DiDomenico's Bills Included in Childhood Wellness Law
BOSTON –Last month, Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature voted to enact An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness. On November 26, 2019, Governor Charlie Baker signed this comprehensive bill into law, which includes two pieces of legislation filed by Senator DiDomenico: An Act ensuring continuous healthcare coverage for youth who have aged-out of the department of children and families (S.35) and An Act relative to children with medical complexity (S.680).
In its totality, An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness aims to break down silos of service to better address the complex health and wellness needs specific to the Commonwealth’s 1.4 million children. The effort seeks to create a foundation for better access to services and more data to inform future policy, while supporting a holistic approach children’s wellbeing.
“I am thrilled that this comprehensive piece of legislation has officially been enacted, and I’m very proud to report that two of my bills have been included in this new law,” said Assistant Majority Leader Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett). “I would especially like to highlight the provision from my bill that authorizes MassHealth to provide benefits to youth who have aged out of the state foster care system. By ensuring continuous healthcare coverage until age 26 for these young people, we guarantee they have the same access to basic healthcare that their peers are afforded and give more at-risk youth a better chance to lead healthy and successful lives.”
Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid became available to former foster children up to age twenty-six, provided they were in foster care at the age of 18. However, when the ACA went into effect in January 2014, many foster youth who had aged out of the Department of Children and Families (DCF)— but were under the age of 26— were unaware of their eligibility for health insurance through MassHealth. Consequently, many who were in foster care on their 18th birthday lost MassHealth coverage after aging-out of the system. The provision from Senator DiDomenico’s legislation addresses this inequity by codifying the policy that allows youth who have aged out of DCF to receive MassHealth benefits until they turn 26, and requires that these youth be automatically enrolled until they are no longer eligible.
An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness also includes DiDomenico’s bill (S.680) that would require the Heath Policy Commission to conduct analysis within the next year of children with medicalcomplexity (CMCs) to analyze costs and population characteristics of this group in order to develop recommendations about how to serve this unique population. Children with medical complexity are a relatively small, yet growing group. With advancements in medical technology and care, the amount of child-fatalities as a result of medical complexity is decreasing, but the population of CMCs has increased steadily. With the growing number of children with medical complexity comes a growing need to understand this population to make sure the Commonwealth’s laws and medical systems continue to adapt and meet their needs.
An Act Relative to Children’s Health and Wellness also seeks to address child wellness in the following areas:
Requires insurance companies to maintain accurate and accessible provider directories for health plans. The provision directs companies to make the directories available without requiring users to create a new online account or profile. The directory must be updated frequently to ensure the information is correct. Insurance companies must take steps to make the directors user-friendly for individuals with disabilities and limited English proficiency. Establishes a task force to develop recommendations to ensure the accurate electronic posting of directories headed by the Commissioner of Insurance.
Creates childhood behavioral health centers of excellence via a pilot program that designates three regional centers to act as clearinghouses to connect families, providers, and educators to services and training opportunities. Requires the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to report on progress and impact after one year of implementation.
Establishes a task force to study pediatric behavioral health screening tools.
Creates a special commission to examine the pediatric workforce to address pediatric provider availability and adequacy. The Commission would recommend strategies for increasing the pipeline of pediatric providers and expanding access to practicing providers.
Charges a 17-member special commission to review school-based health centers for the purpose of strengthening, improving, and considering ways to replicate best practices across the state.
Create special commission chaired by the Child Advocate to review and make recommendations on mandated reporting to improve responses to child abuse and neglect.
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