Legislation
One of the most effective strategies for improving public health is to develop policies that enhance health and change current policies that are barriers to health. An example of a national policy change was the increase in minimum drinking age to 21 years old. This policy has resulted in a significant reduction in alcohol-related car crashes by young drivers. Policy change is often the result of people advocating for the change they want. Advocacy happens at the local, state, and federal levels. Following is information about some policy advocacy/current legislative initiatives that could lead to healthier communities in western Massachusetts and beyond:
From the Massachusetts Public Health Assocation:
Legislators, Researchers, and Advocates Agree on the Need for Prevention in Payment Reform
A room full of legislators, researchers, and advocates gathered at the State House on Tuesday, May 3, to discuss the importance of including community-based prevention in any payment reform measure in order to improve the health of children and families and reduce the medical costs that have been crowding out other spending.
“By putting inexpensive prevention measures in place, Massachusetts can save billions in health care costs over the next decade,” said Urban Institute Fellow Dr. Brenda Spillman, a speaker at the event and coauthor of the study Potential National and State Medical Care Savings From Primary Disease Prevention.
MPHA Executive Director Valerie Bassett emphasized the need for re-orienting our health care system, which currently spends 97% of its funds caring for individuals once they’ve already become ill, and only 3% on preventing illness from developing in the first place.
Support for the inclusion of prevention in payment reform was expressed by Senator Richard Moore, Senator Harriette Chandler, and Representative Jason Lewis, while Representatives Steven Walsh, Paul McMurtry and staff from Speaker Robert DeLeo’s office were on hand to learn about the research presented. Representative Lewis also spoke on behalf of the bill he has filed to fund a Prevention and Cost Control Trust, which would provide a stable source of funding for community health programs that prevent disease and cut health care costs. Grants provided through the Trust would go directly to communities to fund programs that target the costliest, most preventable diseases that affect the largest number of people or burden certain communities.
Regional Hearings to Gather Input Kicked Off
Yesterday, the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing kicked off a series of hearings on Governor Patrick’s proposal to reform the way that healthcare services are paid for. MPHA participated as a part of the Campaign for Better Care. Hearings will continue at locations around the state and will provide a terrific opportunity to speak up about the importance of community-based prevention.
Press coverage of yesterday's hearing in State House News Service including the call for public health funding: "Health Care For All Executive Director Amy Whitcomb Slemmer said…. “For too many of us, we have a sick care system, not a health care system.” Valerie Bassett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, said focusing on solving public health problems several years ago could have reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in savings. She called for a “prevention trust” to increase investments in public health programs, saying it’s the only way to make a dent in the chronic disease treatment costs that are among the major cost drivers."
Upcoming hearings will be held on:
- Monday, May 23rd at 11:00 a.m. at UMASS Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, 6th Floor of the medical school, Amphitheatre 3
- Monday, June 6th at 11:00 a.m. at Salem State University, 71B Loring Avenue, Central Campus, Marsh 210, Salem
The Committee is also working on scheduling hearings in Southeastern and Western Massachusetts. We will distribute information on those hearings when the details are available. If you are interested in testifying at one of these regional hearings, please contact Maddie Ribble at mribble@mphaweb.org.
Learn More and Get Involved!
To lend your voice to the effort, please sign to a letter to legislative leaders here. To learn more about the campaign, please visit the campaign website.
The campaign for prevention in payment reform is jointly led by the Massachusetts Public Health Association, Health Care For All, the Boston Public Health Commission, and Health Resources in Action.
Posted 5.20.11
Upcoming Hearings on Alcohol Sales and Underage Drinking
Click on the link below to see dates in May 2011 for legislation related to alcohol sales and underage drinking.
Alcohol Sales and underage Drinking
Posted 5.8.11
Upcoming Hearings on Gambling Legislation
Click on the link below to see dates in May, June and July 2011 for gambling-related legislation.
Gambling Legislation Hearings
Posted 5.8.11
Marin Institute Releases Model Bill to Ban Caffeine and Bring Alcopops Down to Size
Marin Institute is now offering states model legislation to expand last year’s federal ban on seven dangerous caffeinated alcoholic beverages by the Food and Drug Administration. The model bill also restricts the size and alcohol content of the new reformulated products and other youth-friendly alcopops. “Our model bill offers states an important tool to help mitigate this public health problem while ensuring that stimulant-laced products do not return to the market,” said Michele Simon, Marin Institute’s research and policy director. For more information, see the press release and download the entire bill here.
President Obama signs the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act!
From Let's Move:
Improves Nutrition and Focuses on Reducing Childhood Obesity
* Gives USDA the authority to set nutritional standards for all foods regularly sold in schools during the school day, including vending machines, the “a la carte” lunch lines, and school stores.
* Provides additional funding to schools that meet updated nutritional standards for federally-subsidized lunches. This is an historic investment, the first real reimbursement rate increase in over 30 years.
* Helps communities establish local farm to school networks, create school gardens, and ensures that more local foods are used in the school setting.
* Builds on USDA work to improve nutritional quality of commodity foods that schools receive from USDA and use in their breakfast and lunch programs.
* Expands access to drinking water in schools, particularly during meal times.
* Sets basic standards for school wellness policies including goals for nutrition promotion and education and physical activity, while still permitting local flexibility to tailor the policies to their particular needs.
* Promotes nutrition and wellness in child care settings through the federally-subsidized Child and Adult Care Food Program.
* Expands support for breastfeeding through the WIC program.
