Transcript Highlights:

• I think we've discussed bipolar disorder and other mental health-related disorders where it may be manageable
• ><c> bipolar</c> um they I think we've discussed bipolar um they I think we've discussed bipolar disorder
• > other</c><00:26:13.120><c> mental</c><00:26:13.520><c> health</c><00:26:13.760><c> related</c> disorder
• and other mental health related disorder and other mental health related disorders<00:26:14.640><c>
• where it may be manageable at disorders where it may be manageable at this<00:26:17.919><c> point</c

Summary: The committee met to hear updates from the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Corrections on two related issues: a proposed high-acuity juvenile mental health treatment facility and medical services contracts, including the impact of Wellpath’s bankruptcy proceedings. At the start, the chair agreed to hear the Department of Corrections first so members could get context on the medical contract before turning to DJJ’s proposal. DOC officials said Wellpath, the department’s comprehensive medical and mental health provider since 2013, was awarded its current contract through a 2021 procurement process. They reported that Wellpath’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan had been confirmed and that the company had transitioned ownership to lenders, but had not yet fully completed the bankruptcy process. DOC said there had been no service lapses, no reduction in care, and no known impact on Kentucky vendors or hospitals, and that DOC staff meet with Wellpath almost weekly. Members asked whether the committee had been kept informed and whether the bankruptcy could affect future services or subcontractors. DJJ then presented its concept for a high-acuity facility, explaining that the project is still in the preliminary programming and conceptual stage and has not yet entered the formal design phase with DECA. Officials said the proposal in the capital plan would create a 24-bed facility, with 16 clinical beds and 8 assessment/stabilization beds, to serve justice-involved youth with serious mental health needs. They said the facility would need to separate males and females and high- and low-risk youth, and that current placements often require sending youth out of state to places such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Arkansas, and Texas. Staff said the goal is to centralize treatment, improve safety, and reduce the need for fragmented or out-of-state placements. Committee members questioned the cost estimates, staffing needs, and whether the facility was justified given the small number of youth currently placed out of state. DJJ said the operational estimate includes an unknown medical-contract component and that the number of youth needing the facility can fluctuate because of surges in the juvenile population. Officials also said they had consulted with South Carolina, which is developing a similar facility, and noted that renovating existing facilities was considered but could be more expensive or impractical than building a separate site. No votes or formal actions were taken during the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• chronic illnesses and multiple mental health conditions, including asthma, cervical cancer, bipolar disorder
• chronic illnesses and multiple mental health conditions, including asthma, cervical cancer, bipolar disorder
• He was diagnosed with autism, what we now call autism spectrum disorder, when he was about four.
• history, including encephalitis, epilepsy, right hemiparesis, and documents his autism spectrum disorder

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Summary: The Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities held a hearing focused on accessibility-related legislation, with the chairs emphasizing ASL and CART accessibility and asking testifiers to speak slowly and clearly. The committee heard testimony first on H.223/S.130, a bill to establish a livable wage for community-based human service workers by reducing the pay gap with state employees. Providers’ Council, Communities for People, the Key Program, and BAMSI all supported the bill, describing persistent wage disparities, high vacancy and turnover rates, and the impact on continuity of care for children, youth, and families. Witnesses said the bill would help recruitment and retention and stabilize services across the Commonwealth. The committee then heard extensive testimony on H.224/S.160, the ACE Act, which would create a dedicated funding source to improve accessibility in the creative economy. Arts organizations and advocates, including Community Access to the Arts, Abilities Dance Boston, Jacob’s Pillow, the Multicultural Arts Center, Northampton Community Music Center, Mass Creative, Open Door Arts, and Monkey House, described barriers such as inaccessible buildings, lack of ASL interpretation and captioning, inadequate lifts and backstage access, and the high cost of renovations. Testifiers said the bill would help smaller and historic institutions make physical and programmatic improvements and allow people with disabilities to participate as artists, workers, and audiences. The committee also heard testimony on H.4180, which would require DDS to consider neuropsychological evaluations when determining eligibility for intellectual disability services. Parents and advocates argued that IQ cutoffs alone can miss significant functional needs, especially for autistic adults and others with complex developmental profiles, and urged broader access to DDS supports. Additional testimony supported S.101 on closed captioning and telecommunications in public areas, and S.158 on requiring restaurants to have some chairs with arms to better accommodate physically disabled and older patrons. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chair adjourned after hearing from the scheduled witnesses and noting a few signups that were not present.

