November 19, 2025
UPDATES:
Great news! At literally the last possible moment (late in the day on 10 October), both sides of Joint Committee on Public Health voted to report the PSYPACT bills (H.2528 / S.1487) favorably out of committee. Now, these bills need to get through fiscal review so they can reach the floor!
NEXT STEPS:
Contact legislators (if you would like to understand the legislative detail, see the next section below)
Contact legislators that are in a leadership role or sponsored the bills - by phone or email.
Contact legislators that are on the Health Care Financing or Ways and Means committees - by phone or email.
Ask your own legislators to urge forward these bills - by phone or email. If you aren't sure who your legislators are, go here.
Post your heart out on social media w/ relevant hashtags: #MApoli (for MA political topics) #PsyPactMA #PsyPactNow #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAccess #MentalHealthAwareness #Telehealth #MAPsychologists and/or legislator's tags (many go by @RepLastName or @SenLastName).
Sample text you can use --
A) No one should be forced to lose their therapist just because they move to another state, whether to go to college, get another job, take care of family emergencies, or even just enjoy summer vacation.. But in Massachusetts, that’s exactly what happens — because we still haven’t joined PsyPact, the interstate compact that 43 other states already use to protect continuity of care and client choice.
B) Massachusetts is behind the curve. Forty-three other states have already joined PsyPact, a bipartisan solution that makes mental health care far more accessible across state lines and greatly increases the options for vulnerable clients who need high-quality specialty care.
C) Both sides of the Joint Committee on Public Health reported the bills favorably. Now, we are in the fiscal-review stage -- both the House Committee on Health Care Financing and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means need to understand that the direct cost of these bills is trivial (just $10 per participating psychologist per year, capped at $6000 -- that's couch-cushion money!) and that they streamline administrative burdens such that it will likely save money.
D) Both chambers’ Public Health committees have already agreed: PsyPact is a good bill. Now the fiscal committees simply need reassurance that the price tag is tiny—about $10 per psychologist per year, capped at $6,000—and that the administrative efficiencies will likely save money in the long run. A small investment unlocks huge gains in access, continuity, and client wellbeing.
E) Massachusetts families shouldn’t have to choose between staying with a trusted therapist and handling real-life transitions like college, job changes, or caregiving. PsyPact offers a ready-made, bipartisan framework—already embraced by 43 states—that protects continuity of care and expands access to specialized mental health services. It’s time for Massachusetts to finally catch up.
F) You can also send the fiscal document at the bottom of the Fiscal Impact page.
Legislative Details --
The next step for any bill is "fiscal impact review" -- those who help manage state budget need to figure out whether or not the Commonwealth should pay for it. The House version of the bill was sent to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, and the Senate version was sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. We need both of these committees to agree that PsyPact is totally worth it. Please visit the Fiscal Impact page right now for an explanation of expected financial impact on Massachusetts, based upon impact reported for other states (extremely minimal).
Over 8,000 bills have been filed during this legislative session. If they don't hear from their constituents about how much we really need them to pass a specific bill, they assume that there isn't enough support for it.
Click here to learn more about PsyPact, what you can do right now to help (no matter where you live), and to get scripts for phone calls, social media posts, and other tools to help educate the public and increase pressure on the lawmakers to do the jobs we sent them to the State House to do.
Click here to find out if you are one of the most important people at this moment, those whose legislators are on the key committees.
#mapoli #MentalHealthAccess #PsyPactMA
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October 2025:
Welcome! This site is a central hub for Massachusetts psychologists and allies who want to help move key legislation forward — especially the PsyPact bill, which will expand access to mental health care, strengthen our profession, and bring Massachusetts in line with 43 other states (and counting!) which have already implemented this simple and inexpensive legislative improvement to the outdated and fragmented licensing system.
We know it’s hard to keep track of deadlines, drafts, and legislative updates. That’s why everything you need to take action — background info, timelines, scripts, letter templates, and one-pagers to share with colleagues and friends — is gathered here.
This page is very much a work-in-progress -- we're getting things set up as soon as we can. If you have other ideas for advocacy, or if you would like to help us improve this page, please let us know!
Quick Links:
Note: this website is NOT an official publication of the Massachusetts Psychological Association. It was created by individual psychologists, advocating as individuals on behalf of our professional colleagues and on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth.