WHEN I WAS a teenage aspiring journalist in Oklahoma, working as a layout artist for minimum wage in the smoky, ink-fumed newsroom of the Midwest City Sun, I used the […]
Freedom of speech must remain sacred
Posted inThe Codcast
A super PAC longshot
This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Harvard professor Larry Lessig about the ill-fated attempt to restrict Super PAC contributions in Massachusetts and the successful effort in Maine that was struck down by the lower court. The Maine coalition thinks it has a shot at convincing higher courts, not to overturn Citizens United but to embrace an originalist argument to limit money in politics.
Posted inOpinion
Affordable health care for all is the easiest problem to solve in Massachusetts
HEALTH CARE SPENDING in Massachusetts is just about the highest in the world. It is enough to finance health security for all of us. Health security means that we get […]
Posted inHealth Care
Massachusetts braces for ‘gut punch’ of health insurance costs if Congress fails to act
Elected officials, marketplace administrators, and health care advocates are ramping up pressure on Congress to extend Biden-era federal tax credits that help Americans pay for health insurance. Without action, they warn, out-of-pocket costs could increase dramatically.
Posted inOpinion
Sen. Markey: Pass the torch
HAD JOE BIDEN won re-election, he would have been 86 years and two months old at the end of his term. That is four months younger than Sen. Ed Markey […]
Posted inHealth Care
Phoning it in – Mass. residents still lean toward in-person care as telehealth booms
While the rise of telehealth in the early 2020s “did improve access to care,” according to the Health Policy Commission, not everyone is able to use the new virtual hospital landscape. “Specific actions could be taken to further enhance access for more rural and vulnerable populations.”
Posted inHealth Care
Two years after the closure of Leominster’s maternity unit, a region is struggling
It’s been two years since Clinton Hospital’s maternity unit closed. The fallout of the closure paints a complicated picture in a state without maternity care deserts. But experts and advocates say recent losses and impending cuts to Medicaid make maternal health care access in Massachusetts something that stands to get worse.
Posted inOpinion
Trump administration assault on offshore wind is bad for business and our economy
Offshore wind can deliver critical energy needs while supporting the region’s economic growth and job creation. These moves by the administration send a troubling signal to employers: after years of planning, layers of government oversight, and finalized permits that survived court scrutiny – suddenly, there is a government reversal.
Posted inHealth Care
‘The gaps have become too big for too many’
Physicians, policymakers, and advocates hope to make a breakthrough this term on legislation that would boost the share of health care dollars that go toward primary care amid provider burnout and growing wait times for appointments.
Posted inThe Codcast
Health care workers struggle to navigate closures and immigration fears
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith continues health care month coverage in a conversation with 1199SEIU executive vice president Cari Medina and Anestine Bentick, lead medical assistant at South Boston Community Health. They discuss existing pressures on stretched workforces, the impacts of recent closures, and how immigration policy bleeds into the health care space.
Posted inOpinion
I don’t want to close any more mental health centers
The cost of operating our clinic with optimal staffing simply exceeded by a wide margin the amount we received from insurers – largely the state Medicaid program MassHealth – to operate it.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Why elect sheriffs anyway?
The governor appoints a corrections professional to oversee state prisons. So why do we elect people who are essentially regional correctional commissioners, with voters often having little basis to evaluate whether they’re doing a good job or not?
Posted inTechnology
Senate moves to crack down on ‘Wild West’ of data collection
Consumers would gain more control over their data under a new bill set for Senate approval that would also ban targeted advertising to minors.
Posted inState Government
‘It was too effing complicated:’ A pro-housing reckoning over MBTA Communities law
“We crafted this law in a way that we thought was responding to the unique aspect of local control, local decision making, Town Meeting form of government we have in Massachusetts,” said said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, of Abundant Housing Massachusetts, “but that made it incredibly difficult.”
Posted inOpinion
Declines in science scores should prompt big change in schools
It’s time to acknowledge that the way Massachusetts and other states have largely been teaching science isn’t getting the job done and look for better options and bright spots.
Posted inState Government
Beacon Hill lobbying still buoyed by health care interests
New data shows that lobbying remained a lucrative industry in the first half of 2025, especially for firms that count health care companies among their clients.
Posted inEducation
Report highlights persistent challenges in early child care workforce
Despite “fragile progress,” the Commonwealth’s early child care system continues to suffer from a workforce problem, according to a new analysis published by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The report makes several policy recommendations and highlights that the state is losing out on billions in tax revenue.
Posted inThe Codcast
Mass. HHS secretary on protecting health equity and access
On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute spoke with Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, Massachusetts secretary of Health and Human Services, about looming Medicaid cuts, the primary care crisis, and how to make sure the vulnerable can still access health services.
Posted inOpinion
State commission to combat antisemitism misses the mark
Education requires that teachers and students feel free to try out ideas without fear that they will immediately be accused of bias and prejudice. Yet teachers will be forgiven for thinking it is too risky to discuss what American Jews and Israelis openly discuss as part of a genocide education unit.