Transcript Highlights:

• those people in our communities who are struggling with persistent mental illness, substance use disorder
• 38.160><c> use</c> persistent mental illness, substance use persistent mental illness, substance use disorder
• <c> just</c><00:07:39.440><c> precisely</c><00:07:39.919><c> this</c><00:07:40.240><c> model</c> disorder
• , it's just precisely this model disorder, it's just precisely this model which,<00:07:41.680><c> you

Transcript Highlights:

• Mental health and substance use disorders. I don't even have the excuse that it's early.
• really based on select recommendations from the 2025 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder
• It's important to the substance abuse disorder is a disability is covered by the 88.
• As I stated before, members and the ADA and fair housing protects people with substance abuse disorder

Transcript Highlights:

• transfer of metals from mother to fetus has lasting implications, resulting in neurological and kidney disorders
• social media use and poor mental health outcomes, including loneliness, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders
• , memory loss, eating disorders, self-harm, and even suicidal ideation.
• He has been a leader in trying to work to stop eating disorders on social media, which is a big threat

Bills: HF2779 , HF1645 , HF1885 , HF1289 , HF1534 , HF2707 , HF1675 , HF3046

Committee: House Health Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• current role, I worked for a private provider that supported individuals with severe opioid use disorder
• supported individuals with severe opioid supported individuals with severe opioid use<00:05:17.320><c> disorder
• </c><00:05:18.199><c> in</c><00:05:18.440><c> high-intensity</c> use disorder in high-intensity use disorder

Transcript Highlights:

• supervision with evidence-based treatment for individuals with a substance use and/or mental health disorder
• These are individuals who are likely to reoffend and who have specific disorders that are responsible
• The most common I'm seeing is bipolar disorder.
• Individuals don't even know they have bipolar disorder, so what do they do?

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Summary: The Judiciary Committee met with a quorum present and heard several Office of the State Courts Administrator presentations. Judge Mark Mahan discussed the impact of 2023’s HB 837 litigation reforms on court operations, explaining that the law’s changes to comparative negligence, filing deadlines, collateral source evidence, premises liability, bad faith claims, attorney’s fees, and offer-of-judgment rules triggered a major March 2023 civil filing surge. He described how filings tripled statewide, with especially large increases in auto negligence and premises liability cases, and outlined how circuits responded through active case management, added resources, and workflow changes. Members asked whether the bill’s immediate effective date contributed to the surge and whether clearance rates would normalize over time; Judge Mahan said the court system viewed its response as a success and expected rates to settle as the backlog is worked through. The committee then received a presentation on problem-solving courts from Jennifer Grandal and Judge Nina Richardson. Grandal reviewed Florida’s drug courts, mental health courts, veterans courts, dependency and early childhood courts, noting statewide best-practice standards, annual reporting requirements, funding sources, and data collection systems. Judge Richardson gave a local perspective on treatment courts, emphasizing that they address underlying mental health and substance use issues, rely on judicial supervision and sanctions as well as incentives, and help participants achieve recovery and avoid reoffending. She said the programs are accountable, transparent, and effective, and thanked the Legislature for continued support. Finally, Judge Rachel Nordby and Eric McClure outlined the judicial branch’s legislative agenda. Nordby summarized the Supreme Court workgroup’s recommendations to expand Florida’s vexatious litigant law, including broader coverage, fewer qualifying adverse cases, a longer lookback period, and a public records exemption for stricken defamatory or sham material. McClure then highlighted additional agenda items: modernizing the duty-judge statute, expanding senior management retirement eligibility, authorizing additional judgeships based on workload studies, removing the statutory cap on court-ordered nonbinding arbitration compensation, protecting appellate clerks’ personal information, allowing alternative authentication for certain judicial notarizations, and creating a hearsay exception for guardian ad litem reports and testimony. No votes were taken, and the committee adjourned after member introductions and staff introductions.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Disorder Programs." Disorder Programs."
• I'm the executive director of MARCHA, statewide trade association for substance use disorder programs
• treatment field, which use disorder treatment field, which would<01:31:20.720><c> be</c><01:31:20.920
• Representatives from three substance use disorder lodging facilities. There's no tribal nations.
• ><c> lodging</c> substance use disorder lodging substance use disorder lodging facilities.<01:35:10.720

Bills: HF4207 , HF4338

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• And you see them listed here, uh, maternal health, behavioral health, substance use disorder, uh, oral
• , uh, oral health, substance use disorder, uh, oral health, uh,<00:03:53.920><c> how</c><00:03:54.040
• The third area is around behavioral and substance use disorder.
• It's been oral health, food insecurity, behavioral health and substance use disorder, social drivers
• use disorder but substance use disorder uh<01:25:23.480><c> has</c><01:25:23.760><c> been</c><01:25:

