How I Voted: An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2025 for Supplemental Budget Needs

Supporting Fiscally-Strained Hospitals and Community Health Centers

Bill: H.4530, An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2025 for Supplemental Budget Needs

Date of Vote: September 18, 2025

What Problem Was This Bill Trying to Solve?

Hospitals and community health centers across Massachusetts have faced growing financial challenges due to rising health care costs, increased demand for services, and funding uncertainty at the federal level.

The Health Safety Net program provides critical reimbursement to acute care hospitals and community health centers that deliver necessary medical care to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured residents. Financial pressures on these institutions threatened their ability to continue providing essential services, particularly for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable populations.

This legislation provides targeted financial support to stabilize health care providers, strengthen the Health Safety Net program, and ensure residents continue to have access to high-quality care regardless of their ability to pay.

What Does the Bill Do?

• Provides $199 million in support for eligible high-public-payer acute care hospitals across Massachusetts.

• Provides $122 million in targeted relief payments to acute care hospitals based on criteria designed to direct funding where it is needed most, including:

  • The percentage of low-income patients served by each hospital.

  • Hospital affordability and cost of services.

  • The financial condition of each institution.

• Transfers $77 million into the Health Safety Net Trust Fund to strengthen the program and support hospitals serving vulnerable populations.

• Provides $35 million in financial relief to community health centers across the Commonwealth.

• Allocates $2.5 million to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers to support regional savings initiatives and shared service opportunities.

• Uses available funding in a way that maximizes federal reimbursements and increases the impact of state investment.

• Supports hospitals and community health centers facing increased financial strain caused by:

  • Rising health care costs.

  • Medicaid funding uncertainty.

  • Federal funding reductions and delays.

  • Increased pharmaceutical and operational expenses.

How I Voted

I voted YES.

Why I Voted This Way

Access to quality health care is a fundamental priority for Massachusetts residents, especially for those who rely on hospitals and community health centers as their primary source of care. These institutions serve communities across the Commonwealth and provide essential services to residents regardless of their financial circumstances.

This legislation provides targeted relief to the health care providers facing the greatest financial challenges while protecting the Health Safety Net program that helps ensure uninsured and underinsured residents can receive necessary medical care.

Supporting hospitals and community health centers is also an investment in the health care workforce and the long-term stability of our health care system. Providers cannot continue delivering high-quality care if they lack the resources needed to operate effectively.

I supported this legislation because it strengthens our health care infrastructure, protects access to care for vulnerable residents, supports essential health care providers, and ensures Massachusetts remains committed to providing high-quality health care for all.