Roy on WCVB Addresses MassSave Problems -- And Celebrates Signing of Step Therapy Bill

Rep. Jeffrey N. Roy sat down with WCVB Channel 5’s Ben Simmoneau to talk about problems with Mass Save and the long delays and missing payments due to customers seeking rebates toward new heating units. Ben leads the station’s nationally recognized consumer reporting franchise, “Ben Has Your Back.”
Mass Save is an initiative sponsored by Massachusetts’ natural gas and electric utilities and energy efficiency service providers, to provide a wide range of services, incentives, trainings, and information promoting energy efficiency that help residents and businesses manage energy  use and related costs.
NewsCenter 5 took the complaints about processing rebate delays to Rep. Roy as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. Rep. Roy has also heard similar complaints directly and has been working with the utilities to make improvements in the service.
"It’s absolutely not satisfactory for there to be long delays in the delivery of payments," Roy said. "A reasonable amount of time to get these rebates is six to eight weeks. Beyond that is unreasonable.," Roy said.
At the start of the year, the state's utilities — which run Mass Save — restructured the program with the state’s approval, slashing many rebates for natural gas, oil or propane while increasing money for electric heat and implementing new energy savings programs. The goal is to move homes away from heating directly with fossil fuels and toward what will soon hopefully be a greener electric grid.
Rep. Roy says the utilities blamed those changes for some of the delays. Mass Save processes 100,000 rebate submissions every year, which requires a number of due diligence checks. Roy noted that helping folks get their rebates from Mass Save is important for our climate change efforts.
Rep. Roy says if delays and communication do not improve, the state will force the utilities to fix it.
"There should be an easy way for you to get information," Roy said. "I don't care whether it's an email or a website, there should be an ombudsman available to address that."

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Roy-Decker Step Therapy Bill Signed by Governor

Patients in Massachusetts will have better access to a wider array of medications after Rep. Jeffrey N. Roy’s step therapy bill was signed by Gov. Charlie Baker last week. Roy filed the bill in the House with Rep. Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge). The bill will curtail the policy of insurance providers insisting on lower-cost treatments before approving coverage of more expensive medications.
"We've heard countless stories of patients being forced to take drugs that their health insurers want as opposed to what their doctors think is best," said Rep. Roy. "This is a great, common-sense measure to help patients get the care that their physician believes they need. It removes needless insurance protocols that delay necessary treatment and access to medication and removes the barriers that interfere with sound medical judgments made within the confines of the physician-patient relationship.”
The new law requires insurance providers to approve or deny step therapy exemption requests within three business days, or 24 hours in an emergency, meaning faster access to the more expensive drugs. It is a win for patients who would otherwise have to go through a lengthy authorization or review process.
Roy further noted the old "Fail First" practice was untenable for obvious reasons. “Adding to patient stress by delaying access to the medicine they need is unacceptable,” he added. “We live in a state that has some of the best healthcare in the world and this legislation restores access to that great system for all patients. I thank the many volunteers and advocacy groups who shared stories and pushed for this bill.”
Patients will be eligible for an exemption from the step therapy process if the cheaper drugs would harm them, if they have already tried and failed to improve on the drugs, if the treatment would be ineffective or if they're already stable using their preferred medication.
Advocates opposed to step therapy had been working for years to convince Beacon Hill leaders to limit or ban the practice.
Rep. Roy’s floor remarks on the bill are available at https://youtu.be/6zYy_HgR8Ag
For more information on Jeffrey Roy, please visit http://jeffreyroy.com/.