Summary: The Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board received a presentation from Dr. Stack and Commissioner Langfeld on Kentucky’s application for a federal Medicaid-related funding opportunity tied to House Resolution 1. They described a compressed six-week stakeholder process that produced more than 50 responses and letters of support, and said the application was organized around five broad priorities: maternal health, behavioral health and substance use disorder, oral health, EMS/trauma response, and chronic disease. They emphasized that the proposal was designed to align with CMS goals, use allowable funding categories, and focus on sustainability rather than a short-term grant. Commissioner Langfeld outlined five core initiatives: rural community hubs for chronic care innovation, beginning with obesity and diabetes; a maternal and infant health effort called POWER; a behavioral health and substance use model called IMPATH; an oral health initiative called Rooted in Health; and an integrated crisis-to-care EMS and trauma response effort. He said the chronic disease work would include prevention, food-as-medicine concepts, and technology tools, while the maternal health effort would expand team-based care around mothers and infants using community health workers and doulas. The behavioral health proposal would build on existing crisis intervention models, oral health would address workforce and access gaps through training, mobile vans, and telehealth, and the EMS proposal would better connect emergency response with home-based and community care. Several senators questioned whether the proposal would meaningfully address rural hospital closures or the broader rural health care crisis. Senator Meredith said the plan was not transformational and would not save rural hospitals, while Senator Berg asked how success would be measured. In response, the presenters said they would use both lagging and leading indicators, with an emphasis on rapid-cycle feedback and data use that is more actionable in real time. They also said the work could help existing models that already show promise, such as behavioral health units and dental workforce expansion, even if it would not solve the larger funding gap created by HR1. Senator Douglas asked how the proposals would motivate patients to participate in their own health care. The presenters responded that the chronic disease prevention work would focus on obesity, diabetes prevention, nutrition, and consumer-facing technology tools to help people engage in their own care, and that EMS-community health worker partnerships could identify unmet needs in the home and reduce preventable problems. The board then moved on to its next agenda item, Medicaid managed care delivery models, with Tom Stevens, Katherine North, and Dr. Patel scheduled to present.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> of</c><00:58:31.680><c> opioid</c><00:58:32.400><c> use</c> For the treatment of opioid use disorder
• I’d rather spend the money on reimbursing providers for that substance use disorder than sending state
• </c><02:33:59.080><c> treatment</c><02:33:59.479><c> or</c> substance use disorder treatment or substance
• </c><02:34:32.359><c> than</c><02:34:32.600><c> sending</c><02:34:33.080><c> state</c> use disorder than
• sending state use disorder than sending state employees<02:34:33.960><c> out</c><02:34:34.160><c> to

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• The next bill is House Bill 2340, which applies substance use disorder monitoring program provisions
• We have House Bill 2340 before us, applying substance use disorder monitoring program provisions to nursing

Summary: The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee held its final regularly scheduled meeting of the 2026 session and moved into executive session to consider 11 bills. The bills covered a range of health care and licensing topics, including the dietician licensure compact (SHB 2088), ambulance transport staffing for inter-facility specialty care (E2SHB 2110), substance use disorder monitoring for nursing assistants (HB 2340), hospital inspections (SHB 2577), temporary licensure exemptions for music therapy applicants (SHB 2363), nursing regulation (SHB 2339), EMT recertification (HB 2540), supervision of radiologic and MRI technologists (HB 2113), continuing care retirement community oversight (2SHB 2384), and veterinarian-client-patient relationships (ESHB 2247). The committee also considered ESHB 1187, which protects patients involved in motor vehicle accidents from delayed ambulance bills, though it was not part of the initial briefing list read aloud in full. Several bills had amendments adopted. On E2SHB 2110, the committee adopted Senator Harris’s amendment changing hospital coordination with ambulance providers from a recommendation to a requirement. SHB 1187 received a striking amendment, and 2SHB 2384 and ESHB 2247 also had striking amendments adopted; the veterinary bill’s amendment clarified that the commercial breeding provisions apply to livestock, added a definition of livestock, and tightened prescription drug language. The committee also discussed the 2SHB 2384 amendment as making technical corrections and clarifying life care contract language. After each bill was moved, the committee voted to give it a do pass recommendation and send it to the Rules Committee. All bills considered in executive session passed the committee, subject to signatures. The chair then thanked staff and members for their work during the session, noted the committee would turn to interim work in a few weeks, and moved to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• services, whether it's someone disorder services, whether it's someone with<01:37:54.080><c> a</c><01
• This is a more intense provision of substance use disorder services, health care, mental health services
• This is a more intense provision of substance use disorder services, health care, mental health services
• This is a more intense provision of substance use disorder services, health care, mental health services
• Substance use disorder, uh, other specialty services.

Transcript Highlights:

• I sit here today as a representative of not only the bleeding disorders community, but also those living
• I'm the executive director of Gateway Bleeding Disorders Association.
• So I'm here on behalf of people with bleeding disorders.
• Similar to the experiences you've heard from the bleeding disorders community, many cancer patients are
• Similar to the experiences you've heard from the bleeding disorders community, many cancer patients are

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Transcript Highlights:

• I sit here today as a representative of not only the bleeding disorders community, but also those living
• I'm the executive director of Gateway Bleeding Disorders Association.
• So I'm here on behalf of people with bleeding disorders.
• Similar to the experiences you've heard from the bleeding disorders community, many cancer patients Similar
• to the experiences you've heard from the bleeding disorders community, many cancer patients are impacted

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Summary: The committee first heard House Bills 2365, 2490, and 2249, a bipartisan version of Elijah’s Law, which would require child care facilities to receive training and guidance on recognizing and responding to food allergies and anaphylaxis. Sponsors described the bill as a response to the death of Elijah, whose daycare did not administer epinephrine quickly enough after a food exposure. Witnesses in support, including a parent and food allergy advocate, said the measure would improve preparedness and save lives. Committee members asked about whether the bill should use broader epinephrine terminology, whether the requirements could also be handled through child care licensing rules, and whether the bill was already included in a larger measure. No opposition was presented, and the hearing on those bills was closed. The committee then heard House Bill 1965, which would require insurers to reimburse athletic trainers for covered services and add athletic trainers to the practitioner definition for billing purposes. The sponsor and athletic training witnesses said the bill would recognize athletic trainers as licensed health care providers, improve access in rural and underserved areas, and allow reimbursement when trainers work in clinics, hospitals, or other non-school settings. Committee members raised repeated questions about the difference between athletic trainers and physical therapists, whether school-based services were already paid through contracts, whether the bill would increase costs or create double payment, and how diagnosis and billing would work under the current scope of practice. Opponents from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and the Missouri Insurance Coalition argued the bill would create a mandate, increase costs, and expand billing before clarifying the underlying scope of practice. No vote was taken in public hearing. The committee then moved into executive session and voted several bills do pass. A substitute was adopted for House Bill 1826 and the committee substitute for House Bills 1826, 2560, 2349, and 2194 passed 17-0. House Bill 1783 also passed 17-0. House Bill 2372, which incorporated multiple related provisions including changes to epinephrine terminology and other committee items, passed 17-1 after a substitute and amendment were adopted. House Bill 1827, the occupational therapy bill related to disabled placards and license plates, passed 18-0. The committee then returned to public hearing and heard House Bills 1941 and 2279, which would prohibit copay accumulator programs for fully insured plans so that third-party assistance counts toward a patient’s deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. Sponsors and a rheumatologist testified that the bills would prevent patients with serious illnesses from being forced to pay the same deductible twice and said similar laws have been enacted in many other states. Opponents from America’s Health Insurance Plans argued the measure would affect only a minority of plans, raise costs in the individual and small-group market, and could worsen affordability for remaining enrollees. The hearing ended without a vote on those bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is similar to what we passed last year as part of the Substance Use Disorder bill, which calls for
• citizens, regardless of their drug usage, will benefit those currently struggling with substance use disorder
• It requires that members have a certain composition, substance use disorder training, and that psychologists

