Testimony Guide for H.1360/S.869 - Healthcare Antidiscrimination Bill 2025
This post, as well as templates for writing your testimony, can be downloaded by clicking this link.
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.
Have you or your loved one experienced discrimination in the healthcare system due to having a disability? Has a healthcare provider denied care or suggested you were less worthy of receiving care because you have a disability? Are you a concerned citizen who has directly witnessed disability discrimination in a healthcare setting? By sharing your experience you can tell legislators why this bill matters and urge them to take action!
Hearing Details and Registration:
The bill will be heard by the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing on Wednesday, June 18 at 11 am. More information about the hearing can be found here: https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5210
The hearing is hybrid – you can testify in-person at the State House, online via Microsoft Teams/Zoom, or submit your testimony in writing. The hearing will also be livestreamed on the State House website.
The deadline for signing up to testify is Friday, June 13 at 4 pm. The registration form is here: https://forms.office.com/g/Y7iKGpgbnR
You do not have to register ahead of time to give in-person testimony, but it’s strongly encouraged. You MUST register ahead of time to testify virtually at the hearing.
After the registration period closes, you will receive an email with further instructions on how to participate.
It is possible to testify anonymously. If you would like to be anonymous, please let Sam know so she can inform the committee ahead of time. When registering, you can use a pseudonym (fake name) if you don’t want your real name to be called.
You can request accessibility services like CART and ASL here: Accessibility Services. If you have additional questions or need assistance requesting accommodations for the hearing, please contact Sam Fein at the Disability Policy Consortium: 617-624-3277 or sfein@dpcma.org
If you are unable to attend the hearing, you still can submit written testimony. You do not need to complete the registration form to submit written testimony.
Testifying in-person:
The State House is located at 24 Beacon Street; Boston, MA 02133. Directions to the State House are here: https://malegislature.gov/StateHouse/Visit
The accessible entrance to the State House is located on the side of the building on Bowdoin Street, and there is a ramp leading to the door. You can check in at the guard shack to the left of the Ashburton Park Entrance. If you're using The RIDE you should use the Capitol Coffee House at 122 Bowdoin Street as the drop-off point. This is across the street from the Bowdoin Street entrance.
The hearing will be held in the Gardner Auditorium. Once inside the building, directions to the auditorium can be found here: malegislature.gov/GetMap/426
If you did not register ahead of time to give in-person testimony, there will be a sign-up sheet at the auditorium.
Testifying remotely:
The virtual platform for giving testimony will be Microsoft Teams. Once the registration period closes, you should receive an email with instructions on how to join the call.
Please remember to register before Friday, June 13 at 4 pm. When registering, indicate that you are testifying as an individual (not on a panel), and put H.1360 or S.869 as the primary bill number.