| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4027 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2155 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | William J. Driscoll, Jr. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act to create an at home test reporting system in the Commonwealth. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:William J. Driscoll, Jr.7th Norfolk1/20/2023 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4027 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2155 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Driscoll of Milton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2155) of |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | William J. Driscoll, Jr. for legislation to create an at home test reporting system. Public Health. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | An Act to create an at home test reporting system in the Commonwealth. |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 1 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 2health shall, in collaboration with the executive office of technology services and security, |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 3establish a mechanism to gather data from at-home, self-administered tests for COVID-19, |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 4influenza, and other illnesses that the department deems detrimental to public health, provided |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 5that an FDA approved, or otherwise authorized, at-home test exists for said illness. The |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 6department shall work with the necessary partners to establish an online portal on the mass.gov |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 7website and an automated telephone line designed for this purpose. Residents shall be able to |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 8report up to two-tests per-day, per-illness, per-individual in the household, including themselves, |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 9any dependents in their care, and any other member of the household. Additionally, there shall be |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 10a separate mechanism for institutional reporting of self-test results for use by pre-K programs, K- |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 1112 schools, colleges, and universities in the Commonwealth conducting testing through the |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 12school health office or officials. These results shall be tracked and reported separately from tests |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 13reported by residential users. There shall also be a mechanism for the institutional reporting 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 14outside of the education context, including for congregate care settings, rehabilitation centers, |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 15correctional facilities, and others deemed fit by the department. The department shall use these |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 16mechanisms to track (1) the total number of at home tests reported, (2) the number of those tests |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 17that had positive results, (3) the average positivity rate of at-home tests, and (4) the number of |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 18repeat or duplicative tests, including those testing positive after two or more positive tests. The |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 19department shall store and maintain this data for an appropriate period, and report weekly on the |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 20data gathered. At the discretion of the department, the reporting interval may be increased or |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 21changed, provided that reports are published at least once per week. The department shall |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 22collaborate with local boards of public health, school districts, and other stakeholders to ensure |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 23that the critical data is accessible to the public and decision makers. At the request of a local |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 24board of public health or local public health director, the department shall, to the best of its |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 25ability, provide localized data specific to the municipality requesting the data. |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 26 The department shall ensure that each reporting method is also able to provide immediate |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 27guidance to those who report a positive test, including instructions for following up with medical |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 28providers, ways to access treatments for the illness in question, and any addition guidance that |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 29may be needed for high-risk persons. Simplified reporting instructions for positive test results |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 30shall be provided for at-home tests distributed by the department of public health, department of |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 31elementary and secondary education, or other state agency, and posted on the mass.gov website. |
|---|