Massachusetts Legislature Hears Case for Child Celiac Screening Pilot Program

BOSTON — March 23, 2026 — Massachusetts lawmakers heard strong support for a three-year celiac disease screening pilot and sharp opposition to a medical spa regulation bill at a March 23 Joint Committee on Public Health hearing. Representative Badger and Senator Lovely testified in favor of companion bills H. 5013 and S. 2928, which would add a celiac blood test to routine cholesterol screenings for children ages 8 to 12, citing estimates that 80 to 83 percent of U.S. celiac patients — between 1.4 and 2.4 million people — remain undiagnosed. Dr. Maureen Leonard of Mass General Brigham for Children said screening roughly 1,500 children would be sufficient to generate statistically meaningful prevalence data for the commonwealth. On the medical spa side, Jessica Taco, a retired lobbyist representing a coalition of 1,500 licensed providers, called H. 5087 "very contradictory to Massachusetts state law" and said the bill's language was largely copied from 2013 regulations that no longer reflect current scopes of practice — a concern echoed by nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and a Dedham med spa owner who holds one of only nine specialized DPH licenses of its kind in the state. No votes were taken.