This session, Jamie has filed the following pieces of legislation to  improve access to health care:

An Act establishing Medicare for all in Massachusetts

The “Medicare for All” bill would create a single-payer health care system for Massachusetts, guaranteeing first rate health care coverage for every resident of the state, while saving money for state and local government, businesses, and residents. 

An Act establishing a public health insurance option

This bill would create a public health insurance agency to compete with private insurers in order to give consumers more choices, increase competition and encourage insurance companies to cooperate, share information, and reduce costs.

An Act relative to continuity of care for children and their eligible parents

This bill would allow MassHealth to grant 12-month continuous eligibility for children and their eligible parents to help ensure that working families get the health care they are eligible for and reduce administrative costs associated with each enrolling and re-enrolling families whose incomes fluctuate over the course of the year.

An Act improving patients’ access to timely compensation

This bill proposes two ways to address the issue of medical professional liability in the Commonwealth, with the goal of promoting solutions that benefit all stakeholders, patients and providers alike:  timely notice and ability to apologize. This bill represents the middle ground solution to the medical malpractice crisis that meets the most important needs of all stakeholders in the debate:  fewer lawsuits, swift justice with no constitutional infringements for patients and lawyers, and fewer medical errors.

An Act relative to emergency medical treatment and active labor act providers

This bill grants qualified civil immunity to physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who provide emergency medical services in compliance with Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) or as a result of a disaster.

An Act providing health insurance coverage for cochlear implants in children:

Too often, children who are born deaf and would be eligible for cochlear implants don’t receive them because the operation is so expensive – a delay that can have serious effects on the child’s development. This bill requires health insurance plans to cover operations to implant cochlear implants for children as well as post treatment services.