Other Key Agencies

Numerous additional state agencies support, regulate, review or otherwise administer healthcare in Massachusetts. Click on the name of one of the individual agencies listed below for more information on their work, and MHA’s related advocacy and outreach efforts.
02.10.2020  | Hospitals Saving Lives Inside and Outside of Their Walls
MHA has produced a publication – A Commitment to Community: Massachusetts Hospitals’ Community Benefit Initiatives – that details stories showing how hospitals are improving the health of individuals and communities.
11.25.2019  | 3 Bills –Kid’s Health, Tobacco, Safe Driving – Await Gov’s Signature
Three bills that MHA and its membership have endorsed throughout their journey in the State House were passed by the legislature last week.
11.04.2019  | If You Created an Expensive Health Plan, You Can Help Pay for It
Does an insurance company bear any responsibility for the expensive, impractical policies they are selling?
10.21.2019  | Governor Baker Lays Out Newest Health Reform Plan
Governor Charlie Baker last Friday introduced the latest legislative proposal to reform the state’s healthcare system.
09.02.2019  | Are You Prepared?
DPH’s Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management has announced details of its “Know, Plan, Prepare” campaign to alert individuals and organizations about disaster preparedness materials.
08.19.2019  | DOI Specialing Update
DOI issued a communication on August 2nd to fully insured health plans providing guidance on coding and billing for additional services (“specialing”) that may be necessary for admissions to inpatient psychiatric units as part of the commonwealth’s E
08.19.2019  | Safe Patient Handling Conference
The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, is pleased to host an all-day, hospital-based safe patient handling program on Friday, Sept
08.19.2019  | Boston Medical Center Offering Opioid Use Disorder Training for ED Nurses
Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, through funding from the state Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, is holding a series of trainings across the state for emergency department (ED) nurses on treating opioid use disorder in ED
08.19.2019  | MHA Telemedicine Webinar
MHA will host a webinar, “Telemedicine in Massachusetts: Opportunities and the Current Regulatory Landscape,” on Friday, September 27th from 10-11:30 a.m.
08.19.2019  | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan Announce Merger Plan
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan, the second- and third-largest health insurers in Massachusetts, respectively, on Wednesday announced plans to merge.
08.12.2019  | Lehman Center Issues Expert Panel Report on Emergency Department Safety
The Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety released a new report Thursday offering recommendations to aid and bolster safety improvement efforts in Massachusetts emergency departments (EDs).
04.29.2019  | Task Force Issues 17-Step Guidance to Reduce Sepsis in EDs
The Massachusetts Sepsis Consortium, led by the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety, has released a report containing 17 recommendations that hospitals and emergency departments can undertake to reduce incidences of sepsis.
04.08.2019  | A Reasoned Argument for a Sugary-Drink Tax
Last week, The Berkshire Eagle editorial board weighed in on the proposal to tax sugary drinks.
03.04.2019  | State to Insurance Company: Not so Fast
The health insurer United Healthcare has been planning a benefit change whereby patients would be required to receive outpatient elective advanced radiologic imaging in non-hospital settings.
02.18.2019  | DOI to Insurers: Don’t Judge People that Possess Narcan
Last year, an insurance company denied life insurance coverage to a Boston Medical Center (BMC) nurse because she included Narcan on her application’s medication list.
02.11.2019  | Letting Nurses Care for Their Patients – Wherever They Are
MHA, ONL and others are strongly supporting a bill that would authorize Massachusetts to join 31 other states that have adopted the national Nurse Licensure Compact.
01.07.2019  | MHA Releases Medication for Addiction Treatment Guidelines
MHA has released guidelines to assist hospitals develop appropriate programs to administer and/or prescribe Medication for Addiction Treatment in their EDs or satellite emergency facilities.
12.03.2018  | Clinician and Staff Peer Support Program
The Betsy Lehman Center is seeking five pilot hospitals to participate in creating a peer support program to help clinicians and other staff deal with medical errors and other unexpected patient outcomes.
10.22.2018  | Behavioral Health is at Risk from Question 1
Behavioral beds will close if Question 1 passes and there are not enough RNs available to fulfill the staffing mandates.
09.24.2018  | Kudos to Lawrence General (and a Caution About Ratios)
Congratulations to Lawrence General Hospital which treated a large influx of patients from the gas explosions that rocked the towns of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover.

Resources

Click on the links below for easy access to important information related to state healthcare issues and advocacy.


Visit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts websites below to find information on legislative hearings and other meetings of interest to the healthcare community.


To guide your navigation of the legislative process and assist your advocacy efforts, please visit the following state websites: