HEALTH CARE
CommonWealth Beacon dives into the present and future of health and wellness in Massachusetts through its coverage of medical breakthroughs, regional disparities, insurance reshuffles, and the nitty-gritty of health policy.
House votes 119-33 to pass abortion law changes
The bill scraps the four types of exemptions currently outlined in statute for life-threatening situations for the mother or fetus, instead giving deference to doctors’ professional judgment.
Small businesses still in line for double-digit health premium increases — with some relief
Newly approved health insurance premium rates in the so-called merged market mean hundreds of thousands of Bay Staters will face average increases of more than 10 percent in 2027.
House eyes passage of bill altering criteria for late-term abortions
The bill would eliminate the existing criteria that allows for abortions to be performed 24 weeks or later into a pregnancy. Instead, leaving it up to the professional judgment of the physician performing the abortion.
House counteroffer to primary care may focus on prescription drugs
Pressed about aspects of a potential health care bill, House Speaker Ron Mariano said, “I know the committee, health care policy, has done an awful lot of work in prescription drug stuff, so we’ll start probably with that, and see where that takes us.”
Healey intervenes as Brigham nurses, home care workers prepare to strike
Healey held a meeting Monday afternoon with leaders from Mass General Brigham and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, though no bargaining committee members attended.
Merrimack Health shutters Methuen maternity unit a month earlier than expected
The three-campus health system first announced its plans to shutter the obstetric unit and consolidate its maternity and neonatal services at Lawrence General Hospital, which is less than two miles away, on April 1. But on June 23, administrators informed Methuen nurses that they would cease admissions to the hospital’s maternity unit in six days.
As measles cases rise across the country, Mass. legislators face a decision on a key vaccine bill
As concern over the nationwide spread of measles grows, advocates for legislation intended to boost childhood vaccinations in Massachusetts have their fingers crossed that the bill, after being filed four times, will finally make it to passage this year.
Regulators attach conditions to MGB-CVS MinuteClinic plan
Regulators have been intrigued about the prospect of an innovative care model to expand primary care access, but the sticker shock continues to linger and the HPC said Thursday it “remains uncertain” whether or when MinuteClinic will “provide comprehensive, high-quality primary care.”
Senate ready to force more money toward primary care — and away from specialists
Inviting a political fight with influential hospital systems, the Senate plans to approve legislation that would more than double the share of health care dollars that go toward the ailing primary care sector.
Policy Points: Takeaways from the 2026 Medicaid Summit
As the agency navigates how to minimize coverage losses, cope with federal funding cuts and keep MassHealth members informed, the 2026 Medicaid Summit on Tuesday brought together state government policy experts and researchers from around the country to make sense of the impacts of the nearly one-year-old federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Health insurers seek double-digit premium hikes on small businesses, again
A year after Gov. Maura Healey dubbed health insurance premium increases “simply unsustainable,” carriers are once again pursuing sizable rate changes that will fuel ongoing debate about the state’s affordability.
Record-smashing tobacco verdict doesn’t warrant a new trial, SJC rules
Massachusetts’s highest court on Wednesday affirmed $56 million in punitive damages in a wrongful death suit against tobacco giant Philip Morris, rejecting the company’s argument that a jury’s initial award was so extreme it demonstrated prejudice requiring a new trial.
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