☘️☘️ Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! ☘️☘️
It’s hard to escape the presence of St. Patrick’s Day here in Massachusetts. In Boston, celebrations abound, from the annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast and Parade, both held yesterday in South Boston, to gatherings celebrating Irish music and food today. Shamrocks, and everything green dominate the day. St. Patrick’s Day did not always look like this: did you know that, once upon a time, the color of St. Patrick’s Day was BLUE, not green? On a more serious note, being Irish was not always so celebrated and respected: there was a time where the Irish were subject to the worst of nativism and discrimination.
Today, as I recognize St. Patrick’s Day in my green shirt and enjoying the last crumbs of my neighbor’s fresh-baked soda bread, I think about the history of immigration and of anti-immigrant sentiment in Massachusetts and the rest of the country. And I hold onto the hope that, even in the face of setbacks, we continue our work, and our labors contribute to keeping that arc of the moral universe inclined towards justice.
Topics for this week’s Health Announce:
- BOH dismissal client stories needed!
- Attorney General guidance for Massachusetts healthcare providers of gender-affirming care.
- Reminder, this Wednesday: Immigrant and Benefits Training and Immigrants’ Day at the State House.
- HCWG next Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
Be well,
Jennifer Hotchkiss Kaplan
Senior Health Law Attorney
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
1. BOH dismissal client stories needed!
The Health Unit at MLRI seeks client stories of recent cases where the MassHealth Board of Hearing (BOH) has dismissed a fair hearing request – whether made over the telephone or using the fair hearing form – for failure to include a copy of the notice of decision.
Currently, the BOH has a policy of dismissing timely-filed requests for fair hearings because the appellant did not include the notice of decision. There is no basis in federal or state regulations to require a copy of the notice of decision with a request for fair hearing. Advocates sent a letter to the MassHealth Board of Hearings (BOH) pushing for changes to their policy last October, but the BOH has kept this policy. It is particularly illogical in the context of telephonic appeals, where every appeal successfully made over the phone violates the paperwork requirement. While the BOH has reinstated appeals when a copy of the notice of decision is later provided, we are concerned that many more MassHealth members simply lose their right to a fair hearing because they don’t know they can challenge the dismissal.
Please email your client’s stories to jkaplan@mlri.org. Once we collect a few examples, we will be stepping up our advocacy to get BOH to change this illegitimate policy.
2. Attorney General guidance for Massachusetts healthcare providers of gender-affirming care.
Attached below is a Q&A guidance issued by the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell titled Information for Massachusetts Health Care Providers Regarding Gender-Affirming Care. The guidance addresses the recent Executive Orders and federal guidance issued around transgendered youth who receive or are seeking gender-affirming care and their effects.
The guidance affirms that federal law does not ban gender-affirming care and, importantly, state law protects access to gender-affirming healthcare services. Moreover, Massachusetts has civil and criminal laws to protect providers from threats, intimidation, and harassment because of their work providing gender-affirming care.
3. Reminder, this Wednesday: Immigrant and Benefits Training and Immigrants’ Day at the State House.
On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, MLRI will chair MLRI: Immigrants & Public Benefits, an all-day training on how immigration status affects eligibility for state and federal public benefits. The agenda includes presentations on:
- Health Benefits & Immigrants
- Immigrants, Documents, and Public Charge
- Cash & Nutrition Benefits
- Housing & EA Shelter Benefits
- Know Your Rights
The program is offered in person at the MCLE Conference Center in Boston, as well as via live webcast. Faculty include experts from MLRI, GBLS, and the MIRA Coalition. Register here.
Also on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) is holding their 29th Annual Immigrants’ Day the State House (IDSH). This two-day event actually begins the day before, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, with MIRA’s Immigrant Rights Conference to prepare for IDSH the next day.
4. HCWG next Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
On Wednesday, March 26, 2025, from 3pm to 4:30 pm, the Healthcare Work Group (HCWG) meets. We will discuss recent MassHealth updates, BOH dismissal practice, and any cases people want to brainstorm around. If you have any additional topics or issues you’d like to put on the agenda, please let me (jkaplan@mlri.org) know.
