Senate gives a pass to MassHealth Equality bill

Though the much-anticipated repeal of the 1913 law was not taken up by the House, the Senate effectively passed the MassHealth Equality bill on July 23, taking another large step toward completing the marriage equality movement begun by the Goodridge decision.

"I'm just relieved," said state Rep. Liz Malia (D-Jamaica Plain), who sponsored the bill in the House, of word that the Senate had effectively passed the bill. "There's a couple of technical things we have to take care of, but I think there's a very good chance of it getting through."

"This is a terrific day -- we have spent the past four years working to ensure marriage equality is made real by passage of this important legislation. Medicaid has protections for married couples and the same- sex married couples of Massachusetts should be eligible for those protections," said Dale Mitchell, president of the LGBT Aging Project, in a statement.

The bill requires the state to treat married same-sex couples the same as their heterosexual peers in administering benefits through MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program. Because MassHealth is federally funded and cannot legally recognize same-sex marriages in light of the 1996 federal DOMA, same-sex married couples cannot access many of the financial protections and benefits for spouses that other married couples receive. Malia's bill would have the state pay the extra costs for whatever services same-sex couples would receive through MassHealth if they were recognized by the federal government. The bill passed the House on a voice vote during an informal session on July 15.

On July 23, the Senate heard a report from the Senate Ways and Means Committee, recommending new language in the bill strengthening the state's commitment to providing same-sex couples with the same protections as heterosexual couples, regardless of "federal financial participation." The bill was then passed by the Senate on a voice vote in an informal session, to be "engrossed" by the House, meaning that it will go back to House review with the amended text, where it is likely to pass again. Conley said the House could simply concur with the Senate language in a voice vote.

Still, Malia cautioned, "But this is a time of year when there's no definites, so until the prize is in hand."

Bill Conley, lobbyist with the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, which worked with Malia and the LGBT Aging Project to lobby for the bill's passage, said that at this point, timing is the only thing that could stop the bill's final passage.

"The runway is very short at this point and they have many, many things to do, but there should be no opposition to the amended version," Conley said, explaining that the Legislative session ends July 31and "many things won't be done before the end of it."

"But," he continued, "the chief sponsor is Liz Malia and she is terrific at working with leadership. She will ensure that it gets leadership support and we're reasonably confident that it will be passed and the governor will sign it." Gov. Deval Patrick has been a staunch supporter of marriage equality.

Others also see the Senate's engrossing the bill as extremely positive. Marc Solomon, executive director of MassEquality, which was also involved in the lobbying, lauded the state's efforts, and in particular, the work of Rep. Malia's and Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), in ensuring total marriage equality in the state.

"It's just fantastic and I think it shows the commitment to being a model to the rest of the country. It shows that our legislators are proud of being first and proud of doing the right thing on marriage equality," he said, adding that legislators have basically said, "we're going to take action to compensate for the federal government's discrimination."

State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson (D-Boston), who was the main Senate sponsor of the bill, said that she sees the bill as a "technical correction to full marriage equality here in Massachusetts" and "important protections for gay and lesbian seniors."

"Same-sex couples will now be covered by the same plans and enjoy the same benefits as other married couples and I see this as a very positive development," she said, in an e-mailed statement to Bay Windows.
Conley concurred. "It's a key part of finishing up and completing the Goodridge decision," he said.