Massachusetts House Passes Alzheimer's and ALS Bills Unanimously in July Session

Sessions-House · Meeting of July 29, 2026

BOSTON — Massachusetts House passes sweeping Alzheimer's and ALS home-care bills without a single dissenting vote. The chamber approved H5613, an act to improve care and prepare for a new era of Alzheimer's and dementia, 155-0 on roll call 239, and H5612, extending state home-care eligibility to ALS patients under 60, 154-0 on roll call 238. Representative Danielle W.

Gregoire of Marlborough, the bill's lead sponsor, told colleagues that more than 135,000 Massachusetts residents live with Alzheimer's, MassHealth spends "$2 billion with a B dollars annually" on dementia care, and the state's over-70 population will grow 28 percent in the next 15 years. Representative Mark J. Cusack of Braintree said the ALS bill corrects an "inequity" that leaves an estimated 115 patients ineligible for services solely because they are under the age threshold, noting families can face out-of-pocket costs of up to $250,000 a year.

Both bills now go to the Senate, where Gregoire said she hopes action will come "in the next 48 hours or so."

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Source: the Sessions-House meeting of July 29, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.