Dear friends,
I am writing to you today with Cambridge, legislative, and public health updates.
Table of Contents
Cambridge Updates
Legislative Updates
Public Health Updates
A Glimpse at the Past Week
Services and Resources
Cambridge Updates
On Monday, the City of Cambridge will be hosting a series of events celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The City’s annual Martin Luther King Day Commemoration and Remembrance will take place Monday from 11am-1:45pm at St. Peter's Episcopal Church (838 Massachusetts Avenue). The program will be filled with a celebration of Dr. King's life through readings of his words and remarks from Mayor E. Denise Simmons and Rev. Jeremy Battle, poetry from Jean Dany Joachim, Cambridge's former Poet Populist, and music. It will be followed by a social hour with coffee, tea, and pastries. You can visit here for more details.
Many Helping Hands 365 is partnering with My Brother’s Keeper, Central Square Church, and YWCA Cambridge along with the City of Cambridge to host the 15th Annual MLK Day of Service and Learning will begin at Central Square Church (5 Magazine Street) at 2 pm. It will then follow a hands-on service and learning projects from 2-5pm at Cambridge City Hall, Cambridge Senior Center, and Central Square for Cambridge YWCA and Central Square Church. In honor of Dr. King’s legacy of service, participants can make scarves, blankets, and valentines, sort through books, food, and winter clothing. Donations are immensely appreciated. You may donate new winter clothing, such as outerwear, socks, gloves, new underwear, hats, groceries, and books. You can visit here to learn more and register.
Legislative Updates
State of the Commonwealth
On Thursday, I attended Governor Maura Healey’s State of the Commonwealth address. I appreciated the opportunity to hear her reflection on her first two years in office and her vision for the next year.
Bill Filing Deadline
As I have noted in previous newsletters, today is the deadline by which all of the bills for the 194th Session of the General Court must be filed. I’m looking forward to sharing with you more about the legislation I filed this session and the advocates I am partnering with. Stay tuned for some spotlights on specific policy areas over the next few weeks!
This week has been busy with constituent and advocate meetings attending the State of the Commonwealth, speaking at a healthcare workforce panel, and filing bills! I want to thank my incredible staff who spent the past few weeks drafting legislation and meeting with constituents and advocates alongside me.
Public Health Updates
Louisiana Reports First Bird Flu Death in US
The first H5N1 bird flu death in the United States was reported in Louisiana. H5 bird flu is highly prevalent among wild birds worldwide and has caused outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, the patient who had been hospitalized with the first human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1, in both the U.S. and Louisiana has passed away. The deceased individual was over 65 years old and had underlying medical conditions. They contracted H5N1 after being exposed to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds. The investigation by the department found no other human cases linked to this patient's infection. As of January 6, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that there have been 66 human cases of bird flu reported across 10 states.
DPH Approves Emergency Regulations Protecting Reproductive Health Care
On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Board of Registration in Nursing approved emergency amendments to regulations that are in line with the state Shield Law. The Shield Law was enacted in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal legal protection for abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health; it protects people physically present in Massachusetts from out-of-state civil or criminal legal action for legally protected health care activity. The Shield Law has applied to nurses since its passage. However, the new DPH regulations will further protect Massachusetts nurses from licensure disqualification and Board discipline for providing, or assisting in providing, reproductive and gender-affirming health care services in the state. The amendments have been approved on an emergency basis, which allows the amendments to take effect for a period of three months upon filing with the Secretary of State’s Office while the regulatory and administrative process continues.
Judge Orders UnitedHealth Companies to Pay $165 Million for Deceptive Practices
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced on Wednesday that the Suffolk Superior Court issued an order requiring three UnitedHealth insurance companies, HealthMarkets, Inc. and its subsidiaries, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, and HealthMarkets Insurance Agency, Inc. f/k/a Inspehre Insurance Solutions, Inc., to pay over $50 million in restitution for Massachusetts consumers. The order also required the insurance companies to pay over $115 million in civil penalties to the Commonwealth for misleading consumers. The action was first brought in 2020 by the AG’s Office, alleging that the companies violated the state consumer protection law by misleading consumers into buying unnecessary health insurance products.
