§ 38C — Health insurance coverage; mandated health benefit bills; review and evaluation; report

Section 38C. (a) For the purposes of this section, a mandated health benefit proposal is one that mandates health insurance coverage for specific health services, specific diseases or certain providers of health care services as part of a policy or policies of group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance covering persons in the service of the commonwealth, and group general or blanket insurance providing hospital, surgical, medical, dental, and other health insurance benefits covering persons in the service of the commonwealth, and their dependents organized under chapter 32A, individual or group health insurance policies offered by an insurer licensed or otherwise authorized to transact accident or health insurance organized under chapter 175, a nonprofit hospital service corporation organized under chapter 176A, a nonprofit medical service corporation organized under chapter 176B, a health maintenance organization organized under chapter 176G, or an organization entering into a preferred provider arrangement under chapter 176I, any health plan issued, renewed, or delivered within or without the commonwealth to a natural person who is a resident of the commonwealth, including a certificate issued to an eligible natural person which evidences coverage under a policy or contract issued to a trust or association for said natural person and his dependent, including said person's spouse organized under chapter 176M.(b) Joint committees of the general court and the house and senate committees on ways and means when reporting favorably on mandated health benefits bills referred to them shall include a review and evaluation conducted by the center for health information and analysis pursuant to this section.(c) Upon request of a joint standing committee of the general court having jurisdiction or the committee on ways and means of either branch, the center for health information and analysis shall conduct a review and evaluation of the mandated health benefit proposal, in consultation with other relevant state agencies, and shall report to the committee within 90 days of the request. If the center for health information and analysis fails to report to the appropriate committee within 45 days, said committee may report favorably on the mandated health benefit bill without including a review and evaluation from the center.(d) The party or organization on whose behalf the bill was filed shall provide the center for health information and analysis with any cost or utilization data that they have. All interested parties supporting or opposing the bill shall provide the center for health information and analysis with any information relevant to the division's review. The center shall enter into interagency agreements as necessary with the office of Medicaid, the group insurance commission, the department of public health, the division of insurance and other state agencies holding utilization, cost or claims data relevant to the center's review under this section. Such interagency agreements shall ensure that the data shared under the agreements is used solely in connection with the center's review under this section, and that the confidentiality of any personal data is protected. The center for health information and analysis may also request data from insurers licensed or otherwise authorized to transact accident or health insurance under chapter 175, nonprofit hospital service corporations organized under chapter 176A, nonprofit medical service corporations organized under chapter 176B, health maintenance organizations organized under chapter 176G, and their industry organizations to complete its analyses. The center for health information and analysis may contract with an actuary, or economist as necessary to complete its analysis. The report shall include, at a minimum and to the extent that information is available, the following:(1) the financial impact of mandating the benefit, including the extent to which the proposed insurance coverage would increase or decrease the cost of the treatment or service over the next 5 years, the extent to which the proposed coverage might increase the appropriate or inappropriate use of the treatment or service over the next 5 years, the extent to which the mandated treatment or service might serve as an alternative for more expensive or less expensive treatment or service, the extent to which the insurance coverage may affect the number and types of providers of the mandated treatment or service over the next 5 years, the effects of mandating the benefit on the cost of health care, particularly the premium, administrative expenses and indirect costs of large employers, small employers, employees and nongroup purchasers, the potential benefits and savings to large employers, small employers, employees and nongroup purchasers, the effect of the proposed mandate on cost shifting between private and public payors of health care coverage, the cost to health care consumers of not mandating the benefit in terms of out of pocket costs for treatment or delayed treatment and the effect on the overall cost of the health care delivery system in the commonwealth;(2) the medical efficacy of mandating the benefit, including the impact of the benefit to the quality of patient care and the health status of the population and the results of any research demonstrating the medical efficacy of the treatment or service compared to alternative treatments or services or not providing the treatment or service; and(3) if the legislation seeks to mandate coverage of an additional class of practitioners, the results of any professionally acceptable research demonstrating the medical results achieved by the additional class of practitioners relative to those already covered and the methods of the appropriate professional organization that assures clinical proficiency.(e) The center for health information and analysis shall issue a comprehensive report at least once every 4 years on the cost and public health impact of all existing mandated benefits. In conjunction with this review, the center shall consult with the department of public health and the University of Massachusetts Medical School in a clinical review of all mandated benefits to ensure that all mandated benefits continue to conform to existing standards of care in terms of clinical appropriateness or evidence-based medicine. The center may file legislation that would amend or repeal existing mandated benefits that no longer meet these standards.