THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 5, 2025 Page 17 BEACON | FROM PAGE 16 huge congratulations to the team.” Bracken said, “You know, we’re saying summer of ‘26 ... Summer, obviously, has the summer months. I would love it to be early summer of ‘26 as opposed to late summer of ‘26. We’d love to get in the marketplace, meet our players where they are, you know, hopefully bring on some new players that aren’t exposed or aren’t in love with the products of our traditional retail because, like we’ve said before, online Lottery really is a different product line.” The House and Senate approved creation of an online Lottery authorization in the fiscal year 2025 budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed in 2024. $75.6 MILLION REBATE TO HEALTH INSURANCE CONSUMERS – Gov. Maura Healey announced that five of the state’s health insurance carriers will return $75.6 million to over 350,000 people covered by individual and small employer healthcare plans in Massachusetts under the state’s enforcement of the Massachusetts health laws. The five carriers are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue; Fallon Community Health Plan; Harvard Pilgrim Health Care; Mass General Brigham Health Plan; and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company. Massachusetts has the country’s strictest Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) law, requiring the state’s health insurance carriers to spend at least 88 percent of premiums on health care services for individuals and small groups—setting a higher bar than the federal standard of 85 percent. When an insurance carrier’s average MLR over a three-year period falls below the required threshold, it is required to rebate a portion of premium payments to individuals and small employers. The rebates reflect a portion of the difference between what the insurance carriers charged in premiums and what they actually spent on health care costs. “Massachusetts has strong laws in place to make sure that the money that you are paying for health care actually goes to covering high-quality services,” said Gov. Healey. “That’s why we are able to approve over $75 million back to consumers and businesses. This is just the latest action we are taking to lower the cost of health care, housing and energy that people are facing every day.” “These rebates are more than just numbers—they’re dollars back in the pockets of families and small business owners across the commonwealth,” said Division of Insurance Commissioner Michael Caljouw. “The enforcement of this law is part of our larger strategy of protecting Massachusetts health care consumers and encouraging insurers to be more efficient, reduce administrative overhead and focus on cost-effective ways to deliver care.” The exact amounts of the 2025 rebates depend on the carrier and the premium paid by individual and small group purchasers. MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS SUICIDE AWARENESS AND REMEMBRANCE DAY (H 3388) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that would establish September 22nd as Military Service Members and Veterans Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day. The day would acknowledge that suicide is an epidemic among service members and veterans and works to foster awareness and call for suicide prevention measures and support. “We brought forward this veteran suicide remembrance and awareness bill in direct response to the tragedies that have left holes in the fabric of our communities and in order to build awareness to prevent future tragedy,” said bill sponsor Rep. Joan Meschino (D-Hull). “[The bill] is an important step in offering support to both our active service members and veterans.” QUOTABLE QUOTES – TALES FROM SPIN CITY – Two of former Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration officials, Brian Shortsleeve and Mike Kennealy, both vying for the Republican party’s nod to run against incumbent Democrat Gov. Maura Healey in 2026, participated in a debate on Friday, August 22nd. Shortsleeve served as Chief Administrator head of the MBTA while Kennealy was Baker’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. Who won the debate? It depends on who you ask. The answer from Republican Brian Shortsleeve’s campaign: “Marine Corps Veteran, successful business leader and proven government reformer Brian Shortsleeve, Republican candidate for governor, delivered a commanding performance during the one-hour live debate.” “We don’t need a Healey lite,” said Shortsleeve, referring to his GOP opponent Mike Kennealy. “We need a Marine who will put the people of Massachusetts first. The people of Massachusetts are tired of empty promises and rising costs. I’m running to bring real-world leadership to Beacon Hill, cut waste and restore common sense to state government. We can’t afford another four years of top-down mandates, endless benefits for illegal immigrants, rising utility costs and economic mismanagement.” The answer from Republican Mike Kennealy’s campaign: “Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy emerged as the clear winner in the first primary debate of the election cycle.” “We already knew that Mike Kennealy is the only candidate capable of taking on and defeating Maura Healey,” said Ben Hincher, Kennealy’s campaign manager, “Tonight, anyone tuning into this race for the first time saw the truth: Mike Kennealy is running against Maura Healey, while his opponent is running against Mike Kennealy. Mike laid out a clear, common-sense agenda: ending Massachusetts’ sanctuary state policies, cutting the green gimmicks that have driven up our electric bills and restoring affordability for families across the commonwealth. He showed voters that he will bring pragmatic, principled and commonsense leadership back to Beacon Hill.” The answer from Democrat Gov. Maura Healey’s campaign: “Two Trump-supporting Republican candidates for governor held a ‘debate’ on an August Friday afternoon.” “You know that the MassGOP is embarrassed by their own candidates when they schedule their first debate for 5 p.m. on a summer Friday,” said Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan. “It’s just the latest sign that Kennealy’s and Shortsleeve’s candidacies are failing, along with their fundraising numbers. The only thing that was more blurry than the debate’s livestream was the candidates’ plans to stand up to Donald Trump. Not once did they mention his devastating cuts to lifesaving research funding, his plans to kick hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents off their health care or his tariffs that are raising costs for everyone.” Kerrigan continued, “The Republican candidates for governor yet again showed that they’re afraid to stand up to Donald Trump and won’t stand for the people of Massachusetts. One thing is for sure after tonight: Gov. Maura Healey is the only candidate who will make life easier for people, lower the cost of housing, health care and energy and stand up to Donald Trump when he hurts our state.” 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 are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible latenight sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of August 25-29, the House met for a total of 24 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 22 minutes. M on. A ugust 25House11:00 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. Senate 11:09 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. Tues.August 26No House session No Senate session Wed. August 27No House session No Senate session T hurs . A ugust 28House11:00 a.m. to 11:17a.m. Senate 11:09 a.m. to 11:20a.m. Fri. August 29No House session No Senate session. Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019.
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