Signed by Governor Maura Healey

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that increases abortion protections in Massachusetts.

Highlights:

• Prohibits any state or local agency or individual acting on their behalf from cooperating with or providing information to any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency on an investigation or inquiry into legally-protected health care activities (Sec. 2, 17).

• Prohibits evidence of involvement in any legally-protected health care activity from being used as evidence of wrongdoing due to an individual being out-of-state when they received such services (Sec. 2).

• Prohibits the sharing of personal identifiable health information in response to any out-of-state or federal investigation or inquiry into legally-protected health care activities (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits a recipient of individual health information from using such information to conduct a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into a patient (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits electronic communication companies from complying with a subpoena, warrant, or other civil or criminal legal process for records or information relating to a legally-protected health care activity (Sec. 6).

• Authorizes health care providers to request pharmacies to include only the name of the practice, and not the name of the prescribing practitioner, on prescription medication for reproductive or gender-affirming health care services (Sec. 7).

• Specifies that a pharmacy benefit manager may not recoup funds from a pharmacy due to the absence of a prescribing practitioner’s name under this Section (Sec. 7).

• Requires medications prescribed for reproductive or gender-affirming health care services to be excluded from the prescription monitoring program unless its reporting is determined necessary for public health (Sec. 9).

• Prohibits the sharing of disaggregated data or individually identifiable data from the prescription drug monitoring program to a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency for an investigation or inquiry into reproductive or gender-affirming health care services (Sec. 10).

• Requires acute-care hospitals to provide hospital emergency services to patients in the case of emergency medical conditions, including ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss or abortion, active labor, risks to future fertility, preterm premature rupture of membranes, placental abruption or emergent hypertensive disorders, and any other condition deemed to be an emergency by a licensed health care provider in their best medical judgment (Sec. 11).

• Requires any business that electronically stores or maintains medical information related to reproductive health care services, in vitro fertilization, and gender-affirming health care services to develop policies that do the following (Sec. 12):

• Limit user access to health information to individuals authorized in writing by the patient to access such information;

• Prevent the access of health information to any out-of-state entity without written consent of the patient; and

• Automatically disable access by out-of-state entities to segregated medical information without written consent of the patient.

• Prohibits the commissioner of public health from collecting, maintaining, using, disclosing, or disseminating disaggregated or individually identifiable surveillance data on abortions performed in the state (Sec. 13).

• Prohibits the commissioner of public health from collecting, maintaining, using, disclosing, or disseminating disaggregated or individually identifiable data on gender-affirming health care services provided in the state (Sec. 14).

• Prohibits any board of registration from disciplining an individual for providing or assisting in the provision of reproductive or gender-affirming health care services (Sec. 15).

• Prohibits any board of registration from denying an application based on an individual’s record of criminal conviction or charge in another state for providing or assisting in the provision of reproductive or gender-affirming health care services (Sec. 15).

• Specifies that the removal of a child from the care or custody of a parent or guardian in another jurisdiction based on their allowance of the child to receive gender-affirming health care shall not be the basis for adjudicating the child in need of care and protection in this state (Sec. 16).

• Prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against a nonprofit organization, including an adjustment of rates or risk classification, based on the following factors (Sec. 18):

• The organization offers reproductive or gender-affirming health care services;

• The organization engages in a legally-protected health care activity; or

• The organization is or has been the subject of abusive litigation.

• Specifies that a law of a jurisdiction outside of the state that authorizes the removal of a child from custody based on the allowance of gender-affirming health care may not provide a basis to alter custody in this state (Sec. 20-23).

• Specifies that no court may consider the violation of another state’s law banning the provision of gender-affirming health care in a finding of abuse, neglect, or maltreatment in this state (Sec. 20-23).

• Prohibits any attorney from being removed or otherwise disciplined for serving a client in a matter related to the provision of reproductive or gender-affirming health care services that are unlawful in another jurisdiction (Sec. 24).

• Specifies that the provisions of this Act are notwithstanding any requirements of federal law (Sec. 2-24).

• Specifies that Section 7 of this Act takes effect January 1, 2026 (Sec. 25).

• Specifies that Section 12 of this Act must take effect by July 1, 2026 (Sec. 26).

Full Bill Text