Good morning,

Well, with Joint Rules finalized and a budget signed by the Governor, our fearless legislative leaders are finally out of excuses: it’s time to get down to the work of passing laws! 

Somehow, they are still clocking in at a paltry 10 new laws passed in 6 months of full-time lawmaking, continuing a snail pace that marks the slowest start to a legislative session in over 40 years. Notably, none of the new laws passed respond directly to the threats facing Massachusetts from the Trump administration. But… who’s counting? (Me.)

Meanwhile, we’re hard at work on Transparency on Tour, with 10 districts finished by the end of this weekend and 7 more lined up this month. 

To keep us on track, I’d like to ask for your help. There are a handful of districts where we’ve had a hard time making inroads. If we haven’t visited or scheduled an event in your district yet, we’d like to put your knowledge of your district to work! 

Please check out this document where we have made a list of the districts where we could use better leads. We’d like you to think about where you may have seen folks tabling in your area before. Ever been approached to sign petitions? Even by a local organization asking for donations? A bake sale? Please let us know by filling out this form. 

The suggestions from our community have been instrumental in getting us to the events we have attended so far– please help us keep our momentum going!

GIVE US RECS TO VISIT YOUR DISTRICT>>

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State House Scoop

This week, states around the country responded to the passage of the Republican-backed “Big Beautiful Bill” through the U.S. Congress. To make up for the bill’s roughly $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, largely accruing to the nation’s wealthiest, it makes steep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits, as well as shifting eligibility requirements. 

In Massachusetts, these changes come at a time of trial for our healthcare institutions. Last year, the Steward Hospital chain’s bankruptcy filing caused hospital closures in key communities in the state, prompting a reconsideration of the role of private equity in health care. Although we have the highest number of physicians per capita in the U.S., we have a shortage of primary care doctors. Medical research, one of the mainstays of our state economy, is already impacted by millions of dollars of cuts from the Trump administration. 

Our strong healthcare protections and Democratic trifecta government make us well-positioned to respond to the threats posed by these changes in our national healthcare policy. However, it will take coordination and compassion. Let’s discuss some key aspects of this issue. 

In the wake of federal changes to Medicaid, state officials prepare outreach campaign 

In Massachusetts, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are both implemented via MassHealth. Nearly 1 in 3 Massachusetts residents are covered by MassHealth. MassHealth is funded by federal and state dollars in a nearly even split, which together constitute usually the largest item in our state’s budget.

One of the new changes to Medicaid prompted by this bill will add significant work requirements. Starting after 2026 (that’s right– most of these changes curiously do not enter into effect until after next year’s midterm elections!), able-bodied adults between 19-64 will have to regularly prove that they’re working, studying, or volunteering in order to qualify for insurance. Although allegedly intended to boost employment, this requirement adds an administrative hurdle that is costly for states to implement and likely to cause lapsed coverage for many folks because of the paperwork burden– not because of ineligibility. 

Think about the health insurance hassles you have to deal with regularly. Now imagine that, on top of that, you need to document your hours worked each month and submit paper proof. You can understand how it would be easy for someone to slip through the cracks and lose coverage. 

When people are uninsured, they often put off treatment of serious conditions, relying on emergency room care when issues reach a head. This is not only dangerous for the uninsured patient, but puts strain on emergency rooms for other patients and is more costly for the state. This is what it comes down to in the only developed country in the world that does not provide universal healthcare. 

Our state officials are planning an enormous outreach campaign to prepare MassHealth recipients for these changes. In an example of what our state government can do for us when properly funded, MassHealth is preparing to perform background checks on clients themselves, including pulling from existing employment records, to prove their eligibility to the federal government without placing the burden on clients. However, there will be folks whose information cannot be accessed this way, who will have to start submitting proof of employment or risk losing coverage. State officials are preparing massive outreach campaigns to make sure citizens are aware of new requirements. 

Our leaders in the legislature do have one popular tool in their toolbox that could streamline the delivery of health care for citizens around our state and protect us from policy shifts at the federal level. However, they’ve refused to act on it for the last 30+ years. I’m referring, of course, to legislation that would implement a state single-payer healthcare system– Medicare for All. 

As a progressive state, Massachusetts has led on public-oriented healthcare before, and should again. Non-binding ballot questions in favor of implementing Medicare for All have passed in 68 districts since 1998 with an average win rate of 67.5%– including, in 2024, two districts that went for Trump. Analyses suggest that implementing single-payer healthcare could lower healthcare spending in our state by about $37 billion in its first year alone. Most importantly, passing this legislation could ensure that in Massachusetts, someone’s ability to keep up with onerous work requirements will not impact their right to health and wellness. 

The “Big Beautiful Bill” attacks reproductive healthcare 

The bill passed by U.S. Congress includes several other policy changes with respect to Medicaid that are likely to impact citizens in Massachusetts. One of these is a new restriction that prevents organizations that provide abortions from accessing Medicaid funds at all, even for unrelated reproductive healthcare. 

This would mean that patients who get their insurance through MassHealth would be unable to use their insurance at organizations like Planned Parenthood. Many Bay Staters rely on Planned Parenthood’s services for regular reproductive healthcare, including birth control and management of sexual infections. 

