THANK YOU FOR USING YOUR VOICES! IT PASSED!

They got the message that this bill had a lot of support across our commonwealth!

We need your voice to support protecting women’s healthcare confidentiality. NOW! Please share this post!

Please send an email or call your state Senators by 7am Wednesday morning!
if you are not from Cape Cod – you can find the contact information for your senator here.
(R) Senator Vinny deMacedo Plymouth, Barnstable District Represents Cape Towns: Bourne, Sandwich, and Falmouth
Phone: 617-722-1330, Fax: 617-722-1076 vinny.demacedo@masenate.gov
Julian Cyr (D), Senator, Cape & Islands District (represents all towns on the Cape, (except Bourne, Sandwich and Falmouth)
Phone: 617-722-1570, julian.cyr@masenate.gov,   Hyannis Office:  508-237-7001

They will vote on this issue on Wed, Feb 14, 2018.  Read and/or download a fact sheet, here.

The details from our sisters at NARAL MA:

We made amazing progress this legislative session with the passage of the ACCESS bill, and we couldn’t have done it without you. However, many of the people who were guaranteed comprehensive birth control coverage by the ACCESS bill still have no guarantee that they can receive that health care confidentially.

Healthcare will never be truly available to all people unless they can access it confidentially.  However, under existing law, confidential care is not guaranteed.

The PATCH bill, which is being voted on in the State Senate on WEDNESDAY, will fix this problem:

As it stands, when a dependent receives medical care (for example: HIV testing, pregnancy testing, substance abuse treatment, etc.), the primary subscriber on their insurance will get an “Explanation of Benefits” (EOB) in the mail, detailing the medical services received by their dependents — even if there’s no payment due. If an individual is afraid of their parent or spouse learning this private information, they may instead pay out-of-pocket or forgo care altogether.

That’s where the PATCH bill comes in. PATCH, or An Act to Protect Access to Confidential Healthcare (S.2296), would:

• Give dependent subscribers the opportunity to request ‘member-level’ EOBs, sent directly to the dependent subscriber who received the care, rather than to the primary subscriber on the insurance plan.
• Allow dependent subscribers to receive EOBs at an alternate address or over email.
• Prevent EOBs from being issued if no payment is due, ensuring EOBs are not sent for preventive health services (e.g., a birth control refill, pregnancy or STI test, or domestic violence counseling session).
• Require insurers to use generic information about sensitive health care services on EOBs, such as “office visit” or “medical care” rather than more explicit descriptions of services.
• Require insurers to clearly inform all subscribers of their options to request confidential EOBs.

The State Senate is voting on this bill on Wednesday. In order to get this crucial piece of legislation to the next step, we need your voice.

Will you email your state senator and ask them to vote in favor of this bill?

With your help, we can guarantee that everyone can access the care they need confidentially and safely.

 

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