H 5645

HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 5645
   The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  ________________________________________
  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, August 10, 2026.
    The committee on Health Care Financing, to whom was referred the
Bill promoting consumer choice in health care (House, No. 4953), reports
recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment
substituting therefor the accompanying bill (House, No. 5645) [Cost:
Greater than $100,000.00].
  For the committee,
  JOHN J. LAWN, JR.
  FILED ON: 7/31/2026
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 5645
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
An Act promoting consumer choice in health care.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1SECTION 1. Section 54A of chapter 71 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2022
2 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “eleven C“, in line 3, the
3 following words:- or a licensed athletic trainer, who have completed the annual head injury
4 safety training, as required by 105 CMR 201.007.
5SECTION 2. Said section 54A of chapter 71 is hereby further amended by inserting at the
6 end thereof the following sentence:-
7A licensed athletic trainer shall be employed by a superintendent or school committee at
8 every high school in the commonwealth offering interscholastic athletic activities.
9SECTION 3. Section 8A (b)(7) of chapter 69 is hereby amended by inserting the word
10 “athletic” after “coaches” and before “trainers”. Section 8A (c) of chapter 69 is hereby amended
11 by inserting the word “athletic” after “coaches” and before “trainers”.
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12SECTION 4 . Chapter 176O of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
13 section 30 the following section:
14Section 31. A licensed athletic trainer, acting with a referral from a physician, who acts
15 within the scope of practice authorized by law shall not be denied reimbursement by a carrier as
16 defined under this chapter, for those covered services if the carrier would reimburse another
17 health care provider for those services.
18This section pertains only to those health plans that provide coverage for a particular type
19 of health service, or for any particular medical condition that is within the scope of practice of
20 licensed athletic trainers.
21Services provided by licensed athletic trainers may be subject to reasonable deductibles,
22 co-payment and co-insurance amounts, fee or benefit limits, practice parameters, and utilization
23 review consistent with applicable rules adopted by the division of insurance; provided that the
24 amounts, limits, and review shall not function to direct treatment in a manner unfairly
25 discriminative against athletic trainer care, and collectively shall be no more restrictive than
26 those applicable under the same policy for care or services provided by other health care
27 providers.
28Nothing in this section shall be construed as impeding or preventing either the provision
29 or coverage of health care services by licensed athletic trainers within the lawful scope of athletic
30 trainer practice.
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