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Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 3, 2020 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE: The House and Senate continued to hold remote sessions with just a handful of members in the chambers in order to avoid spreading COVID-19. Most members watched and listened to the debate from their home or business office through their computers and voted via phone. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives' and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of June 22-26. $1.1 BILLION FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE (H 4802) House 158-0, approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would provide $1.1 billion to cover expenses related to response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Charlie Baker has been urging the Legislature to quickly get a spending bill to his desk because the state cannot be eligible for federal reimbursements for costs related to the respiratory virus until a package is approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor. The package includes $350 million for personal protective equipment; $139 million in increased rates and add-ons for human service providers; $93 million for human service provider incentive pay; $85 million for field hospitals and shelters; $44 million for contact tracing efforts, and more funding for child care providers, food security programs, emergency housing, and “a dedicated fund to address statewide efforts on racial disparities in COVID health care access.” “Today we are taking one step closer and helping relieve the financial burden that COVID-19 has inflicted while also helping some prepare for the coming months, as the virus continues to inflict pain and with a vaccine still a ways away from being a reality,” said House Ways and Means chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston). “Collectively, these pieces represent a broad range of items that will help a wide variety of people and organizations that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.” Michlewitz continued, “As the federal government is inundated with reimbursement requests, it is vital that we maximize our options and take advantage of the FEMA funds while we can. That is why it is so critical that we pass this today and get it closer to the governor’s desk, so that we do not fall far behind other states in the race for federal reimbursement.” “As you can imagine, since COVID-19, calls to the helpline have increased exponentially as thousands of people are in need of health care for the first time,” said Rep. Christine Barber (D-Somerville). I know many of us have relied on the helpline to aid our constituents, and the funding in this bill helps to increase the capacity to help people who lost their job and their employer-sponsored coverage and need help finding insurance coverage for the first time. They’re helping people who have never had coverage but because of the crisis are now trying to enroll.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Paul Donato Yes Rep. Steven Ultrino Yes CONSOLIDATED AMENDMENT (H 4802) House 156-2, approved a “consolidated amendment” to the $1.1 billion COVID-19 bill. Members filed 130 amendments to the bill, but only one was voted on individually. Three amendments were withdrawn by their sponsors and the other 126 were rolled into this one big consolidated amendment. Most of the items in the consolidated amendment were earmarks for individual local cities and towns to cover expenses related to their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The funding allocated in the amendment will support schools, address food insecurity and emergency housing assistance, and provide essential public health resources, like personal protective equipment, to districts across the commonwealth—which are especially critical now during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Rep. Christine Barber (D-Somerville). “I am also happy to see needed funds dedicated to Early Education and Care, which is a major cornerstone of our state’s reopening process.” Reps. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) and Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick) were the only two members to vote against the amendment. Despite repeated attempts by Beacon Hill Roll Call, Lombardo and Boldyga did not respond when asked for the reasons they voted against the amendment. (A “Yes” vote is for the consolidated amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Paul Donato Yes Rep. Steven Ultrino Yes MAKE JUNETEENTH A STATE HOLIDAY (H 4802) House 158-0, approved an amendment that would make Juneteenth Independence Day an official state holiday. Juneteenth, derived from the date June 19th, marks the day— June 19, 1865—that enslaved African Americans in Texas finally received word from Union Army General Gordon Granger that they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves. News of, and enforcement of, Lincoln’s proclamation relied on the advancement of union troops which were slow to reach Texas and enforcement had been slow and inconsistent prior to Granger’s announcement in Galveston, Texas. “This is a real important day,” said Rep. Bud Williams (D-Springfield), the sponsor of the amendment. “We filed this in solidarity with [the] Black Lives Matter [movement]. In terms of making this state holiday, it will go a long way in bridging the racial gap between individuals. Certainly, we’ve tried this many, many times. And this is part of Black history. And you can’t talk about the American history without talking about Black history. And most individuals in the commonwealth have no idea what Black history is.” “Today, we are making a tremendous pivot and truly delivering freedom to the African Americans with this amendment,” said