Press Release: 9/18/2025

Legislature Approves Support for Fiscally-Strained Health Care Institutions

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September 18, 2025

 



Bill Directs $234 Million in Aid to Hospitals and Community Health Centers Around Massachusetts



(BOSTON—9/18/2025) The Massachusetts Legislature today enacted a supplemental budget bill that prioritizes care for the state’s most vulnerable populations by strategically targeting support to fiscally-strained hospitals and community health centers.



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,” said 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,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-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 Chairman Michlewitz and 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 collaborative agreement reaffirms our strong commitment to support our most vulnerable populations. A critical injection of aid for hospitals and CHCs will help these institutions as they face escalating health care costs which are exacerbated by economic uncertainty and a hostile federal government,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “I am especially proud that this agreement includes direct financial relief to community health centers, which serve as the backbone of health care for our most at-risk communities. We also smartly bolster the Health Safety Net program, which has been adversely impacted by the continuing discord at the federal level.”



“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,” said Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means (D-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.”



“Our hospitals and community health centers continue to step up to care for those most in need despite being under enormous financial pressure,” said Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. “New policies from the federal government will only exacerbate the strain on our health care infrastructure, so for Massachusetts to continue to be a leader in providing exceptional health care, we need to ensure that care is accessible, especially to our most vulnerable populations. This supplemental budget provides necessary funding to help live up to this goal.” 



“The Health Safety Net is a vital safeguard for uninsured and underinsured residents of the Commonwealth,” Representative John J. Lawn, Jr. (D-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.”



Strengthening Massachusetts Hospital Systems



The funding agreement makes $199 million available for eligible high public payer acute care hospitals across the Commonwealth through an approach that maximizes federal financial reimbursements, stabilizes the Health Safety Net Trust Fund, and makes targeted payments to hospitals to maximize the impact of taxpayer dollars.




  • Provides $122 million in targeted relief payments to certain acute care hospitals utilizing eligibility criteria designed to maximize the impact of taxpayers’ dollars for those hospitals and communities which need it most. The eligibility criteria include:

    • Each hospital’s patient mix, prioritizing those which serve the greatest share of the state’s low-income population.

    • Each hospital’s affordability, prioritizing those which provide services at the most affordable prices.

    • Each hospital’s financial standing, prioritizing those which have the most severe fiscal strain.



  • Transfers $77 million into the Health Safety Net Trust Fund to stabilize the program for hospitals providing services to the greatest share of the Commonwealth’s vulnerable populations.



Supporting Massachusetts Community Health Centers




  • Community health centers continue to support the Commonwealth’s greatest share of vulnerable populations while facing federal funding delays, Medicaid cuts, and rising pharmaceutical and other medical costs.

  • The agreement provides $35 million in financial relief to community health centers, including $2.5 million for the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers to facilitate regional savings initiatives, including shared service options.



Both chambers of the Legislature voted to enact the supplemental budget on Thursday, sending the legislation to the Governor for her signature.