James Murphy — Addressed as Chairman Murphy at the start of the next witness introduction.
James Murphy — Addressed as Representative Murphy in the witness's opening remarks.
Bruce Tarr — Noted as joining online as a committee member.
Michael Moore — Noted as having joined online and identified as Vice Chair.
Michael Moore — Identified as the sponsor of Senate Bill 2739.
Michael Moore — Thanked for filing S. 2732; referred to as Senator Mike Moore.
Michael Moore — Cited as the senator who filed S. 2732.
Ryan Hamilton — Introduced himself as representing the 15th Essex District, including Beverly and Haverhill.
Sally Kerans — Introduced herself as representing the 13th Essex District.
Simon Cataldo — Introduced himself as representing the 14th Middlesex District.
Kate Lipper-Garabedian — Introduced herself as representing the 32nd Middlesex District.
David Biele — Introduced himself as representing the Suffolk District.
David Biele — Addressed generically as one of the vice chairs.
Steven Howitt — Introduced as the Fourth Bristol District member and minority ranking member.
Steven Howitt — Offered supportive comments on the mobile home insurance issue and referenced Taunton and Attleboro.
Jacob Oliveira — Introduced as representing the First Bristol District, including Foxborough and Mansfield.
Senator Kelly Duner — Introduced as the first witness/testifier.
Bill Scobal — Identified himself as Government Affairs Director for the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts.
Chief Gary Daugherty — Introduced as a witness from the town of Hoppington.
Chief Chris Norris — Introduced as a witness from the town of East Hampton and vice president of the association.
Gary Dardy, Jr. — Introduced himself as the fire chief for Hopkinton and began testimony on water supply and fire protection needs.
Hopkinton Fire Department — Described as operating two fire stations with limited staffing and limited municipal water coverage.
Christopher Norris — Introduced himself as fire chief for East Hampton and began testimony supporting a dedicated cistern infrastructure fund.
Chief Christopher Norris — Chief Christopher Norris explained that lithium-ion and energy-storage fires can require substantially more water, making dedicated and reliable water sources important. He noted that fire crews may have advance awareness of permitted residential energy-storage systems through mobile data reporting, but typically do not know about car fires until arrival and size-up. He then described the water-supply challenges in Western Massachusetts, saying many of the 101 communities across the four western counties may lack hydrant systems or municipal water, and cited West Hampton as an example where residents rely on private wells and septic systems. He emphasized that hydrants are not feasible where all homes depend on well water, and concluded that cisterns would provide a valuable, faster, year-round dedicated water supply for communities like East Hampton.
Representative Lisa Field — Representative Lisa Field testified in support of S. 2738, an act addressing rising insurance costs for manufactured home residents, and referenced her work with the Taunton Manufactured Home Communities group.
Mayor Sean O'Connell — Mayor Sean O'Connell joined virtually and testified in favor of S. 2738, discussing the need to address rising insurance costs for manufactured home residents, including issues affecting Taunton.
Mayor — The mayor notes that Council President Barry Sanders is also present to testify.
Council President Barry Sanders — The mayor identifies Council President Barry Sanders as another witness who is present to testify.
Barry Sanders — Barry Sanders, Taunton City Council President, testifies in support of S. 2738 and describes the situation in Taunton’s manufactured home communities, noting that several are 55-and-over communities with 1,083 homes and many senior and veteran residents. He asks that residents be included among the key stakeholders in the bill’s commission membership, urges the committee to consider immediate or temporary relief, and continues to criticize exploitative practices in mobile home parks. A committee member responds that they are willing to discuss private equity and mobile home parks with him.
Chris Stark — Chris Stark, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Insurance Federation, testified in opposition to the fire services bill’s funding approach. He explained that the bill would add to an already growing insurance assessment, increasing costs for homeowners and insurers, and warned that such assessments can trigger retaliatory taxes in other states. Stark argued that Massachusetts should stop using insurance products as revenue generators and instead fund these costs through the general fund. He concluded that the bill would raise the surcharge to about $55 million and that fire service grants and training center costs would ultimately be passed through to homeowners’ insurance policies.
Dr. Jenny Labonte — Dr. Jenny Labonte testified in support of S. 2732, describing her direct primary care practice in Auburn and her 25+ years practicing in the Worcester area. She explained that under current law, direct primary care physicians cannot provide insurance referrals for patients with HMO plans because they do not contract with the insurer. As a result, when a patient’s insurance changes to an HMO, patients may be forced to leave her care just to obtain referrals, which fractures continuity of care, delays diagnosis and treatment, and can put lives at risk. She closed by urging support for the bill.
Dr. Wendy Cohen — Dr. Wendy Cohen is introduced and then testifies in support of Senate Bill 2732 as a Foxborough resident and family physician in Mansfield. She explains that in-office dispensing can allow patients to obtain medications at very low wholesale costs, citing examples of inexpensive common drugs and contrasting those costs with much higher patient copays. She argues that the bill would save patients money, improve medication adherence by eliminating an extra pharmacy trip, and help physicians better track whether patients are picking up their medications. She concludes by urging support for the bill to remove an antiquated restriction and bring these savings to Massachusetts.
