Health
Recent
Health Care in the ARPA Bill: Selected Highlights from Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021
This report, done in partnership with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, summarizes key health care funding allocations in this state legislation, which …
The State of FY2022 HWM Budget & Where We Go From Here
Interested in learning more about how the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 House Ways and Means (HWM) budget proposal and federal aid impacts our state budget? …
ALL HEALTH REPORTS
Testimony before the Health Equity Task Force on the importance of work and family mobility for all, regardless of immigrant status
Testimony by Monique Ching, Senior Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, for the Health Equity Task Force public hearing on February 8, …
Bringing in the Relief Part II: The Census Counts for Equity
More than $3.3 billion in CARES Act funding comes to our Massachusetts communities based on population estimates from the census. Learn how the Commonwealth can get its fair share of power and money through a complete, accurate 2020 Census count in our latest report.
Tens of thousands of undocumented, essential workers at risk of lost jobs, lost pay, exposure to COVID-19
Immigrants without status form the backbone of Massachusetts — producing our food, tending to our loved ones, and stocking our supermarkets. But the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread business closures mean many of these undocumented workers have found themselves at risk of losing their jobs, losing income, or being exposed to the virus.
Bringing in the Relief Part I: Federal Fiscal Relief for our State Budget is Critical for a Strong, Just Recovery
For more on federal fiscal relief, read That’s A Relief Part I: Federal Fiscal Relief to Massachusetts in Recently-Passed Legislation and That’s A Relief Part II: Federal Fiscal …
Statement on Reopening the Commonwealth
Read the full statement by Marie-Frances Rivera, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget), in response to the Governor’s Reopening Massachusetts plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Testimony to the Economic Roundtable: We must ensure collective well-being and economic security in the Commonwealth
Read the full testimony from our President, Marie-Frances Rivera, for the Massachusetts Legislature’s April Virtual Economic Roundtable, originally scheduled for April 7, 2020.
Spotlight on Equity: Testing and Treatment for Everyone, Regardless of Income, Health Insurance Coverage, or Immigration Status
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic exposes disparities in our health care system. It also highlights how interconnected we are to each …
How Should Mass. Respond to the COVID-19 Crisis?
We Must Provide Robust Economic Relief and Recovery for Vulnerable Populations and Children in Massachusetts Policy is the lever that we can pull to bring …
What is the Actual State Cost of MassHealth in 2019?
Every month, the MassHealth program (Massachusetts’ Medicaid program) provides health insurance for more than 1.8 million residents of the Commonwealth: children in low-income households; low-wage workers; elders in nursing homes; people with disabilities; and others with very low incomes who cannot afford insurance. This is more than one-quarter of the Commonwealth’s population, including close to half the state’s children. Not surprisingly, such a comprehensive program represents a large share of the state’s budget. But how much?
Analyzing the Governor’s Budget for FY 2020
The Governor’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget proposal provides modest increases in funding for public education, human services, and several other important investments. This new funding does not, in many cases, reverse deep cuts imposed across the state budget after the tax cuts of the late 1990s and early 2000s — despite a decade of expansion in the economy. Lost revenue from tax cuts has limited the Commonwealth’s ability to adequately fund education, infrastructure, and other building blocks of healthy communities and a strong economy.
Five Things to Look for in the FY 2020 Budget
Anyone who has set foot in a public school, driven on a road, or gone to a public park has been touched by the state budget. What we fund in our state budget reflects what we deem important.
None of these essential services would be possible without the revenue to pay for it. Further, it is important to consider whether the state is raising revenue fairly.
As the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget debates kick off this week, here are five questions to consider.
Losing Momentum: March towards health insurance for all Massachusetts residents stalls
Having health insurance helps people afford necessary medical care, which helps them live healthier lives. Massachusetts continues to lead the nation in making sure all its residents have health insurance, but progress has stalled.
Further, some communities of color continue to encounter obstacles to getting health insurance and still see higher levels of uninsurance compared with the state overall.
