BOSTON (WPRI) ─ Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a wide-ranging health care bill codifying many of the emergency changes made to the system in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The key provisions of the new law include:
- Requiring coverage of telehealth services including behavioral health care
- Expanding Scope of Practice for Advanced Practice Nurses and Optometrists
- Increasing disclosures around provider costs and network status to protect consumers from surprise medical bills
- Removing barriers to urgent care centers for MassHealth members
- Extending insurance coverage and access to COVID-19 testing and treatment
- Directing a study and report of the impacts of COVID-19 on the health care system
“Massachusetts has long been a leader in ensuring health care quality and access and with this new law, we are making further progress in building a strong, accessible and affordable health care system, a goal that is more important now than ever,” Baker said.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is not releasing updated COVID-19 data Friday because of the holiday, adding that the data released on Saturday will cover two days.
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