Malden legislators approve $234M to support fiscally strained hospitals and community health centers

Special to The Advocate

State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Paul Donato, Steven Ultrino and Kate Lipper-Garabedian joined their colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to enact a supplemental budget bill that prioritizes care for the state’s most vulnerable populations by strategically targeting $234 million to support fiscally strained hospitals and community health centers. The legislation 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. The supplemental budget bill was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey on September 22, 2025.

Reckless federal policies and funding shortfalls have exacerbated the fiscal strain on these vital institutions that serve people most in need, but this funding will provide critical relief to hospitals and community health centers, distributing aid based on criteria that directs funding to vulnerable populations most in need of assistance. “While chaotic policies from the Trump administration put our American public health system at risk, Massachusetts stands firm in our support of science-based health policy and our financial support of hospitals and community health centers,” said Senator Lewis. “This funding will provide critical services to those who need it the most as rising healthcare costs continue to strain our communities and healthcare institutions.”

“The approval of $234 million in funding is a critical lifeline for our hospitals and community health centers,” said House Second Assistant Majority Leader Donato. “These facilities are pillars of our healthcare system, providing essential services to our most vulnerable residents. By investing in them, we are safeguarding access to care and strengthening public health in Malden.”

“Our community hospitals and health centers are on the front lines of care, serving residents who too often have nowhere else to turn,” said Representative Ultrino, who is House Chairperson of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management. “By providing relief from an evolving fiscal strain, we are sending a clear message: Massachusetts will continue to support access to care while strengthening the safety net for our most vulnerable neighbors.”

“This legislation directs key investments to aid local hospitals and community health centers across Massachusetts that provide quality care to all, contrasting the Trump administration’s actions to defund our public health systems,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian, who is Chairperson of the House Committee on Ethics. “Community hospitals like MelroseWakefield are bedrocks in their communities, and I’m glad that this legislation directs an additional $792,534 into the 32nd Middlesex District, reflecting the Commonwealth’s longstanding commitment to ensuring everyone has access to affordable health care.”

The bill allocates $199 million 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. An additional $35 million will be used to relieve community health centers, which 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.