WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

S 468

Pooling Precincts in Municipal Elections

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Tom Young

Create a statewide dementia plan with public awareness, improved data reporting, and a Director to coordinate care and implementation.

Referred to Committee on Judiciary
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 468

Summary — S.468 (Senate Docket No. 2319)

An Act to improve care and prepare for the new era of Alzheimer’s and dementia

Note on document inconsistencies
- The metadata provided includes an unrelated short title (references to a tax credit and the “SECURE Firearm Storage Act”) and a mixed set of sponsors/actions. The bill text filed as Senate No. 468 is a Massachusetts bill focused on Alzheimer’s/dementia public awareness, data collection, and care coordination. This summary reflects the substantive text of Senate No. 468 as provided.

Main purpose

To strengthen Massachusetts’ public health response to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias by (1) creating a statewide public awareness and education effort on brain health and dementia, (2) improving dementia-related data collection and reporting, and (3) establishing a Director of Dementia Care and Coordination to oversee implementation and interagency coordination.

Key provisions

  1. Public awareness and education (adds Section 245 to Chapter 111)

    • Department of Public Health (DPH), in partnership with the Executive Office of Aging and Independence, the state Alzheimer’s advisory council, and stakeholders, must develop an ongoing public awareness campaign on brain health and dementias.
    • Campaign objectives include:
      • Educating health care providers on early detection, validated cognitive assessment tools, treatment options, and relevant Medicare/Medicaid care-planning billing codes.
      • Raising public awareness of early warning signs, the value of early diagnosis, and risk-reduction measures — with emphasis on culturally relevant, health-literate messaging for diverse, higher‑risk communities.
      • Informing professionals and the public about dementia care coordination services and available supports for people living with dementia and their caregivers.

  2. Data collection and reporting

    • DPH must integrate CDC’s Healthy Aging Program modules on Subjective Cognitive Decline or Caregiving into the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on a rotating annual basis to collect prevalence and trend data.
    • By January 1, 2027, and biannually thereafter, DPH must report to the Joint Committee on Public Health and the state Alzheimer’s advisory council about work on the CDC’s Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map.
    • The Massachusetts State Health Assessment and related tools must include, where available, data on racial and ethnic disparities in dementia and BRFSS-derived cognitive decline and caregiving data; reports must be aggregate and de‑identified.

  3. Director of Dementia Care and Coordination (adds Section 16GG to Chapter 6A)

    • Creates a Director position within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), appointed by the Secretary, responsible for coordinating implementation of the Alzheimer’s State Plan, supporting the advisory council, coordinating outreach with DPH and community organizations, ensuring service access and quality, and regularly assessing dementia-related training requirements across professions (text of some duties truncated in provided version).

Who is affected

  • People living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and their families/caregivers.
  • Health care providers, long‑term care and home‑and‑community‑based services professionals, and first responders (training implications).
  • State agencies (DPH, EOHHS, Executive Office of Aging and Independence), area agencies on aging, and community organizations.
  • Populations at higher risk for dementia (with targeted outreach intended).

Timeline, procedures, and fiscal notes

  • Mandatory reporting begins January 1, 2027, and continues biennially.
  • BRFSS module inclusion is to occur on a rotating annual basis.
  • The bill text establishes duties but does not specify appropriation amounts or detailed staffing/fiscal impacts in the provided excerpt; hiring the Director and implementing campaigns/data activities will have administrative costs that would be addressed during budget review.

Legislative status and next steps (from provided record)

  • Introduced in the Massachusetts Senate (filed 1/17/2025); referred to relevant committees (Elder Affairs / Aging & Independence / Public Health) with hearings scheduled; associated drafts and companion bills are noted. Further committee consideration and budget review likely required.

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

Sign in to ask a question.