Dr. Reykha Nair — Dr. Reykha Nair, a Massachusetts primary care physician, testifies in strong support of S.2732, the direct primary care bill. She explains that after years in traditional insurance-based primary care, she moved to a membership-based direct primary care model that gives patients more time, less administrative waste, and better access. She argues that current HMO referral rules create problems for direct primary care patients, forcing them to maintain two primary care doctors. She offers examples of patients harmed by these barriers, including a woman who had to wait weeks for a cardiac scan because she needed an in-network provider, and a man who struggled to find an in-network primary care doctor for a dermatology referral. She concludes that the bill would protect patients, reduce administrative waste, and improve timely coordinated care, and asks the committee to advance S.2732.
Beverly Beavers — The chair and committee confirm that Beverly Beavers of Colonial Estates is not present, neither in person nor online.
Larry Quintal — The committee moves to Larry Quintal, but initially cannot hear him because he appears to be muted. They tell him they will come back to him and offer to send a call-in number through chat if needed. Shortly afterward, Larry Quintal is heard clearly and the audio issue is resolved.
Kathy Seer — The committee attempts to reach Kathy Seer, but cannot see her on screen.
Kathy Seer — Kathy Seer was called to testify and identified herself as a director with the Manufactured Federation of Massachusetts. She said the organization has advocated for manufactured-home insurance in Massachusetts for over nine years, had contacted the insurance commissioner without receiving a response, and noted that she lives in a manufactured-home community in Raynham. She concluded by expressing support for Kelly’s bill and urging others to get on board.
Nancy Fitzgerald — The committee moves on to Nancy Fitzgerald and then tries to connect with her online, noting that she is present but they cannot see or hear her.
Nancy Fitzgerald — Nancy Fitzgerald, a resident of Colonial Estates in Taunton, testified about severe problems with manufactured-home insurance. She said her Foremost premiums rose sharply over two years, and that her community group researched the market after being told there were many insurers, only to find that very few actually offer coverage in Massachusetts. She described steep premium increases, poor transparency, and Foremost’s withdrawal from some communities and nonrenewal of policies. Fitzgerald warned that the Mass Fair Plan and MPIUA provide only limited bare-bones coverage, leaving many homes underinsured, especially seniors on fixed incomes. She urged that any proposed commission focus on fair pricing, competition, adequate coverage, and strong consumer protection for residents.
Larry Quintel — Larry Quintel testified in strong support of S. 2738, explaining that manufactured homes are a vital source of affordable homeownership and, for many seniors, veterans, and working families, serve as permanent homes and key financial assets. He described sharp insurance premium increases for residents, noted that the manufactured-home insurance market is shrinking and concentrated, and emphasized that homeowners are especially vulnerable because they cannot easily sell or relocate if costs become unaffordable. He concluded by urging the committee to report the bill favorably, and the committee thanked him for his testimony.
Dr. Richard Tilson — The chair appears to call on Dr. Richard Tilson online, though the name may be uncertain due to transcription errors.
Max Tilton — Max Tilton, president of the Massachusetts GI Association, testified in strong support of S. 2732. He explained that gastroenterologists support the bill because it would help address referral and records problems, improve in-office prescribing, and make medication access easier and more affordable for patients. He cited pharmacy access challenges in communities such as Lowell, Haverhill, and Lawrence, and emphasized that better access would improve adherence and overall care. He concluded by urging the committee to consider the strong support of Massachusetts GI doctors for the bill.
Don Quinlan — Committee attempted to call on Don Quinlan, but no testimony is included in this section.
Don Quinlan — The chair attempted to return to Don Quinlan and noted that he was not online or present to testify, then moved on to ask whether anyone else in person or online wished to testify.
Mark Townsend — Mark Townsend, chair of the select board in Carver, testified in support of S. 2738 and described the insurance problems facing manufactured-home residents. He explained that Carver has multiple manufactured-home villages, including several 55-plus communities, and that older manufactured homes often cannot be insured or are only covered under actual cash value policies. He said premiums have become extremely high—sometimes around $4,000 a year—forcing residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes, to choose between insurance and other necessities. In response to a question, he noted that Carver has about 1,100 manufactured homes out of a town population of 11,800. He then concluded his testimony and was thanked by the committee.
William MacGregor — The chair welcomed Representative William MacGregor, who then identified himself as the District 10th Suffolk District State Representative in West Roxbury and thanked the witness for her advocacy.
Cheryl — The chair thanked Cheryl for her advocacy, likely referring to the witness who just testified.
William Driscoll — The chair announced that Senator Driscoll had joined online as a member of the committee.
Paul Feeney — Addressed as Chair Feeney.
Paul Feeney — Addressed as Chair Feeney at the start of the testimony.