Massachusetts Legislative Update - Formal Sessions End

Just after midnight Sunday morning, formal sessions of the 2009-10 Massachusetts legislature came to an end with a flurry of activity on bills that had been making their way through the process over the past two years.  Several items of interest to the American Cancer Society's advocacy efforts were just some of the issues the legislature was juggling.  Below, please find an update on how some of the Society priorities were resolved.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

            Thanks so much for your efforts on our advocacy efforts.

            Marc

Prescription monitoring program

Over the final two weeks of the session, both the House and Senate passed legislation to provide a major overhaul of the Commonwealth's Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) which helps ensure safe prescribing of prescription drugs.  The current state PMP is outdated and in great need of improvements and modernization.  The legislation, which was a top legislative priority of the Society, will increase the frequency of reporting by prescribers, make real-time information available by requiring electronic reporting and ensure that patient access to pain medications will not be curtailed.  The bill is currently on Governor Patrick's desk awaiting his signature.

Local decision-making on smoking bars

An amendment to the FY 11 Senate budget would have prohibited cities and towns from passing regulations to keep smoking bars out of their communities - something dozens of Massachusetts municipalities have already voted to do.  In late June Governor Patrick vetoed the budget section which would have been a major step backward for the Commonwealth's smoke-free workplace law.  Advocacy efforts over the final weeks of the session ensured that the legislature did not override the Governor's veto maintaining cities' and town's ability to decide what is best for their residents.

Smoking in casinos

At approximately 11:30 Saturday evening, the legislature gave final approval to legislation authorizing the creation of three casinos and up to two slot parlors in the Commonwealth.  Thanks to advocacy efforts by you and your volunteers, we were successful in killing efforts to provide an exemption from the smoke-free workplace law for casinos.  This is a major victory which means that any gaming facility in Massachusetts will be required to be smoke-free like any other entertainment facility.

Access to prescription drugs

We successfully defeated a proposal passed by the House in a health care cost-containment bill which would have made it easier for insurance plans to be sold without prescription drug coverage.  With prescription drugs being an important part of "adequate" health insurance, this proposal would have significantly weakened Massachusetts' successful health reform.  The final bill which was passed and sent to Governor Patrick on Saturday would continue to enure access to prescription drug coverage.

Moratorium on mandated benefits

In the same health care cost-containment bill, the House also would have imposed a two-year moratorium on any new mandated health insurance benefit.  As the Society continues to advocate for a requirement of coverage for colorectal cancer screenings, a mandate which has been proven to save lives, I am pleased to report that we were successful in defeating the moratorium in the final version of the bill.

 Colorectal cancer screening insurance requiremen   

While the session ended before our bill requiring insurance coverage of CRC screenings was passed, the bill made significant progress during this, the first session it has been filed.  The bill was one of the only proposed coverage-requirement bills to be reported favorably out of two legislative committees.  In addition, the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy has begun to analyze the proposal, a legally required step that must take place if the bill is to become law.  This bill will be filed again for the next legislative session which begins the first week of January.

Marc Hymovitz

Director of Government Relations & Advocacy