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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2472 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 538 |
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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 | | William J. Driscoll, Jr. |
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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 relative to emergency response and preparedness in the event of a surge in pediatric or |
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| 13 | 13 | | adult hospitalizations. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :William J. Driscoll, Jr.Norfolk, Plymouth and Bristol 1 of 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2472 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 538 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Mr. Driscoll, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 538) of William J. Driscoll, Jr. |
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| 20 | 20 | | relative to emergency response and preparedness in the event of surges in pediatric or adult |
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| 21 | 21 | | hospitalizations. Emergency Preparedness and Management. |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 733 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act relative to emergency response and preparedness in the event of a surge in pediatric or |
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| 30 | 30 | | adult hospitalizations. |
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| 31 | 31 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 32 | 32 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 1 Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in the event that: 1) hospital |
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| 34 | 34 | | 2inpatient staffed-bed capacity rates meet or exceed 85% for any type of hospital bed, including |
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| 35 | 35 | | 3but not limited to inpatient adult and pediatric general medical/surgical beds, inpatient adult and |
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| 36 | 36 | | 4pediatric critical care beds, or inpatient adult or pediatric behavioral health care beds, for a |
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| 37 | 37 | | 5period of 72 hours or more in a given Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition (HMCC) |
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| 38 | 38 | | 6Region, as defined by the Department of Public Health, or 2) the DPH activates its Capacity |
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| 39 | 39 | | 7Planning and Response Guidance for Acute Care Hospitals, then: the Division of Insurance, in |
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| 40 | 40 | | 8collaboration with the Department of Public Health, shall direct all health insurance carriers to |
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| 41 | 41 | | 9waive any prior authorization requirements that impact the transportation or discharge of patients |
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| 42 | 42 | | 10from the hospitals in said region for a period of not less than 30 days or, in the case of activation 2 of 2 |
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| 43 | 43 | | 11of said capacity planning and response guidance, for the duration of the Department’s activation |
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| 44 | 44 | | 12of said guidance. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 13 The Division, in consultation with the Department, shall publish guidance implementing |
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| 46 | 46 | | 14the provisions of this section within 30 days of the passage of this act. |
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