STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Plans to tackle hospital pricing are emerging as a flashpoint in the Senate’s health care reform bill, with the head of Massachusetts General Hospital decrying an […]
Katie Lannan
Posted inEconomy
State officials unveil their Amazon proposal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FROM THE HOME of the New England Patriots to a mall in Leominster to oceanfront property in Lynn, 26 different sites in Massachusetts want to host […]
Posted inPolitics
Healey approves 21 initiative petitions
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWENTY-ONE INITIATIVE PETITIONS, including proposals to raise the minimum wage and lower the sales tax, are one step closer to appearing before voters after clearing Attorney […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker makes last-minute sales tax holiday pitch
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Gov. Charlie Baker is mounting a late bid to return the popular sales tax holiday this year, formally asking lawmakers who have already begun their summer […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker signs pot bill, raises concerns
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed a law on Friday overhauling the marijuana legalization measure voters put on the books in November, and immediately afterward offered a cautious […]
Posted inHealth Care
House poised to reject Baker’s MassHealth reforms
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BAKER ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS on Tuesday urged lawmakers to get on board with reforms to rein in costs at MassHealth, but the House is poised on Wednesday […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Criminal justice reform at the State House
STATE HOUSE NEWS FOR MONTHS, CRIMINAL justice advocates have said this legislative session is the time for Beacon Hill to tackle sweeping reforms aimed at reducing recidivism and incarceration rates, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Guns, State House News Service
Feds crack down on Lawrence drug network
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THIRTY PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED Tuesday on gun, drug, and immigration charges in a sweep that brought down a Lawrence-based network that Acting US Attorney William Weinreb […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker backs Paris climate accord
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Students had prepared Wednesday to attempt to persuade Gov. Charlie Baker to speak out in support of the Paris climate change agreement. Instead, they ended up […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Senate budget pinned on shaky revenue projections
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE WAYS AND MEANS Committee members on Tuesday unanimously approved a $40.3 billion spending plan for fiscal 2018 that they said recognizes the state does not […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Health panel finds some common ground
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER SIX MONTHS OF SEEKING WAYS to address the variation in prices charged by Massachusetts medical providers, officials plan to recommend a host of solutions including […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Opioid deaths continued to climb in 2016
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DYING from opioid overdoses in Massachusetts each year continues to climb, according to a new state report projecting an estimated increase of […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Panel considers hospital price floor
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OFFICIALS EXAMINING VARIATIONS in prices charged by medical providers on Tuesday floated the idea of setting a minimum rate for hospitals at the bottom end of […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Two longtime reps skip speaker vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWO LONGTIME MEMBERS of the House, both with a prickly history with Speaker Robert DeLeo, opted out of voting for DeLeo’s reelection to the post, even asking […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Rosenberg: Legal age for marijuana use should be 25
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG WANTS his fellow lawmakers to consider raising the age for legal marijuana use to 25, a policy change he expects to be […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Activists fear criminal justice reform will be limited to probation, parole
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ENDING MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR drug offenses will be a top priority next year for criminal justice reform advocates, who said they are worried legislation from Beacon […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
$1b Children’s Hospital expansion approved
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE State health officials on Thursday gave Boston Children’s Hospital the green light to move forward with a controversial $1 billion expansion. The Public Health Council voted […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
Baker dumps more workers at DCR
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER A DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION official was fired and another resigned, management changes are in the pipeline at the agency whose personnel has recently […]
Posted inHealth Care
Insurers raise concerns on Children’s
THE MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH PLANS on Monday urged the Department of Public Health to reconsider its conditional support for a proposed expansion at Boston Children’s Hospital. Lora Pellegrini, the […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Baker’s DPH backs Children’s expansion
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH has recommended approval of a $1 billion expansion at Boston Children’s Hospital, a step that moves the controversial project closer […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Health panel raises concern on Children’s expansion
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PROPOSED EXPANSIONS at Boston Children’s Hospital carry a likelihood of increased health care spending in Massachusetts and could potentially drive competing providers out of business, according […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Mass. health care spending up 3.9%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Spending on health care in Massachusetts rose to $57.2 billion in 2015, growing more slowly than in 2014 but for the second straight year outpacing the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate chamber to undergo renovations
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER THE NEW LEGISLATIVE TERM begins in January, the state Senate plans to abandon its historic chamber and begin meeting in two temporary workspaces elsewhere in […]
Posted inGun ownership, Guns, State House News Service
Mass. mayors back AG on assault weapons
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY faced a barrage of criticism in the weeks following her announcement of stepped up enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban, but […]
