As Washington retreats from biomedical research, threatens the stability of Medicaid, and creates growing uncertainty around public health, Massachusetts is taking a different approach. Lawmakers on Beacon Hill used the last two years of its legislative session to tackle some of the Commonwealth’s most pressing health care challenges, from primary care shortages and home care oversight to Alzheimer’s disease, health care workforce safety, and access to cutting-edge diagnostic testing.
Taken together, these efforts demonstrate a central theme for Massachusetts lawmakers: we can and should strengthen our health care infrastructure here at home at a moment when federal leadership is increasingly uncertain. But with several major proposals still awaiting final action, the question now is whether Massachusetts will finish what it started.
I wrote about this last weekend for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. You can read more here.
