HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3658        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3841

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to require public universities to provide medication abortion.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3658        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3841

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act to require public universities to provide medication abortion.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following 2 sections:-

Section 45. (a) As used in this section and section 46, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Commission”, the commission on the status of women established pursuant to section 66 of chapter 3.

“Medical abortion” or “medication abortion” , an abortion procedure that is not a surgical procedure and that utilizes a prescription drug or medication technique to induce an abortion.

“Medical abortion readiness”, includes, but is not limited to, assessment of each individual health center to determine facility and training needs before beginning to provide medical abortions, purchasing equipment, making facility improvements, establishing protocols, creating patient educational materials, and training staff. “Medical abortion readiness” does not include the provision of medical abortions.

“Public university health center” or “health center”, means a clinic or health center providing primary health care services to students operated by a university or college within the system of public institutions of higher education.

“Public University Health Center Sexual and Reproduction Health Preparation Fund”, the fund established pursuant to subsection (a) of section 46.

(b) On and after January 1, 2022, each public university health center shall offer medical abortions to its patients.

Section 46. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Public University Health Center Sexual and Reproduction Health Preparation Fund for medical abortion readiness. The fund shall be administered by the commission on the status of women established pursuant to section 66 of chapter 3. The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; and (ii) funds from non-state entities, including, but not gifts, grants and donations from private entities and local and federal government agencies.  Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

(b) The commission shall utilize fund moneys to do all of the following:

(1) Provide, subject to available funding, a grant of $200,000 to each public university health center to pay for the cost, both direct and indirect, of medical abortion readiness.  Allowable expenses under these grants include, but are not limited to, the following:

(i) the purchase of equipment used in the provision of medical abortions;

(ii) facility and security upgrades;

(iii) costs associated with enabling the health center to deliver telehealth services;

(iv) costs associated with training staff in the provision of medical abortions; and

(v) staff cost reimbursement and clinical revenue offset while staff are in trainings.

(2) Provide, subject to available funding, a grant of $200,000 to any university or college operating a health center, to pay for the cost, both direct and indirect, of the following, for each university or college:

(i) providing 24-hour, backup medical support by telephone to patients who have obtained a medical abortion at a public university health center;

(ii) one-time fees associated with establishing a corporate account to provide telehealth services; and

(iii) billing specialist consultation.

(3) Paying the costs of the commission, both direct and indirect, associated with administration of the fund, including the costs of hiring staff, not to exceed $2,400,000.

(4) Maintaining a system of financial reporting on all aspects of the fund.

(c) Each public university student health center grantee shall, as a condition of receiving a grant award from the fund, participate in an evaluation of its medical abortion readiness and its provision of medical abortions.

(d) Nothing in this section or section 45 shall be interpreted as requiring a university or college from utilizing its general fund moneys or student fees for medical abortion readiness before January 1, 2022.

(e) The commission, working with the public university health centers, shall assist and advise on potential pathways for their health centers to access public and private payers to provide funding for ongoing costs of providing medical abortions.

SECTION 2. (a) On or before December 31, 2020, and on or before December 31 of each year thereafter until December 31, 2025, the commission on the status of women shall submit a report to the clerks of the house or representatives and the senate, including, but not necessarily limited to, all of the following information for each reporting period:

(i) the number of universities or colleges within the system of public institutions of higher education that operate a public university health center, as that term is defined in section 45 of chapter 15A of the General Laws.

(ii) the number of medical abortions performed at a public university health center, disaggregated, to the extent possible, by the public university health center.

(iii) the total amount of funds granted by the commission to the university or college and its respective public university health center pursuant to section 46 of chapter 15A of the General Laws that is expended on medical abortion readiness, as that term is defined in section 45 of said chapter 15A, and, separately, the total amount of any other funds expended on medical abortion readiness and the source of those funds, disaggregated by function and, to the extent possible, disaggregated by health center.

(iv) the total amount of funds expended on the provision of medical abortions and the source of those funds, disaggregated by function and, to the extent possible, disaggregated by health center.

(b) The reports required in subsection (a), and any associated data collection, shall be conducted in accordance with state and federal privacy law, including, but not necessarily limited to, section 70E of chapter 111 of the General Laws, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. section 1232g, and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Public Law 104-191.

SECTION 3.  Section 46 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, inserted by section 1, is hereby repealed.

SECTION 4. Section 3 shall take effect on January 1, 2022; provided, however, that if the funding requirements provided in said paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of section 46 of chapter 15A of the General Laws have been fully satisfied as of January 1, 2022, any funds remaining in the Public University Health Center Sexual and Reproduction Health Preparation Fund established in section 46 of chapter 15A of the General Laws shall be transferred to the General Fund; provided further, that if such funding requirements have not been satisfied as of January 1, 2022 then 50 per cent of the funds remaining in said fund shall be allocated equally among each public university health center for the purposes set forth in said paragraph (1) and 50 per cent of the funds remaining in said  fund shall be allocated equally among each university or college operating such a health center for the purposes set forth in said paragraph (2).