The redraft includes $95.6 million for the Department of Children and Families and Department of Transitional Assistance-related child care, plus $94 million for income-eligible child care. It leaves out nearly two-thirds of the House-approved spending, including $43 million for rent assistance, $60 million for home care services and $15.5 million to replace electronic benefits cards vulnerable to fraud.
Sam Drysdale // State House News Service
Posted inHealth Care
State orders open access to free prenatal vitamins, birth control
“We know that prenatal vitamins and birth control play an essential role in women’s health. No one should be prevented from getting the care they need because of cost or because they are waiting for a prescription,” Healey said in a statement.
Posted inPolitics
Healey plans to seek reelection in 2026
“And I feel like we’ve done all those things, and there’s a heck of a lot more to do. And so I plan to run for reelection, because there’s a lot more to do.”
Posted inState Government
With new term dawning, Spilka eyes K-12 funding reform, primary care overhaul
A newly reelected Senate President Karen Spilka previewed some of her legislative priorities for the 2025-2026 session: reexamining the state’s education funding formula, pressing for primary health care delivery reform, and pushing again to expand juvenile court jurisdiction to include young adults aged 18.
Posted inState Government
Convention authority goes with the local candidate
The search for a new leader to take over the agency has taken close to a year, after former executive director David Gibbons stepped down last November.
Posted inCriminal Justice
New State Police chief promises review of training death, mum on staffing changes
Noble said Friday he had not been officially briefed on the investigation into the recruit’s death yet, but that he is aware of the situation and a deeper briefing is shortly forthcoming.
Posted inEnvironment
New Seaport tower showcases low-carbon cement from Somerville firm
The event celebrated the first commercial application of a new type of low-carbon cement, made entirely in Massachusetts, and its use to build Boston’s largest net zero office building.
Posted inHealth Care
Markey threatens Steward’s de la Torre with contempt
“When I voted on July 25 to issue the first subpoena from the Senate Health Committee since 1981, it was not a request for Ralph de la Torre to answer for what he’s done, it was a demand that he answer for what he has done. It was a demand that 15 of my bipartisan colleagues joined,” Markey said.
Posted inHealth Care
Dorchester, Ayer region brace for hospital closures
Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer are slated to close on August 31, but advocates and elected officials say that could be averted if the state were willing to step in.