Gov. Baker Holds Bill Signing for Patient First Health Care Bill

Gov. Charles Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito joined Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders to participate in a ceremonial signing of S.2984, An Act Promoting a Resilient Health Care System That Puts Patients First.

Baker and Polito were also joined by Sen. Cindy Friedman, Sen. Julian Cyr, and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to participate in the ceremonial signing. Baker also acknowledged the work of Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, and other legislators for their work in advancing this comprehensive health care legislation.

The new law increases insurance coverage for telehealth services, expands the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, other specialized nurses, and optometrists, and takes steps to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. Recognizing the continuing impacts of COVID-19, the law also extends requirements for all insurance carriers in Massachusetts to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment. In addition, the legislation takes several steps to increase MassHealth member access to urgent care sites, including eliminating referral requirements before urgent care visits and requirements for care coordination with the member’s primary care physician.