Relates to medical use of psilocybin; appropriation

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Leroy Comrie and 5 co-sponsors

Codifies the Hospital to Home Partnership Program, embedding an ASAP liaison in each participating hospital to boost discharges to home/community and reduce institutional care.

REFERRED TO FINANCE

Summary — S.495 (2025) — "An Act to codify the Hospital to Home Partnership Program"

Note on discrepancy: The bill metadata you provided lists a different title ("Relates to medical use of psilocybin; appropriation"), but the full bill text submitted and the Senate docket (No. 495 / SD 1616) establishes a “Hospital to Home Partnership Program.” This summary addresses the hospital-to-home bill text.

Main purpose

To codify within Massachusetts law a “Hospital to Home Partnership Program” housed in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). The program’s mission is to promote partnerships between acute care hospitals and Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs) to improve coordination with community providers, support institutional diversion, and increase rates of hospital discharge to home and other community‑based settings rather than to skilled nursing facilities or other institutions.

Key provisions

Adds a new Section 4½ to Chapter 19A of the General Laws establishing the Hospital to Home Partnership Program within EOHHS.

Requires that each participating acute care hospital have at least one ASAP staff person serving as a Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Hospital Liaison.

Liaison role: support hospital efforts to connect patients to HCBS programs and community services to enable discharge to home/community rather than institutional placement.

References statutory definitions:

“Acute Care Hospitals” per section 25B of Chapter 111.
“Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs)” per section 4B of Chapter 19A.

Who is affected

Acute care hospitals: required to participate (if participating) and host ASAP liaison(s).

ASAPs and their staff: responsible for providing HCBS liaisons embedded in hospitals.

Patients (particularly older adults and persons needing post‑acute supports): intended beneficiaries via greater access to community‑based supports and increased opportunities to be discharged home.

Community providers and HCBS programs: expected to coordinate more closely with hospitals.

Potential impact and considerations

Intended outcomes: better hospital–community coordination, reduced institutional placements, increased discharges to home, and potentially lower post‑acute institutional costs.

Implementation issues not specified in the text: funding, exact staffing ratios beyond “no less than 1” per participating hospital, timeline for rollout, metrics for success, and whether participation is mandatory or voluntary.

No appropriation language or specific budget amounts appear in the provided text.

Legislative status and timeline highlights

Introduced in the Senate: February 10, 2025 (presented by Senator John C. Velis and multiple co‑petitions).

Referred to various committees (Elder Affairs; Aging and Independence; Finance) with hearings noted (hearing scheduled 05/12/2025; other committee activity recorded).

Actions include accompaniment by a new draft (S.2607) and referral to Finance; current status listed as REFERRED TO FINANCE.

Sponsors / petitions

Presented by John C. Velis; petition signed by multiple state senators (list in bill text).

(Meta data lists “Joni Ernst (primary)” and several related/companion bills; those appear inconsistent with the Massachusetts bill text and may reflect a data mix.)

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact statutory insertion language for quoting,
- Compare S.495 with the related draft S.2607,
- Draft potential fiscal questions the Finance Committee may ask.