Increases Access
* Increases the number of eligible children enrolled in school meal programs by approximately 115,000 students by using Medicaid data to directly certify children who meet income requirements.
* Helps certify an average additional 4,500 students per year to receive school meals by setting benchmarks for states to improve the certification process.
* Allows more universal meal access for eligible students in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school-wide income eligibility.
* Expands USDA authority to support meals served to at-risk children in afterschool programs.
Increases Program Monitoring and Integrity
* Requires school districts to be audited every three years to improve compliance with nutritional standards.
* Requires schools to make information more readily available to parents about the nutritional quality of meals.
* Includes provisions to ensure the safety of school foods like improving recall procedures and extending hazard analysis and food safety requirements for school meals throughout the campus.
* Provides training and technical assistance for school food service providers.
Posted 1.04.11
Marin Institute Releases Model Bill to Ban Caffeine and Bring Alcopops Down to Size
Marin Institute is now offering states model legislation to expand last year’s federal ban on seven dangerous caffeinated alcoholic beverages by the Food and Drug Administration. The model bill also restricts the size and alcohol content of the new reformulated products and other youth-friendly alcopops. “Our model bill offers states an important tool to help mitigate this public health problem while ensuring that stimulant-laced products do not return to the market,” said Michele Simon, Marin Institute’s research and policy director. For more information, see the press release and download the entire bill here.
The Good Samaritan Bill
It's now a new legislative session and a new opportunity to pass the Good Samaritan Bill in Massachusetts!
The Good Samaritan Bill would provide limited immunity or protection from drug possession charges for people who call 911 to seek emergency medical attention during an overdose. Currently, many individuals across Massachusetts are afraid to call 911 during an overdose out of fear of arrest. This fear may lead to unnecessary deaths across the Commonwealth.
Here are some facts about the Good Samaritan Bill, as well as a form about getting involved in the Good Samaritan Coalition. If you have not already done so, please consider joining the Good Samaritan Coalition! You may contact Maryanne Frangules of the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) directly at MOARfran@aol.com for more information about how to get involved.
Preventing Fatal Overdoses in Massachusetts 2011-2012
An Act to Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths (SD D1415)
Sponsored by Senator Steven Tolman
An Act Relating to Controlled Substances and Medical Treatment (HD 02783)
Sponsored by Representative Alice Peisch
An Act Providing Limited Immunity from Prosecution for a Person Who seeks to Obtain Medical Assistance for a Drug Related Overdose (HD 01501)
Sponsored by Representative William Galvin
Summary and Background:
From 2002-2008, 3,859 Massachusetts residents died from opioid-related overdoses (e.g. heroin, oxycodone, or fentanyl)1. Most of these deaths could have been prevented. In most cases if 911 is called quickly enough, the victim will survive, but fear of police involvement and criminal prosecution prevents many people from calling for help. Immediately calling 911 could also help prevent permanent damage to the victim’s brain or body caused by lack of oxygen during an overdose. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is a strong proponent of this measure.
What the law will do:
• Protect people from prosecution for possession of illegal drugs when calling 911
• Save lives and give people who use opioids a chance to get help for their addiction
• Increase the likelihood of 911 being called after an overdose
What the law will not do:
• Does not interfere with law enforcement securing the scene at an overdose
• Does not prevent prosecution for drug trafficking
• Does not prevent prosecution for outstanding warrants
What is the difference between the bills?
The 911 Good Samaritan Bills offer limited immunity or protection from drug possession charges against people who call 911 to seek emergency medical attention during an overdose. Senator Tolman’s proposal includes liability protection for those who:
• Legally prescribe naloxone (Narcan®), a medication that can reverse an opiate related overdose
• Possess and/or administer naloxone to someone appearing to have an opiate related overdose
Quick Facts:
* The 911 Good Samaritan bill does not interfere with law enforcement efforts to assess the scene of an overdose for public safety.
* Studies show over 50% of persons interviewed reported they did not call 911 during an overdose due to their fear of police involvement 2, 3, 4.
* More deaths occur in private settings, where people are less likely to call 911 due to fear of police involvement. Bystanders are more likely to call for help in overdoses that occur in public settings than in private settings such as homes or hotels and research indicates that the majority of fatal overdoses occur in private settings.
* In 2008, community assessments were done in Brockton, Cambridge, Charlestown, Fall River, Gloucester, Jamaica Plain/Roxbury, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester. Fear of police involvement was the major reason given for not calling 911; a leading contributing cause of Massachusetts fatal overdoses.
* As of December 2010 more than 8,400 persons have been trained how to use naloxone in the state’s overdose prevention program. As a result, 833 overdoses were reversed, which means 833 persons are alive who otherwise may not be.
* In 2008, the US Conference of Mayors unanimously urged all state governments to adopt emergency “Good Samaritan” laws.
* New Mexico and Washington State enacted a Good Samaritan law receiving positive reports from community and law enforcement members. Similar life-saving legislation is pending in several other states including Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and Nebraska.
Contact
Maryanne Frangules
Massachusetts Organization for Addiction and Recovery (MOAR)
617-423-6627
maryanne@moar-recovery.org
Deborah Silva
AIDS Action Committee
617-450-1315
dsilva@aac.org
About the Good Samaritan Coalition:
The 2011-2012 Massachusetts 911 Good Samaritan Coalition is a group of organizations and individuals committed to preventing fatal opioid overdoses in the Commonwealth. We support policy change that provides limited legal immunity or protection to persons calling 911 seeking emergency medical attention during an overdose.
You and/or your organization can help by joining us!