SINCE 2000, 17,496 citizens of Massachusetts have died from an opioid overdose. Half of those deaths came in the last five years. That’s like one of at least 245 communities […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care
The state’s largest employer is changing its name
PARTNERS HEALTHCARE, the state’s dominant health care provider and the largest employer in Massachusetts, is changing its name to Mass General Brigham. The new name shifts the focus of the […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Rate of growth in Mass. opioid deaths slows
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICERWE THE RATE OF DEATHS due to opioid overdoses is slowing in Massachusetts, but still nearly 1,500 people died of an overdose in Massachusetts through the first […]
Posted inUncategorized
Consortium plans to build cell manufacturing facility
A STAR-STUDDED CAST of local academic, business, and hospital institutions is uniting to spend $50 million on an independent, nonprofit cell-manufacturing facility in the Greater Boston area that is expected […]
Posted inOpinion
Vaping spurs fear for next generation’s lung health
VAPING IS AN EPIDEMIC. Since starting its investigation in August 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has documented more than 2,000 cases of vaping-related illnesses and over […]
Posted inHealth Care
Monica Bharel, realistic optimist
MONICA BHAREL, the state’s public health commissioner, is definitely a glass-half-full type of person. On the Health or Consequences edition of the Codcast with Paul Hattis of Tufts University Medical […]
Posted inThe Download
Monica Bharel, realistic optimist
Monica Bharel, the state’s public health commissioner, is definitely a glass-half-full type of person. On the Health or Consequences edition of the Codcast with Paul Hattis of Tufts University Medical […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Time to rise up for healing
WE HAVE FAITH but have lost our patience. As faith leaders with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, we call on state leadership to rise up for healing by lowering the […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Medical marijuana vaping ban up in air
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN THE CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION meets Thursday, it could determine whether Gov. Charlie Baker’s temporary ban on vaping product sales should apply to medical marijuana patients […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
SJC to hear Baker vaping ban case
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT has agreed to hear arguments related to Gov. Charlie Baker’s emergency ban on vaping products, elevating to the state’s highest court a […]
Posted inOpinion
Five takeaways from the Health Policy Commission hearing
THERE HAVE BEEN SEVEN Health Policy Commission cost trend hearings since 2013, but the one that took place recently was the most interesting. Part of it was timing – Gov. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Pressley, immigration services chief tangle at hearing
THE ACTING HEAD of the nation’s immigration services agency, testifying before Congress under subpoena, said he and he alone made the decision to end medical deferred action, which allowed critically ill immigrants […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker overreacting on vaping decision
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER says the courts are trying to restrict his authority to declare a public health emergency, but that claim seems like an overreaction. Baker’s emergency order banning the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Frustration surfaces at Health Policy Commission
THERE WAS A LONG, awkward silence Wednesday when a power-packed panel of CEOs from the state’s largest health care organizations was asked by a member of the Health Policy Commission […]
Posted inHealth Care
Lawmakers: Baker’s health care bill a good start
LAST SESSION, Beacon Hill’s big three – the governor, the House speaker, and the Senate president — each had fundamentally different ideas about how to reform the state’s health care […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker files sweeping health care bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS and insurers would be required to boost their spending on addiction services, behavioral health, primary care, and geriatric services by 30 percent over […]
Posted inPolitics
Does Warren have plan for Medicare-for-All questions?
ELIZABETH WARREN is riding high, polling ahead of Joe Biden in early voting Iowa and New Hampshire, and closing the gap in national polls. But that surge has come with […]
Posted inThe Download
Does Warren have plan for Medicare-for-All questions?
Elizabeth Warren is riding high, polling ahead of Joe Biden in early voting Iowa and New Hampshire, and closing the gap in national polls. But that surge has come with […]
Posted inOpinion
The challenge of aging with autism
WE HAVE MADE SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS in diagnosing, supporting, and educating children and teens with autism, but we are falling behind when it comes to addressing the challenges faced by the […]
Posted inOpinion
Time to rein in step therapy
BEING A MOM of three and a chronic disease patient is already tough enough – without any health insurance issues. I know this from firsthand experience living with a rare […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Walsh flooding the Mass. and Cass zone
BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH intends to flood the area around Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue with outreach workers, public works staff, and police officers in a bid to ease […]
Posted inHealth Care
Telemedicine lagging in Mass.
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CARSON DOMEY, a 15-year-old from Bellingham with Crohn’s disease, tallied up the number of doctor’s appointments he’s gone to and presented a rough total to lawmakers: […]
Posted inHealth Care
BMC chief backs Medicaid for all
KATE WALSH says she favors Medicaid for all, not Medicare for all. It’s not a political slogan you hear much these days, but Walsh, the president and CEO of Boston Medical […]
Posted inThe Download
BMC chief backs Medicaid for all
Kate Walsh says she favors Medicaid for all, not Medicare for all. It’s not a political slogan you hear much these days, but Walsh, the president and CEO of Boston […]