Updating health care
Law codifies measures taken during pandemic
Health care services made all the more “vital” amid the coronavirus pandemic will be more accessible for Massachusetts residents after Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday signed into law a bill expanding access to affordable care, telehealth services and requiring coverage of COVID-19 testing and treatment.
“Massachusetts has long been a leader in ensuring health care quality and access and with this new law, we are making further progress in building a strong, accessible and affordable health care system, a goal that is more important now than ever,” Baker said.
The new law codifies many emergency changes made to the state’s health care system in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Baker’s office said the law extends requirements that all insurance carriers in Massachusetts cover COVID-19 testing and treatment. It also increases insurance coverage for telehealth services, expands the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, other specialized nurses and optometrists.
The wide-ranging new law also takes steps to protect consumers from surprise medical bills and calls for a study on the effects of COVID-19 on the health care system, among other things.
These services “have become vital during this pandemic,” the Republican governor said.
“This comprehensive legislation builds on vital lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed unprecedented demands on our health care system,” Sen. Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington, and House Speaker Ronald Mariano said in a joint statement after the conference committee they led released the final draft of the bill.
Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders has said she plans to work alongside the Legislature to implement the reforms.
These new changes come the same day as the state’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave Act — passed in 2018 — launches. Funded through taxes on workers and employers, the program allows individuals to take 20 weeks of paid sick time a year to deal with a personal medical issue and 26 weeks to care for a sick family member.
Baker on Friday also signed a bill (H4900) that bans certain dangerous flame retardant chemicals that are proved to be harmful to health and the environment and put firefighters at increased risk of cancer.
The statewide firefighters union called the legislation a “massive step forward in protecting out residents and first responders in Massachusetts from the dangers of these toxic chemicals associated with flame-retardant products.”