MMS Nudges Massachusetts on Family Leave and Medical Parole
By Sarah Ruth Bates, MBE, MMS Government Relations and Research Analyst
Medical student delegates Andreas Mitchell, Maria Duarte, and Alexander Pomerantz (right) authored the resolution on medical parole. Photo by Doug Bradshaw
The Society is seeking to align Massachusetts with global and national standards on paid family leave and medical parole, two issues that have major public health implications.
Paid Family Leave
At the Interim Meeting in December, the House of Delegates voted that the Society advocate for paid family leave for early child care. The resolution had been brought by Michael Medlock, MD, who was struck by the meager maternity benefits available to a family member employed by a major company. “When I looked into it, I found that the United States is behind the rest of the world in this. I didn’t realize what a stark outlier we were,” says Dr. Medlock, a neurosurgeon in Essex South.
The issue has major implications for child health. A report submitted by the MMS Committee on Maternal and Perinatal Welfare and the Committee on Legislation found strong evidence that paid family leave for early child care benefits the health and well-being of children and their parents. In California, the advantages have been particularly striking for vulnerable populations.
Family leave brings economic benefits, too. “There is excellent data showing that we are going to be economically better off if we provide this kind of service,” says Dr. Medlock. “This is one of the social determinants of health — we’re sometimes reluctant to pay for it upfront, but if you don’t do that, you pay for the consequences later.” The committees’ report cited evidence that paid parental leave does not harm businesses.
Advocates in Massachusetts for paid family leave have collected enough signatures to make this a state ballot initiative in November 2018, if the legislature does not address it sooner. At the federal level, the recent Republican tax law included a provision to expand the child care tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark has proposed a bill, co-sponsored by Representative Jim McGovern, that would allow a larger tax credit for employment-related child care expenses.
Medical Parole
The House of Delegates also voted to advocate for medical parole for incapacitated or terminally ill patients. Medical parole allows for the release of certain incarcerated persons who are not threats to public safety into the care of family or caretakers.
Three medical student delegates — Maria Duarte, Alexander Pomerantz, and Andreas Mitchell — authored the resolution. They cited the high cost of health care for Massachusetts inmates, relatively low rates of recidivism for medical parolees, and the imperative that physicians must “provide the best possible palliative care for their patients and protect human dignity.”
Medical parole is currently legal in 47 states and under federal law. A bill that would allow for medical parole in Massachusetts has been incorporated into the legislature’s comprehensive bill on criminal justice reform, which was under consideration as Vital Signs went to press.
