October 2025 update on Health Care Discrimination Bill

Overview of the Issue:

·       People with disabilities are frequently the victims of explicit and implicit bias in the healthcare system. Disabled people may be deprioritized from receiving care, denied lifesaving care, and/or coerced into signing Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders as a condition to receive care. This can have disastrous and deadly consequences.

·       H.1360/S.869 An Act relative to preventing discrimination against persons with disabilities in the provision of healthcare is a bill that protects people with disabilities from life-threatening discrimination in our healthcare system. It ensures that the rules dictating access to lifesaving care do not discriminate against people with disabilities, bans metrics in the provision of healthcare that devalues disabled lives or nondisabled lives, and puts critical protections in place to prevent disabled patients from being pressured to sign Do Not Resuscitate orders.

·       The Senate version of the bill (S.869) received a favorable report from the Joint Committee of Health Care Financing and has now moved into the Senate Ways and Means Committee

·       The House version of the bill (H.1360) is still in the Joint Committee of Health Care Financing

·       It is important to continue putting pressure on legislators to keep the momentum going!

Taking Action

 Action Step 1: Contact House Members on the Joint Committee of Health Care Financing

·       Please contact House members of the Joint Committee of Health Care Financing and ask them to advance H.1360 favorably.

·       You do not need to be a constituent to contact committee members, but if a committee member represents your district, please make sure to tell them you are a constituent! It is especially impactful when legislators hear from their constituents about the issues that matter to them. If you don't know who your legislators are, you can look them up on Find My Legislator.

·       If you would like assistance contacting and/or scheduling a meeting with your representative, please reach out to Sam Fein at 617-624-3277 or sfein@dpcma.org, or Emma Gelbard at egelbard@dpcma.org

·       Below is a sample script that you can use for reference

House Members of the Joint Committee of Health Care Financing:

• John Lawn (Chair)

• Meghan K. Kilcoyne (Vice Chair)

• Dawne Shand

• John Francis Moran

• Tommy Vitolo

• Judith A. Garcia

• Kip A. Diggs

• Lindsay N. Sabadosa

• Chynah Tyler

• Christopher M. Markey

• Hannah Kane (Ranking Minority)

• David K. Muradian, Jr.

• Paul K. Frost

Sample script:

Dear Representative [Rep’s Name]:

My name is [Your Name] and I live in [Town]. [Say something about who you are. Are you a member of the disability community, care for disabled loved one, representative of an organization, etc.? Be sure to mention if you are a constituent of that representative’s district!]

I am requesting to speak with you about S.869/H.1360, the health care anti-discrimination bill. The Senate version of the bill (S.869) recently received a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. I am urging the Joint Committee to vote favorably on the House version (H.1360) as well.

H.1360 is extremely important to me because… [Briefly share your story or why you personally care about this issue].

Thank you so much for your consideration. Please let me know if you are available to meet and discuss this matter further. Our community is counting on you to protect disabled lives by quickly voting H.1360 favorably out of committee!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Action Step 2: Contact Members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee

·       Please contact members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and ask them to advance S.869 favorably.

·       You do not need to be a constituent to contact committee members, but if a committee member represents your district, please make sure to tell them you are a constituent! If you don't know who your legislators are, you can look them up on Find My Legislator.

·       If you would like assistance contacting and/or scheduling a meeting with your Senator, please reach out to Sam Fein at 617-624-3277 or sfein@dpcma.org, or Emma Gelbard at egelbard@dpcma.org

·       Below is a sample script you can use for reference

Members of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means:

·       Michael J. Rodrigues (Chair)

·       Joanne M. Comerford (Vice Chair)

·       Paul R. Feeney (Assistant Vice Chair)

·       Michael D. Brady

·       Nick Collins

·       Brendan P. Crighton

·       John J. Cronin

·       Lydia Edwards

·       Adam Gómez

·       Robyn K. Kennedy

·       Paul W. Mark

·       Liz Miranda

·       Jacob R. Oliveira

·       Pavel M. Payano

·       Michael F. Rush

·       Patrick M. O'Connor (Ranking Minority)

·       Ryan C. Fattman

·       Kelly A. Dooner

Sample script:

Dear Senator [Senator’s Name]:

My name is [Your Name] and I live in [Town]. [Say something about who you are. Are you a member of the disability community, care for disabled loved one, representative of an organization, etc.? Be sure to mention if you are a constituent of that representative’s district!]

I would like to speak with you about S.869, the health care anti-discrimination bill. S.869 recently received a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and is now sitting in the Senate Committee of Ways and Means. Please protect disabled lives by voting the bill favorably out of committee as quickly as possible.

S.869 is extremely important to me because… [Briefly share your story or why you personally care about this issue].

Thank you for your consideration. Please let me know if you are available to meet and discuss this matter further. Our community is counting on you!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]