HHS Awards $306M to Support Response to H5N1 Bird Flu
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it will award $306 million to support the federal government's response to the H5N1 Avian Flu. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is set to allocate nearly $183 million in additional funding for regional, state, and local preparedness programs. This includes $90 million for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP), $10 million for the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), and $26 million for the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs). Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will award $111 million for monitoring efforts, while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will allocate $11 million for research into potential medical countermeasures for H5N1.
US Surgeon General Issues New Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk
The US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory regarding the connection between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. The advisory highlights that consuming alcohol is directly linked to an increased risk of developing at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth, and throat cancers. Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, following tobacco use and obesity. The advisory also points out that less than half of Americans are aware that alcohol consumption elevates cancer risk. To address this, it recommends that cancer risk information be included on warning labels for alcoholic beverages.
Biden-Harris Administration Announce Final Rule to Remove Medical Debt from All Credit Reports
Vice President Harris announced new regulations from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau aimed at removing medical debt from consumer credit reports. This initiative seeks to improve the financial well-being of millions of residents and ensure that patients aren’t denied access to credit for home mortgages, car loans, or small business loans due to unpaid medical bills. According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately 1 in 12 adults in the U.S. had medical debts as of 2021. The new rules would prohibit credit agencies from including medical debts on consumers’ credit reports. This change could result in $49 billion in medical bills being removed from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans.
A Glimpse at the Past Week
On Wednesday, I was honored to have an opportunity to highlight the breadth of healthcare legislation passed in the 2023-2024 legislative session at the Health Professions Regional Workforce Summit at Bridgewater State University.
Last session included the passage of:
The maternal health omnibus that ensures equitable access to comprehensive maternal health care;
Hospital oversight reform that increases transparency and accountability in our health care system;
Prescription drug reform that requires insurers to cover certain medications with no or limited out-of-pocket costs and increasing oversight of pharmacy benefit managers;
Substance use disorder reform that expands access to opioid reversal drugs modifies and mandated reporting requirements for substance-exposed newborns; and
A long-term care bill that enhances oversight of facilities, strengthens the long-term care sector, and creates a career ladder for certified nursing assistants (CNAs).
This session, we continue to commit ourselves to addressing our struggling healthcare sector, providing healthier outcomes for patients, and strengthening the workforce to ensure access to quality care within the Commonwealth.
I am appreciative of the leadership of Speaker Ron Mariano; and my fellow House and Senate Chairs House Health Care Finance Chair John Lawn; Senate Health Care Finance Chair Cindy Friedman; House Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery Chair Adrian Madaro; Senate Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery Chair John Velis; House Elder Affairs Chair Tom Stanley; Senate Elder Affairs Chair Patricia Jehlen; and my Senate co-Chair on the Public Health Committee Julian Cyr, as well as all of the work of my colleagues and advocates for their diligent work on health care reform.
Thank you to Bridgewater State University President Fred Clark and Dean, Dr. Marci Swede, for inviting me to speak at the Summit. It was also great to see my former colleagues Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian and Senior Advisor for External Relations at Bridgewater State University Vinny deMacedo who continue to serve our Commonwealth in their roles.
I continue to admire the work Bridgewater State University is doing to prepare the next generation of our healthcare workforce and to connect industry leaders to have these critical conversations. I appreciate that Bridgewater State University prides itself on opening doors for first-generation college students like myself to attend college.
Cambridge Public Health Helpline Supports Residents with COVID-19
To speak with someone, call the confidential COVID-19 Hotline at 617-933-0797. Learn more here.
Intimate Partner Abuse Prevention Helpline
This initiative is designed to prevent intimate partner violence by fostering accountability and change in people who harm or may harm their partner. You can find more information at 10to10helpline.org or by calling 877-898-3411.
SafeSpot Overdose Prevention Helpline
SafeSpot is a virtual spotting/overdose detection service for people who use drugs. Learn more at safe-spot.me or access it by calling 800-972-0590.
De Novo Center for Justice and Healing
De Novo is a Cambridge-based nonprofit that provides free civil legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to people with low incomes. You can learn more about their services at denovo.org.
MassLegalHelp.org is a resource to help Massachusetts residents learn about their legal rights. The website does not offer legal advice or answer individual questions but has a page about options for finding a lawyer. It does provide resources for those facing legal issues, such as a landlord refusing to make repairs, appealing the denial of SNAP benefits, and questions about getting a CORI sealed.
As always, please contact me with questions or concerns at Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Sincerely,
Marjorie