SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1778 FILED ON: 1/12/2009
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 800
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Stephen J.
Buoniconti
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To the Honorable Senate and House of
Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act Establishing a Commission to Reduce Unnecessary Wait Time
for Children with Special Health Care Needs To Receive Needed Medical Equipment Such as Wheelchairs and Lifts.
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PETITION OF:
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Name:
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District/Address:
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Stephen J.
Buoniconti
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Hampden
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Louis L. Kafka
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8th Norfolk
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Martha M. Walz
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8th Suffolk
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James B. Eldridge
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Middlesex and Worcester
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Alice K. Wolf
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25th Middlesex
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Anthony D. Galluccio
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Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex
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John W. Scibak
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2nd Hampshire
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Cleon H. Turner
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1st Barnstable
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Martha M. Walz
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8th Suffolk
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James J. O'Day
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14th Worcester District
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Christine E. Canavan
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10th Plymouth
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Frederick E. Berry
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Second Essex
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Karen E. Spilka
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Second Middlesex and Norfolk
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Steven A. Baddour
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First Essex
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Susan C. Tucker
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Second Essex and Middlesex
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Thomas M. Stanley
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9th Middlesex
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The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
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RESOLVE
Resolved,
that it is a priority of the commonwealth to ensure that children with special health care needs receive the appropriate necessary medical equipment in a
timely manner. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary a commission shall be established to examine the process by which children with special health care needs receive durable medical equipment and make recommendations about how to re
duce the barriers that children and their families currently face in receiving medically necessary and physician-prescribed equipment including, but not limited to, wheelchairs and lifts. Said Commission shall be known as "The Commission to Reduce Wait Tim
e for children with special health care needs to recei
ve needed medical equipment". The commission shall be
chaired by the
Commissioner
of Public Health and the
Commissioner of the Division of Medical Assistance,
and shall consist of
the President of the
Senate or her designee, The minority leader of the Senate or his designee, The Speaker of the House of Representatives or his designee, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives
or his designee, t
he House and Senate Chairpersons of the Joint Co
mmittee on Health Care Financing or their designee, a parent of a child with special health care needs to be appointed by the Governor, a licensed physician who treats children with special health care needs to be appointed by the Governor, the Executive D
irector of the Massachusetts Consortium for
Children with Special Health Care Needs, a designee of Children's Hospital Boston, and a designee of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans.
The Commission shall be directed to make recommendations for fa
ir and suitable guidelines for private health insurers, the State Medicaid program, and vendors to promptly process prescriptions for durable medical equipment for children with special health care needs. The Commission will report its findings to the cler
k of the Senate and clerk of the House of Representatives as well as the House and Senate committees on Ways and Means no later than December 31, 2009.
