Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H238 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1612 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 238
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Paul K. Frost
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 provide a pilot program for low interest loans to families with a child suffering from a
13	13	terminal illness.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Paul K. Frost7th Worcester1/15/2025 1 of 2
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1612 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 238
19	19	By Representative Frost of Auburn, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 238) of Paul K.
20	20	Frost relative to providing low interest loans to families with children suffering from terminal
21	21	illnesses. Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE HOUSE, NO. 167 OF 2023-2024.]
24	24	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
25	25	_______________
26	26	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
27	27	(2025-2026)
28	28	_______________
29	29	An Act to provide a pilot program for low interest loans to families with a child suffering from a
30	30	terminal illness.
31	31	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
32	32	of the same, as follows:
33	33	1 SECTION 1. The Commonwealth, through the Department of Health and Human
34	34	2Services, shall institute a pilot program to provide a one time loan, up to and not in excess of ten
35	35	3thousand dollars to thirty individuals in the Commonwealth to assist them in the payment of
36	36	4expenses directly resulting from expenditures incurred due to a child being diagnosed with a
37	37	5terminal illness.
38	38	6 SECTION 2. The application process for the purpose of meeting the eligibility
39	39	7requirements for this act shall be in accordance with the standards and guidelines established by
40	40	8the Department of Public Health. The definition of “terminal illness” for the purpose of this Act 2 of 2
41	41	9shall mean an illness which is likely, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, to cause
42	42	10death within six months.
43	43	11 SECTION 3. The terms of the loan shall be determined by the Department of Health and
44	44	12Human Services and shall not exceed in any situation an amount greater than ten thousand
45	45	13dollars. Interest collected on the loan shall be set at either 2% or the current interest rate at the
46	46	14time of the loan; whichever is higher.
47	47	15 SECTION 4. The loan shall only be used for those expenditures incurred as a direct result
48	48	16of attending to the terminally ill family member. Receipts, bills, cancelled checks or any other
49	49	17form of payment shall be available to the Department of Public Health upon request to verify any
50	50	18expenditures relative to the loan.
51	51	19 SECTION 5. Upon meeting the eligibility requirements for the loan, said loan shall be
52	52	20placed in a separate account with access for both Department of Health and Human Services and
53	53	21the individual who accepted the loan.
54	54	22 SECTION 6. Repayment of the loan with the appropriate interest shall begin one year to
55	55	23the date after the loan was issued to the recipient. Payment will be due on the first of the month
56	56	24until the terms set in the loan agreement are paid in full. Failure to comply with the terms of the
57	57	25loan agreement at any time shall result in the rate of interest being set at 15% for the remainder
58	58	26of the loan.