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H1171 • 2025

An Act concerning the safety of autistic and alzheimer individuals

An Act concerning the safety of autistic and alzheimer individuals

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Colleen M. Garry
Last action
2026-01-23
Official status
Accompanied a new draft, see H4938
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act concerning the safety of autistic and alzheimer individuals

An Act concerning the safety of autistic and alzheimer individuals By Representative Garry of Dracut, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act concerning the safety of autistic and alzheimer individuals By Representative Garry of Dracut, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 1171) of Colleen M.
  • Garry for legislation to provide insurance coverage for the use of electronic tracking devices to protect the safety of persons with Autism spectrum disorder or Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Financial Services.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-23 House

    Accompanied a new draft, see H4938

  2. 2025-09-26 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 10/08/2025 from 10:30 AM-02:30 PM in Gardner Auditorium

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Financial Services

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act concerning the safety of autistic and alzheimer individuals
By Representative Garry of Dracut, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1171) of Colleen M. Garry for legislation to provide insurance coverage for the use of electronic tracking devices to protect the safety of persons with Autism spectrum disorder or Alzheimer’s disease. Financial Services.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
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Bill H.1171

Chapter 118E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 9C the following section:-

Section 9D. (a) Definitions. As used in the section:

(i) “Technology-Assisted Tracking Device” shall mean any wearable device that complies with the following imperatives:

a)Waterproof and able to function under water (which is a major destination as seen above), compliant with IP66 and IP68 standards

b) Works indoors or under cover (Radio Frequency is the best technology for this), and does not need direct line of sight to the sky (GPS)

c) Not dependent on third-party public communication networks (such as cellular, GSM, GPRS, or similar as these are NOT prevalent everywhere)

d) Wrist or ankle strap needs to be tamper-resistant, but changeable by the caregiver directly

e) System specifics need to avoid false alarms in order not to waste LE and SAR time, and have a patient specific code for each device so as to avoid mistaken identities

(b) A health benefit plan shall provide full coverage, subject to all applicable co-payments, coinsurance, deductibles, and out-of-pocket limits, for insured individuals who are diagnosed by a license physician with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or Autism spectrum Disorder, to obtain a Technology-Assisted Tracking Device if they or their guardian choose.

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