On July 22nd, House Bill 4891, An Act promoting access and affordability of prescription drugs was released from the House Committee on Ways & Means (HWM). Amendments to the bill were due later on July 22nd with anticipated debate occurring on July 24th. This bill is the House rewrite of…

On July 15th, Senate Bill 2871, An Act enhancing the market review process was released from the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM). Amendments to the bill are due by July 16th with anticipated debate occurring on July 18th.This bill is the SWM rewrite of healthcare legislation engrossed by…

On June 6th, the Health Equity Compact held their second annual Health Equity Trends Summit.  For the event, MTF worked with Compact staff to create summary fact sheets on notable health equity accomplishments over the last year, both in and out of the public sector at the state government and…

On October 30, 2023, Senate Bill 726, An Act protecting the homes of seniors and disabled people on MassHealth was reported favorably from the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM), where it remains. The bill reported from Health…

On May 14th, House Bill 4643, An Act enhancing the market review process was polled out of the House Committee on Ways and Means (HWM). Members filed amendments to the bill on Tuesday, and it will be debated before the full House on Thursday, May 16th.The bill is a redraft of H.4620, which was…

MassHealth, the state’s combined Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program [CHIP], provides healthcare coverage to Massachusetts’ highest need residents. MassHealth enrollees have access to doctor and hospital visits, prescription drugs, and other important healthcare services.1 The program…

On November 9th, Senate Bill 2499, An Act relative to pharmaceutical access, costs, and transparency was polled out of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM). Senators will have until 5pm on November 13th to file amendments to the bill, and it will be debated before the full Senate next week…

Health and human services’ current structure does have advantages, said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonprofit budget watchdog. The marginalized communities the office is most likely to serve tend to need assistance from several public programs at once, and…

Eileen McAnneny, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and a commission member, said she became aware through that work of the variation in public health services. “You can compare and contrast Boston, that has a robust public health department, to small towns in…

AS THE PRESIDENT of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, I spend a lot of time considering ways to reduce health care costs.  In my opinion, the best way to reduce health care costs is not to incur them at all. A well-functioning public health system can be an effective tool for reducing…