Page 2 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – Friday, December 6, 2019 DiDomenico’s bills included in Childhood Wellness Law B OSTON – State 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 comLaw Offices of John Mackey & ASSOCIATES * PERSONAL INJURY * REAL ESTATE * FAMILY LAW * GENERAL PRACTICE * PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY 14 Norwood St., Everett, MA 02149 Phone: (617) 387-4900 Fax: (617) 381-1755 John Mackey, Esq. WWW.JMACKEYLAW.COM Patricia Ridge, Esq. * Katherine M. Brown, Esq. prehensive 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 DiDomenico. “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 birthPlug Into Reliability With Honda Generators! $ ON EM MSR 290! 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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 acDIDOMENICO’S | SEE PAGE 20 Get Prepared For Winter With Honda Snow Blowers! With Honda Snow $ 100! 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