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SD 1557

An Act relative to premium impact statements

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Joan Lovely

Requires premium impact statements for health care regulations and for related bills, with CHIA analysis, to disclose potential effects on Massachusetts health insurance premiums.

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Bill Summary · SD 1557

Summary: An Act relative to premium impact statements (Senate Docket No. 1557)

Bill at a glance
- Bill Number: SD 1557 (Senate No. 885)
- Title: An Act relative to premium impact statements
- Sponsor: Senator Joan B. Lovely (Second Essex)
- Status: Introduced and filed in the 194th General Court; Senate Docket No. 1557, filed January 16, 2025. (No final status provided in the supplied material.)
- Context: Similar measure previously filed in 2023-2024 (Senate No. 773).

Purpose and intent
- The bill would require a formal “premium impact statement” for proposed or amended health care or health insurance-related regulations, as well as for health care or health insurance-related bills or petitions. The core aim is to assess and disclose the potential effect on health insurance premium rates for Massachusetts residents before action is taken.

Key provisions

1) Section 1 – Requirement for premium impact statements on regulations
- Before any healthcare or health insurance-related regulation is adopted, amended, or repealed, a state agency must:
- File a public notice with the Secretary of the Commonwealth that includes a premium impact statement.
- The premium impact statement must evaluate the potential impact of the proposed regulatory action on health insurance premium rates in Massachusetts.
- Provide the public an opportunity to present data, views, or arguments concerning the impact statement.
- Before adopting the proposed regulation, file an amended premium impact statement with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

2) Section 2 – Premium impact statements for legislation; CHIA involvement
- Any joint committee, house committee, or senate committee may report favorably a bill or petition related to health care or health insurance only if that bill or petition has first received a premium impact statement conducted by the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA).
- Committees must refer all healthcare and health insurance–related bills or petitions to an accompanied study order pending a final CHIA report pursuant to this section.

Who is affected

  • State agencies proposing healthcare or health insurance regulations.
  • Massachusetts residents, whose premium costs could be impacted by regulatory actions.
  • Legislative committees considering health care or health insurance legislation.
  • The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA), which would conduct premium impact statements for bills and petitions.
  • The Secretary of the Commonwealth, who would receive premium impact statements filed with the official record.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Regulatory actions: Agencies must prepare and publish a premium impact statement before adopting, amending, or repealing health care or health insurance regulations; statements must be publicly accessible, with opportunities for public input; amended statements must be filed prior to final adoption.
  • Legislation: Committees can only report favorably on healthcare-related bills or petitions if a CHIA-conducted premium impact statement exists; such bills/petitions would be routed to an accompanying study order while awaiting CHIA’s final report.
  • CHIA involvement: The bill emphasizes CHIA as the central evaluator of premium impact statements for legislation, linking regulatory actions and legislative proposals to documented premium effects.

Notes
- The bill references a related matter filed in a prior session (S.773 of 2023-2024), indicating continued interest in formalizing premium impact analyses for health care policy in Massachusetts.

Overall impact
- If enacted, the bill would add a structured, transparent process to evaluate how health care regulations and related legislation could affect insurance premiums, potentially influencing both regulatory decisions and legislative outcomes through enhanced analysis and public input.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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