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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3104 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1128 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Marjorie C. Decker and Jeffrey N. Roy |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act preserving access to treatment for patients with serious mental illnesses. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex1/16/2025Carole A. Fiola6th Bristol2/5/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/7/2025Kathleen R. LaNatra12th Plymouth2/10/2025Rob Consalvo14th Suffolk2/20/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/24/2025Christopher J. Worrell5th Suffolk3/11/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex3/11/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3104 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1128 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Decker of Cambridge and Roy of Franklin, a petition (accompanied by bill, |
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| 19 | 19 | | House, No. 1128) of Marjorie C. Decker, Carole A. Fiola and others relative to access to |
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| 20 | 20 | | treatment for patients with serious mental illnesses. Financial Services. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act preserving access to treatment for patients with serious mental illnesses. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 176O of the Massachusetts general laws is hereby |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2amended by inserting therein the following new definition: - |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 “Serious mental illness,” any of the following conditions, as defined by the most recent |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5 (1) Bipolar disorders, hypomanic, manic, depressive, and mixed. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6 (2) Childhood and adolescent depression. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7 (3) Major depressive disorders, single episode or recurrent. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8 (4) Obsessive-compulsive disorders. |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9 (5) Paranoid personality disorder and other psychotic disorders. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10 (6) Schizo-affective disorders, bipolar or depressive. 2 of 3 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11 (7) Schizophrenia. |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12 (8) Post-traumatic stress disorder. |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13 SECTION 2. Section 12A of said Chapter 176O is hereby further amended by inserting |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14after subsection (g) the following new subsection:- |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15 (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a carrier or utilization review |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16organization shall not, with respect to a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17the treatment of serious mental illness, impose a prior authorization requirement, step therapy |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18protocol, or any other protocol that could restrict or delay the dispensing of the drug. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19 SECTION 3. Section 8 of Chapter 118E of the Massachusetts general laws is hereby |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20amended by inserting therein the following new definition: - |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21 i½. “Serious mental illness”, any of the following conditions, as defined by the most |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23 (1) Bipolar disorders, hypomanic, manic, depressive, and mixed. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24 (2) Childhood and adolescent depression. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25 (3) Major depressive disorders, single episode or recurrent. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26 (4) Obsessive-compulsive disorders. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27 (5) Paranoid personality disorder and other psychotic disorders. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28 (6) Schizo-affective disorders, bipolar or depressive. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29 (7) Schizophrenia. 3 of 3 |
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| 58 | 58 | | 30 (8) Post-traumatic stress disorder. |
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| 59 | 59 | | 31 SECTION 4. Section 51A of said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by inserting |
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| 60 | 60 | | 32after subsection (f) the following new subsection: - |
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| 61 | 61 | | 33 (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the division or an entity with which the |
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| 62 | 62 | | 34division contracts to provide or manage health insurance benefits shall not, with respect to a drug |
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| 63 | 63 | | 35approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of serious mental illness, |
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| 64 | 64 | | 36impose a prior authorization requirement, step therapy protocol, or any other protocol that could |
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| 65 | 65 | | 37restrict or delay the dispensing of the drug. |
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