As a member of the conference committee, Representative Kane will work with her fellow conferees to try to reconcile the differences between Senate Bill 3141, An Act relative to primary care for you, and House Bill 5630, An Act strengthening primary care and advancing health care affordability, to produce a compromise proposal that can be sent to Governor Maura Healey for her review and signature. The Senate approved its bill on June 18 by a vote of 35-4, while the House passed its version unanimously on a vote of 158-0 on July 30.
Joining Representative Kane on the conference committee are Representatives Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) and Meghan Kilcoyne (D-Clinton), as well as Senators Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington), John Cronin (D-Fitchburg) and Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). Her appointment comes less than two weeks after she was named to serve on a conference committee charged with implementing strong workplace protections for the state’s health care workers.
“Both the House and Senate have expressed a desire to invest more in primary care to provide consumers with easier access and to help lower health care costs through preventive care,” said Representative Jones. “Hannah’s longtime advocacy on health care issues and her many years of service as the Ranking Minority House member of both the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the Joint Committee on Public Health make her eminently qualified to help craft a legislative compromise that will support these policy goals.”
"Primary care is the foundation of our health care system," said Representative Kane. "When people have access to high-quality, affordable primary care, they can receive preventative care and early treatment that avoids expensive emergency department visits and hospitalizations, lowering health care costs and reducing burdens for both health care professionals and patients. I look forward to working with the other members of the conference committee to strengthen primary care in Massachusetts."
Both the House and Senate proposals call for increasing investments in primary care services to 15% of total statewide health care spending. The Senate sets 2030 as the target date for attaining this goal while the House establishes a deadline of 2036.
House Bill 5630 imposes restrictions on how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used and requires insurance carriers to disclose their use of automated utilization review tools to health care providers and to the public. The House bill also explicitly prohibits carriers from issuing adverse determinations for coverage based solely on the use of an automated utilization review tool, but the Senate bill does not contain any AI provisions.
Another key difference between the two bills is that, unlike the Senate proposal, House Bill 5630 requires carriers, pharmacy benefit managers and affiliated entities to make at least 80% of estimated drug rebates available to insureds by reducing their cost-sharing at the point of sale. It also includes language requiring the state’s pharmacy board to be
notified at least 60 days before the closing of a pharmacy so it can hold a public hearing to determine if the closure would create a pharmacy desert for area residents and identify alternative pharmacy sources.
Representative Kane is a 2017 recipient of the American Nursing Association of Massachusetts’ Friend of Nursing Award and the 2019 Massachusetts Public Health Association Legislative Leadership Award for her efforts to promote a more effective, efficient and equitable local public health system. She also received the 2022 Vic Karaian Award from the Massachusetts Environmental Health Association in recognition of her leadership and primary sponsorship of the Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community Act (SAPHE 2.0).
Representative Kane represents the 11th Worcester District of Shrewsbury and Precinct 4 in Westborough. In addition to serving as a member of the House Committee on Steering, Policy & Scheduling, she is also the Ranking Minority Member on the House Committee on Ethics; the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing; the Joint Committee on Public Health; and the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