Rep. Chynah Tyler (D-Roxbury). “Although this is the beginning of the road, I’m committed to helping us as a team deliver a more equitable commonwealth for African Americans.” “Juneteenth celebrates the breaking of the chains of enslavement of Black Americans,” said Rep. Nika Elugardo (D-Jamaica Plain). “It is fitting that this year as the House of Representatives takes on dismantling structural racism in the commonwealth’s institutions, we should vote to declare Juneteenth a state holiday … Together, we are still breaking chains.” “Juneteenth Independence Day … also serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go to address slavery’s enduring legacy of racism and discrimination,” said House Republican Minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “Although Juneteenth has been officially observed in Massachusetts since 2007 with the annual issuance of a proclamation by the governor, making it a full legal holiday is a way to further acknowledge the work that still needs to be done to ensure true equality for all Americans.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.) Rep. Paul Donato Yes Rep. Steven Ultrino Yes INCREASE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE (S 2769) Senate 38-0, approved and sent to the House, a bill sponsors say will increase access to health care, protect patients and enhance quality care. The measure requires insurance carriers, including MassHealth, to cover telehealth services in any case where the same in-person service would be covered and requires reimbursement rates to match in-person services over the next two years. It also eliminates “surprise billing,” the much-criticized practice of charging unsuspecting patients who received health care services outside of their insurance plan’s network for costs that insurers refuse to pay. Other provisions would allow registered nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and psychiatric nurse mental health specialists who meet specific education and training standards to practice independently; recognize pharmacists as health care providers, enabling them to integrate more fully into coordinated care teams; and create a new professional license for “dental therapists,” who will be authorized to provide dental hygiene and other oral health services. Supporters note that this will help expand access to dental care in underserved communities. “The [bill] ensures that our healthcare system can continue to deliver quality, affordable and accessible care long after the COVID-19 state of emergency has ended,” said Sen. Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington), Senate chair of the Committee on Health Care Financing. “By increasing access to telehealth services, eliminating the unfair practice of surprise billing and expanding our healthcare workforce, we are taking important steps to protect patients and increase access to quality care for all.” “When it comes to making telehealth services permanently accessible, ending surprise billing and expanding scope of practice, let me be clear: we cannot wait,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “We have learned a lot about how to deliver accessible health care during the global pandemic, and we can and should implement these changes now.” “It is vital that we deliver accessible and equitable healthcare to people across the commonwealth,” said Sen. Eric Lesser (D-Longmeadow). “The coronavirus pandemic has revealed inequities and inadequacies in our current healthcare system, and it is important that we continue to legislate comprehensive healthcare reforms to protect patients and providers in the face of these unprecedented challenges.” Although no senators voted against the bill, some small businesses and health insurance companies have expressed some concerns that it goes too far. “We believe requiring plans to pay telehealth at an in-person rate for two years is too long, and we recommend a shorter time frame for the sunset of payment parity such as 90 days after rescission of the governor’s executive order mandating telehealth,” said the leaders of Retailers Association of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans and the state chapter of the National Federal of Independent Business. They suggested that a transition period tied to the end of the COVID pandemic would allow for payers and providers to negotiate appropriate reimbursement for certain health care services that may not represent a comprehensive in-person consultation between a member and a provider. They also argued that currently contracted rates between providers and insurers for telehealth services cannot be circumvented by statute. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Jason Lewis Yes CLOSURE OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES AT A HOSPITAL (S 2769) Senate 38-0, approved an amendment that would require the Health Policy Commission to report on the adverse effects suffered after the closure of any essential services at a hospital. The amendment also would require an examination of the efficacy of existing standards and requirements intended to maintain such essential services. “Unfortunately, my community and many others have had to face the realities of essential services being cut despite the Department of Public Health’s best efforts,” said the amendment’s sponsor Sen. Susan Moran (D-Falmouth). “This amendment will not only allow us to quantify the effect essential care closures have on the quality and availability of care to our constituents but will also help determine how we can support Department of Public Health enforcement when these issues arise.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment). Sen. Jason Lewis Yes HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that BHRC| SEE PAGE 19

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