attained a high level of proficiency in English, and one or more foreign languages.

This bill was passed unanimously by the Senate and passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority (155-1) in the House on November 15, 2017.

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