Due to an immediate lawsuit by Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts and several affiliates, a Massachusetts District Court judge issued an injunction that will delay this law’s implementation for a few weeks. However, our state leaders need to prepare to act to protect citizens’ access to reproductive healthcare. 

On June 26th of this year, the MA Senate passed a bill aimed at a similar goal: the SHIELD Law, which would protect providers of reproductive and transgender healthcare from out-of-state scrutiny. Comments from House Speaker Mariano suggested that the House would move quickly to take up this legislation. However, several weeks have passed since without clear action on this legislation, and it currently sits in House Ways and Means. 

This week, we also got a window into what could be driving some of legislative leader’s delay on bills that would reform our healthcare system. Reporters at the Boston Globe found that employees of our state’s massive healthcare institutions are the [single biggest source of political donations [paywall]](https://click.everyaction.com/k/111380966/557039456/2135015393?utm_medium=&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwNy8xLzkwMTUxIiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjAwMjc1ZDRlLTZhNWYtZjAxMS04ZGM5LTYwNDViZGZlOGU5YyIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAiZ29vc2VsdXBpbmVAZ21haWwuY29tIg0KfQ%3D%3D&hmac=PKs6CxgDm7u2l3BBB54YBqdwOYw_6-RDGZbX8WBx5ms=&emci=9c72ea47-7e5e-f011-8dc9-6045bdfe8e9c&emdi=00275d4e-6a5f-f011-8dc9-6045bdfe8e9c&ceid=35132862) to MA’s top leaders in the legislature. Blue Cross Blue Shield’s company spokesperson openly linked these donations to Blue Cross’ desire to influence legislation. 

When we’re up against lobbyist and corporate cash, it will take our voices together to push our leaders for change. Take some time today to reach out to your representative and let them know: we need to pass the SHIELD Law this week. And once they’ve done that, time to get to work on implementing Medicare for All! 

TELL YOUR LEGISLATORS: TAKE ACTION ON HEALTHCARE>>

Worth reading

We have some reporters in our state doing fantastic work to let us know how decisions on Beacon Hill and in Washington will impact our communities. Spotlighting some of their stories this week:

Transparency on Tour: Progress Report

Let's keep building our movement! Upcoming dates: 

  • Lexington Farmers Market, July 8th - 2 pm - 6:30 pm at Worthen Road Practice Field, Lexington
  • International Festival, July 13th - 12 pm - 5 pm at Village Green in Hyannis
  • Allston/Brighton Organizing Fair, July 14th - 5:30 - 8:30 pm at PSF Community Center in Brighton
  • REC Farmers Market Worcester, July 18th - 9 am - 12 pm at Beaver Brook Park in Worcester
  • Church Green Farmers Market Taunton, July 20th - 9 am - 1 pm in Taunton
  • Mission Hill Farmers Market, July 25th - 11 am - 6 pm at Roxbury Crossing Station in Boston

If one of these are in your district or a district you want to visit, join us to table!

HELP US HIT 40 DISTRICTS THIS SUMMER>>

Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.

Syd's Sprinkles: Beacon Hill Battles Cellphones

Following the lead of over 20 other states across the country who have implemented cellphone bans in schools, Massachusetts is up next and working to implement its own legislation combating the negative effects of unrestricted phone usage [paywall]. 

Lawmakers are targeting the negative impacts of phones on young people across the state in two key ways – through a cell phone ban in schools and through regulations on how algorithms can interact with young social media users.

This week, our legislators held a hearing on legislation meant to address algorithms that target the interests of kids and, in turn, keep them on their phones for harmful periods of time. More specifically, this bill would stop notifications from being sent out throughout the night and ban social media companies from using the data that is collected on their users as a means to keep them scrolling. 

In addition to this, legislators also put forward a bill to ban cellphone usage in schools this session. 

With that being said, there are some concerns about the implementation of these policies if they are passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. 

Parents are often worried about not being able to reach their children in the event of an emergency during the school day, and vice versa. 

To address this concern and others like it, the Senate’s current version of the bill to ban cellphone usage does leave the different exceptions to the rule up to the discretion of school districts and require schools to provide ways for students to reach their parents during the school day. This means that each district in the state could make exceptions to the phone ban based upon the needs and concerns of its teachers, students, and their families.

With support from Senate President Karen Spilka, Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and other lawmakers in the state, it seems like this legislation will pass in the legislature with little resistance. 

While these are just two bills that combat the negative effects of phone usage, there are other bills currently in the Legislature that address other issues associated with phone usage. 

The ACLU has supported a number of bills meant to address other phone and data-related issues in their legislative priorities this session.

You can reach out to your legislators to ask them to support these bills and others like it to help protect Bay Staters from the negative effects of phone over-usage and threats to data privacy!

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Take Action

Tell Gov. Healey and your reps: no to $360 million in new prison spending!

Our allies at Free Her MA have put together an action kit: use it today to take a stand against new prison spending! 

"NO" TO $360 MILLION FOR WOMENS PRISON>>

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That's a wrap! Enjoy your weekend– we'll be back next week. 

In solidarity,

Scotia

Scotia Hille (she/her)

Executive Director, Act on Mass