Author: Cindy Friedman

Mandates telehealth coverage, provides financial assistance to hospitals, and increases protections against surprise medical billing

BOSTON (12/23/2020) – On Wednesday, Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington), joined her colleagues in the Legislature in voting to pass An Act promoting a resilient health care system that puts patients first. This landmark legislation, which includes a number of notable health care reforms, expands patient access to care by lifting barriers to receiving telehealth services, broadens the scope of practice for certain health care professionals, requires advance notice of a provider’s network status in order to avoid surprise medical bills and improves coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment amid the most serious public health crisis in modern history.

“This conference committee report embraces the best of both the Senate and House bills to create comprehensive and necessary healthcare reforms,” said Senator Friedman, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. “While there is still more to do to improve patient outcomes and access to care, this bill takes a meaningful step forward by ensuring that the Commonwealth’s healthcare system can continue to meet the needs of patients during this unprecedented time, and long after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. I am grateful to the House for their collaboration and to Senate President Spilka and Chair Rodrigues for their leadership and for giving me the opportunity and responsibility to help the Senate negotiate a resolution to this significant bill.”

The bill’s components are highlighted below.

Telehealth
The bill makes telehealth permanently accessible to all in Massachusetts.… Read more.

Prioritizes relief to vulnerable populations through targeted investments in housing, economic development, and food security

BOSTON (12/04/2020) – Today, Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington), along with her colleagues in the Senate and House, passed the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget, which invests in programs and services across the Commonwealth. Funded at $46.2 billion, the budget aims to address the sweeping effects of the global pandemic by making targeted investments in housing, food security, and substance use addiction services, as well as domestic violence, sexual assault treatment and prevention programs. The budget also invests in programs that provide COVID-related supports for students and increases funding for developmental services, early education and childcare, and public health.

“The current surge in positive COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts emphasizes that we must continue to do all we can to support our most vulnerable residents during these challenging times—and this budget helps to accomplish that by investing in much-needed behavioral health services, housing protections, reproductive health access, education and food assistance” said Friedman, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and member of the FY21 Budget Conference Committee. “I am extremely proud that we were able to keep crucial investments in place—the $46 billion will go a long way towards ensuring an equitable economic recovery for the Commonwealth. I am incredibly thankful to Senate President Spilka, Ways and Means Chair Rodrigues, and the rest of my colleagues in the legislature for their tireless work on behalf of the Commonwealth.”

Senator Friedman was especially pleased to see several local and statewide initiatives she advocated for throughout the budget cycle included in the final compromise budget, including:

• $10 million for the creation of new inpatient mental health acute care beds, with priority given to beds for children and adolescents and beds located in underserved areas of the Commonwealth;
• $950,000 for the Mental Health Advocacy Project (MHAP) for Kids, which provides evidence-based community- and school-based interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable youth and divert them from juvenile detention, inpatient, and emergency psychiatric hospitalizations;
• $350,000 to support the development of school-based Bridge programs, which integrate mental health, academic, family, and care coordination supports to address the needs of middle and high school students returning to school after physical health- or mental health-related absences;
• $250,000 for the Middlesex County Restoration Center Commission, which seeks to establish a pilot center for the purpose of diverting individuals that suffer from mental illness or substance use disorder and have frequent interactions with the criminal justice system away from incarceration and into appropriate treatment;
• $160,000 for the Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC), ensuring that the Arlington Youth Counseling Center can continue to provide much-needed services to youth in the 4^th Middlesex district; and
• $90,000 to help English At Large in Woburn continue its work with English language tutoring and small group instruction for adult learners in 21 communities in Middlesex County.

… Read more.

BOSTON (12/1/2020) – Today, Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington), along with her colleagues in the Senate and House, voted to pass An Act relative to justice, equity and accountability in law enforcement in the Commonwealth. The legislation represents the most comprehensive and intentional legislative response to incidents involving police practices in Massachusetts communities. It creates an independent, civilian-led commission to standardize the certification, training, and decertification of police officers, bans the use of chokeholds, limits the use of deadly force, creates a duty to intervene for police officers when witnessing another officer using force beyond what is necessary or reasonable under the circumstances, and takes steps to break the school-to-prison pipeline. It also creates a first-in-the-nation statewide moratorium on biometric surveillance systems, which include facial recognition technology.

“This legislation is a thoughtful and meaningful step in the right direction,” said Senator Friedman, Vice Chair of Senate Ways and Means. “We have a lot of work to do in Massachusetts and across the country to address systemic racism within our institutions and reforming how we police is part of that necessary work—but by no means should it represent the end of this important conversation. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to strengthen racial justice and equity across the Commonwealth.”

Friedman was especially proud to see provisions that she advocated for via the amendment process during the Senate bill debate were included in the final bill, including:

• Ensuring that age- and developmentally-appropriate de-escalation techniques are used when police officers interact with minor children, and that the use of force in those instances is only a last resort and appropriate to the circumstances; and
• Tasking the community policing and behavioral health advisory council with studying and making recommendations for creating a crisis response and continuity of care system that diverts individuals away from incarceration toward alternative emergency services and programs across the commonwealth.

… Read more.

(BOSTON – 11/20/2020) This week, Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington) joined her Senate colleagues in unanimously passing a $46 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), after adding $36.1 million in targeted investments over the course of two days of deliberations. Passed with bipartisan support, the budget aims to move the Commonwealth towards an equitable recovery by making critical investments in sectors impacted by COVID-19 including early education and childcare, food security, housing supports, and public health.

“I am proud to have voted in favor of this budget—the $46 billion in funding will help our residents, especially those who are most vulnerable, as the Commonwealth continues to face new and unprecedented challenges that have emerged as a result of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Friedman, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The Senate’s investments in behavioral health services, housing protections, reproductive health access, education, and food insecurity in particular are crucial steps toward ensuring a more equitable economic recovery and a more equitable Commonwealth for all.”

Through the amendment process Friedman secured:

• $160,000 for the Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC). These funds will ensure that the Arlington Youth Counseling Center can continue to provide much-needed services to youth in the 4^th Middlesex district;
• $90,000 to help English At Large in Woburn continue its work with English language tutoring and small group instruction for adult learners in 21 communities in Middlesex County; and
• $350,000 to support the development of school-based Bridge programs, which integrate mental health, academic, family, and care coordination supports to address the needs of middle and high school students returning to school after physical health- or mental health-related absences.

… Read more.

BOSTON (11/12/2020) – Today, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means announced a $45.98 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21). The Committee’s budget is a responsible and balanced plan that ensures fiscal stability and recommends targeted investments to protect access to core essential services, address urgent needs, and support efforts to build an equitable recovery for the Commonwealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am proud of this budget – it is a significant step toward addressing the real and immediate needs of the Commonwealth as our state continues to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The spending priorities reflect our strong commitment to protecting the fundamental needs of our residents, such as childcare, housing, food security and healthcare.” 

The Committee’s budget recommends a total of $45.98 billion in spending, a 5.5% increase over the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) General Appropriations Act. This spending recommendation is based on a revised tax revenue estimate of $27.59 billion, which provides for $3.55 billion less in available revenue than the original consensus revenue estimate of $31.15 billion, as originally agreed upon in January. To close this anticipated revenue shortfall, the FY21 budget includes $1.5 billion from the Stabilization Fund, ensuring a majority of the Stabilization Fund balance remains for future years, $1.38 billion in available federal supports, and more than $400 million in new revenue initiatives. It also avoids drastic budget cuts while leaving the Commonwealth in a sound fiscal position moving forward.… Read more.