An overview of the major state health care laws passed by the Massachusetts Legislature during its 2011-2012 session.
Chapter 24
An Act
Relative to Enhancing the Practice of Nurse-Midwives
Allows certified nurse midwives to practice without the
supervision of a physician if they are practicing within a health care system
and have a clinical relationship with an obstetrician-gynecologist. Allows
certified nurse midwives to independently prescribe medications and order tests
and therapeutics.
Chapter 39
An Act Relative to a Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
Updates and standardizes statutes and procedures relative to
donations of anatomical gifts, the revocation of an anatomical gift, the refusal
of making an anatomical gift, who may make such a gift of a decedents body or
part, what persons or entities may receive such a gift; discusses the rights and
duties of procurement; and imposes penalties for the sale or purchase of parts
that are prohibited.
Chapter 61
An Act Relative To Tiered and Selective Network Health Plans
Allows for the continued treatment of patients in active
treatment for serious conditions within select or limited network plans under
certain conditions.
Chapter 84
An Act Increasing Screening for HIV
To
increase testing for HIV, increase confidentiality of HIV and AIDS related
information and to mandate testing offers. Allows for oral consent for
testing.
Chapter 118
An Act
Making Appropriations For The Fiscal Year 2012 To Provide For Supplementing
Certain Existing Appropriations And For Certain Other Activities And
Projects
Implements provisions of the federal
Affordable Care Act. Requires health care providers to register with,
but not participate in MassHealth. Prohibits health care facilities from
charging or seeking reimbursement for services provided as a result of a
healthcare associated infection or the occurrence of a serious reportable
event.
Chapter 126
An Act
Requiring Certain Information Relative to Down Syndrome Be Provided To Certain
Parents and Families
Requires health care facilities
and providers rendering prenatal/postnatal care or genetic counseling, upon
receipt of a positive test result from a test for Down Syndrome to provide the
expectant parent(s) with certain information; requires such information provided
to be culturally and linguistically appropriate for women receiving a positive
prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome.
Chapter
139
An Act Making Appropriations For The Fiscal Year 2013 For The
Maintenance Of The Departments, Boards, Commissions, Institutions And Certain
Activities Of The Commonwealth, For Interest, Sinking Fund And Serial Bond
Requirements And For Certain Permanent
Improvements
- Outside
Sections 111-114 modifies the existing physician gift ban by allowing
pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing companies to provide or pay for
modest meals and refreshments, as defined by the Department of Public Health
(DPH), in connection with non-CME educational presentations in venues beyond the
current limitation of hospital and office
settings.
- Expands the information available on physician
profiles to include actions by nursing homes, clinics and employers. Profile
information would also never sunset, unlike the current ten year limit on
publication of actions against licensees.
- Outside
Section 186 of the state budget creates a Behavioral Health Advisory Committee
to provide for an independent analysis of public and private inpatient and
outpatient behavioral health services in the Commonwealth. The MMS is named as a
member of the Committee, as well as the Massachusetts College of Emergency
Physicians; the Mass Psychiatric Society, and other behavioral health
stakeholders.
Chapter
191
An Act Relative to Public Access of Private Restrooms
Allows certain people with medical conditions who need to
use the bathroom immediately to be allowed to use employee-only restroom
facilities if no public bathroom is
available.
Chapter 224
An Act
Improving the Quality of Health Care and Reducing Costs through Increased
Transparency, Efficiency and
Innovation
- Ties the annual
increase in total health care spending to the rate of growth of the GSP for the
first five years, through 2017, and then even lower for the next five years, to
half a percentage point below the economy’s growth rate, and then back to
GSP.
- Requires government agencies like MassHealth, the
GIC and the Connector to use global and other alternative payments to achieve
savings. Does not require physicians to transition to alternative
payment methodologies.
- Establishes several new
entities, including an independent Health Policy Commission, to set health care
cost growth benchmark, enhance transparency, monitor ACO’s and medical homes,
foster innovation and monitor and review impact of changes in HC system; the
Health Planning Council under EOHHS to inventory resources and make
recommendations for appropriate supply and demand, and the Center for Health
Information and Analysis to be the sole depository for healthcare
data.
- Creates a registration program for
provider organizations under the Health Policy Commission. Requires risk bearing
organizations to get a Division of Insurance Risk
Certificate. Exempts provider or provider organizations with
a patient panel of 15,000 or fewer which represents providers who collectively
receive less than $25 million in annual net patient service revenue if they do
not take risk.
- Establishes a voluntary process
for certain registered provider organizations to be certified as ACO’s, and
minimum standards and goals for
ACO’s.
- Implements the “Michigan model”
malpractice reform provisions including a “cooling-off” period before a party
may initiate a suit, and makes providers’ apologies inadmissible as
evidence.
- Increases the scope of practice for nurse
practitioners and physician assistants. Allows physician assistants to
be chosen as primary care providers and eliminates the current law that a
physician cannot supervise more than 4 physician assistants at any one
time. Allows nurse practitioners to sign forms and documents
previously requiring a physician’s signature.