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security heard testimony on several bills affecting correctional facilities, disability access, public health, youth education, parole, and vehicle noise. Early testimony focused on H. 2736/S. 1762, “Matt’s Law,” which would permanently ban free weights in medium- and maximum-security correctional facilities and require exercise equipment to be secured. The bill was supported by the Tidman family, Rep. Wells, and the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, who described the assault on Corrections Officer Matthew Tidman and argued the measure would prevent similar attacks. Committee members expressed sympathy and asked whether the Department of Correction could make the change administratively; witnesses said free weights had already been removed but that codifying the policy in law was needed. The committee also heard S. 1753 on synthetic drugs in correctional facilities, which would make possession, distribution, and use of Class C synthetic substances in prisons and jails a felony with a mandatory minimum sentence. Senator O’Connor and MCOFU said synthetic drugs like K2 are being smuggled in through mail and are causing violence and medical emergencies among inmates and staff. H. 4123, filed by Rep. Donahue and Chair Vargas, would require correctional facilities to offer two doses of naloxone to people upon direct release; Donahue cited overdose risk after incarceration and her personal loss of a son to overdose. Sheriff Donna Buckley also testified in support of a commission to study sentencing jurisdiction and whether more people should be sentenced to county houses of correction rather than DOC facilities. A large portion of the hearing was devoted to S. 1733, “An Act Building a More Accessible Massachusetts,” which would expand the Architectural Access Board’s authority over older buildings, workplace areas, and adaptable housing units. Chris Ho, disability advocates, and people with disabilities testified that the bill would help close gaps in accessibility for employment and housing, reduce long waits for accessible units, and support aging in place and independent living. The committee also heard S. 1721 on educational rights for incarcerated youth, with Avery Farmer arguing that 18- to 21-year-olds in DOC and houses of correction should receive the same educational services and disability supports as youth in DYS custody. Additional testimony supported S. 1716 regulating illegal exhaust systems, with one witness citing public health harms from vehicle noise and another opposing the bill as overbroad and harmful to classic car owners. Finally, Claire Massington testified for H. 2694 on equitable access to parole, calling for a more transparent, best-practices-based parole system with a revised board composition and a presumption of parole unless the board shows otherwise. The hearing ended with the chair adjourning the meeting due to a roll call in the House and Senate.

Transcript Highlights:

• Whereas obstructive sleep apnea is a common, serious, and chronic sleep-related breathing disorder characterized
• Whereas obstructive sleep apnea is a common, serious, and chronic sleep-related breathing disorder characterized
• HB 2236, civil terrorism, disorder, conduct, subversion.

Transcript Highlights:

• Some other themes that came to light are patients with behavioral health or substance use disorders face
• well some other themes that came to light are with patients with behavioral health or substance use disorders
• Disorders, and they have a typical stay that’s around 2.5 times longer than what’s expected for similar

Committee: House Public Health

Summary: The meeting focused on hospital “avoidable days” and the difficulty of discharging medically stable patients who still need post-acute placement or social services. Presenters from Saint Anthony Hospital Midtown, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, City Care, and OU Health described common barriers including lack of skilled nursing, rehab, long-term care, behavioral health, and hospice placements; insurance prior authorization delays; Medicaid and Social Security eligibility delays; guardianship and Adult Protective Services bottlenecks; limited home health and private duty nursing; and the challenge of placing unhoused, uninsured, or medically complex patients. Several speakers emphasized that these delays reduce bed availability, increase emergency department boarding, contribute to staff burnout, and expose patients to hospital-acquired conditions and other harms. The testimony included multiple examples of patients remaining in acute care for days, weeks, or even months after being medically ready for discharge, including patients awaiting guardianship, disability determinations, or placement in facilities willing to accept them. Speakers also highlighted special populations such as patients with behavioral health or substance use disorders, medically fragile children, patients with criminal histories, and unhoused individuals who need respite or hospice care. City Care described its planned 40-bed medical respite facility, set to open in 2027, as a way to provide clinical support and housing navigation for patients too sick to recover on the street or in shelters. Witnesses recommended policy and system changes such as standardizing preauthorization protocols, expanding rural swing-bed and home-based services, increasing public guardianship resources, improving data collection on homelessness, expanding private duty nursing hours, and creating more placement options for complex patients. They also suggested better coordination between hospitals, DHS, APS, the Health Department, and post-acute facilities, including a database of facility services to improve discharge planning and keep patients closer to home. No votes or formal committee actions were taken in the transcript, but the chair indicated the issue would require collaboration across multiple agencies and partners.

Transcript Highlights:

• in Iraq. region, he shared with me that the worst place for someone who has post-traumatic stress disorder
• Substance use disorder is related to trauma, mental health conditions, and chronic pain.
• Kids who have serious seizure disorders rely on cannabis to treat their...

Transcript Highlights:

• WHEN THEY CAN DOCUMENT COLONY LOSSES THE COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER THEY ARE ABLE TO RECOVER SOME FUNDS
• IT'S NOT FOR THE OTHER STRESSORS THAT ARE ON THE LIST IS SPECIFICALLY FOR COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER, WHICH
• IN NOVEMBER 2006 WAS WHEN COLLAPSE DISORDER WAS BORN.

Transcript Highlights:

• And suddenly those parents have to pay for genetic testing or take their child into a doctor's office
• There are real issues around eating disorders and self-worth. This bill will make that worse.
• There are real issues around eating disorders and self-worth. This bill will make that worse.