SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1009        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Liz Miranda

_________________

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 relative to culturally competent and effective health care.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1009        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1413 OF 2023-2024.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

_______________

An Act relative to culturally competent and effective health care.

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 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 244 the following new section:-   

Section 245: Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, the Board of Registration in Medicine shall collect data and information concerning the cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and educational composition of the physician workforce. The Board of Registration in Medicine shall provide such data to the Center for Health Information and Analysis, to be made publicly available for the purposes of assessing the impact of physician workforce diversity and health outcomes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  

(a) The Board of Registration in Medicine shall request all applicants who submit applications for licensure under Section 2 of Chapter 112 of the Massachusetts General Laws on or after January 1, 2027, to provide the following information with their application:  

1. Demographic information, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, and gender              

identity.  

2. Linguistic information   

3. Medical specialty/subspecialty  

4. Primary and secondary practice location, if known at the time of application; 

5.  Duration of practice in Massachusetts; and  

6. Employment status: Part-time / full-time / per diem  

(b) The Board of Registration in Medicine shall ask all license holders to provide the following information when they renew their licenses on or after January 1, 2027, in addition to any other information required by the relevant disciplining authority:  

1. The information in subsection a(1) through (6) of this section, except, after license holders who have provided this information one time, they shall be requested to provide only changes to this information with subsequent renewals;  

2. Whether the licensee is currently practicing;  

3. Primary and secondary practice location at the time of renewal; and

4. Employment status: Part-time / full-time / per diem

(c) License applicants and licensees are not required to provide the requested data, participation shall be voluntary. Data collected under this section shall be held separately and will not be considered part of determinations for granting or renewing licensure.   

(d) Data collected under this section shall be aggregated, de-identified and made publicly available by the Center for Health Information and Analysis website no more than 60 days after the end of each year.  

(e) The Board of Registration in Medicine and The Center for Health Information and Analysis shall not sell the information collected pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) of this section to any third party.  

SECTION 2. The Center for Health Information and Analysis shall report on the data collected under this section to the Clerks of the House and Senate, the Joint Committee on Public Health, and the Department of Public Health no later than February 28th of each calendar year.  

SECTION 3. This act shall become effective 90 days after enactment.