- Increases
transparency about the price of procedures and health care services by requiring
health insurers to provide a toll-free number and website that enables consumers
to request and obtain price information.
- Requires
physicians to be proficient in the use of health information technology as a
condition of licensure. Proficiency, at a minimum means complying with
the “meaningful use” requirements as set forth in federal
law.
- Requires public and private health
insurers to comply with federal mental health parity
laws.
- Implements several provisions
to address physician workforce issues, including a loan repayment program for
primary care physicians in underserved areas and state funding for graduate
medical education for primary care physicians.
- Strong
focus on wellness and prevention. Establishes wellness program tax
credit, a $60 million Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund, and a requirement that
insurers attribute members to a primary care
provider.
Chapter
233
An Act Providing Hearing Aids For Children
Requires health insurers to provide coverage for hearing
aids for children 21 years or
younger.
Chapter 234
An Act
Relative to the Treatment of Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip
Requires health insurers to provide coverage for children
under the age of 18 for treatment of cleft lip and cleft
palate.
Chapter 244
An Act
Relative to Prescription Drug Diversion, Abuse and
Addiction
- Requires DPH to
“automatically and without further action by the registrant enroll all licensed
prescribers in the program when the registrant is obtaining or renewing a state
controlled state substance permit.”
- Requires
the Department of Public Health, in consultation with all relevant licensing
authorities, to promulgate regulations that require participants to utilize the
prescription monitoring program prior to seeing a new patient, and conditions
under which participants would be exempt; a requirement that allows authorized
support staff to use the prescription monitoring program on behalf of a
registered participant; and a requirement that pharmacists be trained in the use
of the PMP as a condition of licensure.
- Restricts the
issuance and filling of Schedule II narcotics to only those issued by physicians
in a contiguous state or Maine, making Schedule II narcotics tougher to fill in
Mass.
- Allows naloxone or other opioid antagonists to be
prescribed and dispensed to someone at risk or experiencing a drug overdose or
to a family member or other person assisting that
person.
- Criminalizes “Bath
Salts”
- Provides immunity from drug possession charges
and prosecution when a drug related overdose victim or witness to an overdose
seeks medical attention, and for possession of
maloxone.
- Requires MassHealth to establish a controlled
substance management program for enrollees who use excessive quantities of
prescription drugs, and restricts places where enrollees can fill
prescriptions.
- Requires DPH to establish a Working
Group, including the MMS, to investigate, study and promulgate regulations
relative to best practices to promote safe and responsible opioid prescribing
practices for all
prescribers.
Chapter
253
An Act Relative to Premature Infant Hospital Discharge and
Quality Improvement
Develops standardized procedures
for hospital discharge and follow up care for premature infants born less than
37 weeks; ensures standardized and coordinated processes are followed as
premature infants leave the hospital; requires hospitals to report the causes
and incidence of all re-hospitalizations of such infants who are within their
first 6 months of life; implements programs to improve new born outcomes, reduce
newborn health costs.
Chapter 276
An Act Designating Male Breast Cancer Awareness Week
Requires the governor to proclaim the third week in October
of each year as Male Breast Cancer Awareness
Week
Chapter 369
An Act for
the Humanitarian Medical Out Of Marijuana - Approved State Ballot Initiative,
November 6, 2012
Allows patients with HIV, multiple
sclerosis, hepatitis C, or other conditions can obtain a card from the state
permitting them to purchase the drug and will be allowed to possess a 60-day
supply. Requires written certification from a physician in whose professional
opinion “the potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely
outweigh the health risks for the qualifying patient.” Such
certification must be made in the course of a bona fide physician-patient
relationship and specify the qualifying patient’s debilitating medical
condition. The Department of Public Health is charged writing the
rules to fully implement the law, within the framework outlined on the ballot,
and registering at least one nonprofit distribution center in each county, with
up to 35 allowed in 2013.
Chapter 371
An Act Regulating Surgical Technology
Requires surgical technologists to to have completed an
accredited educational program and be credentialed by a nationally recognized
surgical technologist certifying body. Grandfathers in currently
employed surgical technologists and does not prohibit a registered nurse,
licensed or registered health care provider or other health care practitioner
from performing surgical technology tasks or functions if such person is acting
within the scope of such person’s
license.
Chapter 403
An Act
Relative to Oral Cancer Therapy
Requires public and
private health insurers to provide coverage for prescribed, orally administered
anticancer medications used to kill or slow the growth of cancerous cells on a
basis no less favorable than intravenously administered or injected cancer
medications and at no extra expense to the
patient.
Chapter 432
An Act
Relative to Access to Epinephrine in Schools
Requires
DPH to promulgate regulations governing the administration of medications to
children in school settings; including allowing students to possess and
administer prescription inhalers, epinephrine, prescription enzyme supplements,
and blood glucose monitoring testing and insulin delivery systems.
Includes psychotrophic medications.
Chapter
464
An Act Relative to the Medical Loss Ratio
Technical bill to align Division of Insurance reporting
dates for carriers offering small group health insurance plans to file changes
to small group product base rates and to small group rating
factors.
