Foster Parent Rights

• This legislation seeks to establish a Bill of Rights for Foster Parents.  Foster Parents are an integral resource for the Department of Children and Families when seeking to care or children in custody of the Commonwealth. It is essential to treat them with respect and dignity for the important role they play.  With the current DCF crisis, there is a great shortage of foster families and these policies will lead to better retention and recruitment.   

Improve Permanency and Placement Stability

• This legislation: allows each child age 7 or older in DCF’s care to have the opportunity to express their preferred custody placement; allows for each parent to provide any name of an adult who can provide custody to their children; requires that the issue of whether reasonable efforts have been made be raised at a series of existing hearings including, both the ex parte removal hearing and the temporary orders hearing under section 24, the pre-trial conference, and permanency hearings under section; requires a regional clinical review team to conduct a review when any child or young adult has experienced more than 2 placements in a single foster care episode; allows a child who is 12 years or older to petition the court to reinstate parental rights if more than 2 years have passed since the entry of the order and if the permanency goal for the child is no longer adoption.

Higher Education Campuses

• These new sections of the MGL would require higher education institutions to also include information on dating violence, domestic violence sexual assault, and stalking, such as how to report an incident; where to seek medical treatment and counseling on and off-campus; the right to notify law enforcement; how to seek protective measures like changing dorms or classes; the rights of the alleged victim and accused during the disciplinary process and the sanctions that may be imposed by the school. In addition, higher education institutions shall develop their campus safety policies in coordination with the institution’s Title IX coordinator and relevant stakeholders such as institutional administrators, campus counseling, sexual assault services and health care centers; confidential resources; residence life; and law enforcement.

Value-Based Insurance Design in the Commonwealth

• This legislation eliminates copays and deductibles for certain high-value and low cost prescription drugs and treatments such as insulin, inhalers, and anti-retroviral medications. A panel of medical experts within EOHHS will determine which of these services should not be subject to cost sharing, and after approval by the EOHHS Secretary, fully insured health plans would no longer charge copays for them.

Creating a Commission to Study Concussions

• This legislation creates a commission to study concussions that occur as a result of varsity sports in public and private high schools and to make recommendations on how to reduce them.

Equivalent Medicaid Reimbursement

• Several out-of- state hospitals contract with MassHealth in order to provide care to Massachusetts residents living in border communities.  However, these providers often receive significantly higher reimbursement for treating patients on the MassHealth program than they do from patients on their own home state Medicaid programs.  This can lead to these providers seeking to draw Massachusetts patients over state lines and out of the Commonwealth’s health care system. This legislation mandates that out-of- state providers that contract with MassHealth receive a rate no higher than that of their own Medicaid program, ensuring that our state dollars support Massachusetts patients and the hospitals that employ Massachusetts residents.

Transportation

• This bill would require that all autonomous vehicles be required to be zero emission vehicles and to pay for their share of the road through a tax per mile driven.  

Labor

• This legislation increases the size of the Group Insurance Commission Board and states that the new seat shall be filled by a member of the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists (MOSES).

Miscellaneous

• This legislation would provide municipalities some leeway in punishing violations of local pedestrian regulations by permitting cities and towns to establish the fine (up to $50) without prior written approval of the division of highways or publication in a local newspaper.