Latest on Healthcare in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has long been one of the more aggressive states when it comes to creative Medicaid financing. Well, the federal government just put a stop to one of the biggest tools in that toolbox, and the effects here in the Commonwealth could be significant. On April 3rd, 2026 — this past Thursday — a major new rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) officially went into effect. The rule, called the “Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations – Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole” final rule, targets a specific financing mechanism in which seven states imposed higher taxes on Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) than on commercial plans, in order to trigger larger federal matching dollars. Massachusetts is one of those seven states. So what exactly was the “loophole”? To understand this, you have to understand how Medicaid funding works at a basic level. Under federal law, states are allowed to levy taxes on their providers — includin...

This November, the number one question on Massachusetts ballots is the Nurse-Patient Assignment Limits Initiative. This is the most controversial question of the three posed to Massachusetts residents and it can be assumed the vote will be a YES vote. From the very beginning this has been an actively dividing hot button topic between all workers involved with healthcare across the state. Big money has been spent trying to get this question front and center and force you to be anything but ignorant on this question. So what exactly is Question 1? what exactly is Question 1? Question 1 is about setting patient limits on nurses who work in hospitals. A vote in favor, "YES," for question one would be for having a set number or patients each nurse can have in their care at hospitals. A vote of "NO," would allow only hospitals to determine how many patients a nurse can care for at any time regardless of the level of care that each patient needs. On the surface ...

Doctors in Massachusetts hospitals have confirmed two cases acute flaccid myelitis also known as AMF. This Polio-like diseases is causing paralysis in its victims nation wide mostly being contracted by children around the age of four. Massachusetts General Hospital is working with patients to try and help find the cure and hopefully discover its cause. The disease cripples the patient by causes muscle weakness and paralysis. AMF does this by attacking the spinal cord and or brain stem. After it infects it shows it's symptoms in any number or ways including, loss of bladder control, difficulty breathing, and weakness in an arm or a leg that can spread to other extremities sometimes with pain. Slurred speech, difficulty moving the eyes, facial weakness in one so young can also be a sign of AMF.  The CDC has been following this disease since 2014 and there are fewer than 70 patients across the country with it. This makes the disease extremely rare even though it can feel as t...