Rep. Jack Lewis Votes to Aid Financially Strained Hospitals

(Framingham – September 30) Representative Jack Patrick Lewis joined House colleagues in voting for a supplemental budget bill that protects health care access for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable communities and supports fiscally-strained hospitals and community health centers. The bill, H.4530, invests tens of millions into health care centers that prioritize the needs of low-income, uninsured, or underinsured residents across the state– including the MetroWest Medical Center.

“Massachusetts is a nationwide leader in health care access, and today we doubled down on that reputation. I am honored to join my colleagues in supporting our Commonwealth’s hospitals,” noted Rep. Jack Lewis (Framingham). “I specifically want to highlight the millions that the MetroWest Medical Center will receive through this supplemental budget, which will safeguard access to the life-saving medical care that so many in our region need.”

The legislation, H.4530, addresses a widening funding gap in the Health Safety Net program, which pays acute care hospitals and community health centers for necessary medical care for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured Massachusetts residents. Reckless federal policies and funding shortfalls have exacerbated the fiscal strain on these vital institutions that serve people most in need.

This legislative response provides critical relief in the face of an unfriendly federal government and economic headwinds, distributing aid based on criteria that directs funding to vulnerable populations most in need of assistance.

“Massachusetts has a healthcare ecosystem that is the envy of other states, and that doesn’t happen by accident. Supporting every resident is part of what it means to be a leader in healthcare access,” noted Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “This funding will help our hospitals and community health centers provide high-quality care in every region, and provide critical services to our veterans, seniors and municipalities. I’m grateful to Chair Rodrigues for his leadership, Senator Friedman for her unrivaled expertise, my Senate colleagues for their work, and our partners in the House for their support.”

“This funding will help to ensure that financially strained hospitals and community health centers can continue to serve patients across Massachusetts,” noted House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (Quincy). “As broad fiscal uncertainty and actions taken by the Trump Administration continue to exacerbate the challenges that hospitals are already facing, this supplemental budget is the latest example of the work that we are doing here in Massachusetts to provide targeted support where it is needed most. I want to thank Chair Michlewitz, Chair Lawn and all my colleagues in the House, as well as our partners in the Senate, for recognizing the need for this funding, and for sending it to the Governor’s desk for her signature.”

“This relief package will offer critical relief towards hospitals and community health centers all across the Commonwealth. In the midst of serious turmoil and spending cuts from the federal government, these funds will provide immediate assistance to our most vulnerable populations,” detailed Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (Boston). “I want to thank Speaker Mariano, my colleagues in the House, as well as my counterparts in the Senate for their attention and timeliness in seeing this vital funding move quickly through the Legislative process.”

“The Health Safety Net is a vital safeguard for uninsured and underinsured residents of the Commonwealth,” noted Representative John J. Lawn, Jr. (Watertown), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. “By investing in acute care hospitals and community health centers, the funding allows providers to continue to deliver high-quality care and supports our health care workforce. The Commonwealth will not turn away patients, abandon providers or retreat from our responsibility to ensure that every resident has access to high-quality care.”

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