Author: Isabella Oland

  • MA health panel delays vote on proton beam therapy center. Here’s why

    MA health panel delays vote on proton beam therapy center. Here’s why

    The Massachusetts Public Health Council has delayed a vote on a proposal from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to build a new proton beam therapy center in Boston, citing concerns about equity and access.

    Proton beam therapy is a highly precise form of radiation treatment for cancerous tumors that spares more of the healthy tissue around the tumor from radiation, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

    Massachusetts General Hospital is currently the only hospital offering proton beam therapy in the state. UMass Memorial Health in Worcester received approval in December to bring a $54 million proton beam center to Marlborough Hospital.

    Dana-Farber wants to construct an approximately 4,500-square-foot proton beam therapy center at 35 Binney St. in Boston. The project is valued at approximately $50.5 million, with a $2.5 million contribution from the Community Health Initiative, according to the proposal presented by Torey McNamara, senior policy adviser at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

    A proton beam system in Peoria, Illinois, is shown in this 2024 file photo. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is proposing to build a $50 million proton beam therapy center.

    Mass General owns two proton beam therapy systems, one of which is operational. Dana-Farber maintains that even with the approved center at the UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital campus, additional capacity is needed in the state.

    The Dana-Farber presentation suggested it had seen “widespread difficulty among its patients seeking access to proton beam therapy,” based on clinical and patient reports. According to approximate data, 24% of Dana-Farber patients in “group one” — those who medically require proton beam therapy — reside near the proposed center, which is anticipated to be operational by December 2027.

    Public Health Council says equity, access are issues

    But Dr. Ramnath Subbaraman, a Public Health Council member, said there are “a few problems across both payer mix, race and ethnicity, and geographic location in terms of equity.”

    According to information packets presented to the council, “the proportion of patients in group one, those most likely to benefit from PBT, is only 4.4% MassHealth overall, 2% for children,” Subbaraman said.

    Other council members raised similar concerns about the center’s geographic location and the patient population it’s expected to treat.

    The health council, chaired by Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, advises the DPH on major policy decisions at the discretion of the commissioner, and grants the commissioner authority to take necessary actions to protect public health upon a declaration of a public health emergency by the governor.

    The Dana Farber proposal said the center would treat approximately 216 patients per year, based on historical data, but does not account for expected increases in need for PBT treatment.

    Dana-Farber cites access to Boston Children’s Hospital

    Dana-Farber plans to use the proton beam clinic to collect more data on their patient profiles to inform broader research on proton beam therapy centers.

    “This is an opportunity to bring this therapy to patients that may have had barriers to accessing them,” said Magnolia Contreras, vice president of community health at Dana-Farber.

    Susan Chi, a Dana Farber pediatric neuro-oncologist, addressed concerns about the center’s location — inside a building connected to Boston Children’s Hospital, where her patients most often receive treatment. Currently, children must travel to other proton beam therapy facilities to receive treatment.

    “This is stressful for children and families who are already undergoing treatment at Dana-Farber, Boston Children’s, which often leads to treatment delays and puts patients at risk for communication errors, and transferring care for very sick children is just not feasible,” Chi said.

    The council is expected to revisit the proposal next month, according to a Dana Farber spokesperson.

  • In MA, Doctors’ Day becomes rallying point for health care reform

    While Doctors’ Day has traditionally celebrated physicians’ contributions — specically the date of the first use of general anesthesia in surgery by Dr. Crawford W. Long on March 30, 1842 — this year Massachusetts physicians are redefining it as a platform for advocacy.

    Facing federal funding cuts and growing primary care shortages, Massachusetts physicians met with legislators on March 25 at the State House to call for urgent policy action. Physicians from the Massachusetts Medical Society gathered for their first in-person Doctors’ Day since before
    the COVID-19 pandemic to advocate for bills to increase primary care access, improve childhood immunization rates, and bolster protections for immigrant health care access.

    The renewed urgency comes as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by Congress last July, is expected to cut $3.5 billion annually from federal health care funding to Massachusetts. The cuts amount to about 5% of the state’s proposed total budget for fiscal 2027. This will lead to about 326,000 residents losing health care insurance coverage, according to a minority report of the Joint Economic Committee, based on a report by the Congressional Budget Office. “I’m proud of the advocacy this day represents, but I encourage you to do more,” Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, the state’s secretary of Health and Human Services, told physicians. Mahaniah emphasized that physicians play a critical role in clinical care, but must also advocate for the broader health care system throughout the state.

    An aging workforce means a shrinking workforce

    Access to primary care physicians has been declining across Massachusetts, and is expected to face greater threats as cuts to Medicaid take effect later this year, according to a recent re-
    port by NPR. More than half of in-office physicians are age 55 or older, raising concerns about a shrinking workforce, according to Mahaniah.

    State Sen. Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington, co-chair of the Legislature’s Committee on Health Care Financing, highlighted the growing strain on the system, as colleagues consistently ask her, “Can you help me get a primary care physician?” Friedman championed several of the bills discussed at the March 25 event.

    Throughout the state, primary care represents a small and declining share of total health care spending. This leads to increased strain on emergency departments, according to a presentation from Mass. Medical Society reps.

    Physicians advocated for the future of their profession by promoting passage of several bills designed to strengthen primary care access.

    Among those proposals is one that would double the investment in primary care over four years, with a target of at least 12% of total health care spending allocated to primary care departments. It would also establish a primary care stabilization fund to deliver payments directly to practices, an idea that Mahaniah and other speakers advocated for throughout the meeting.

    Physicians also raised concerns about administrative burdens tied to insurance companies’ prior authorization requirements, an issue they say leads to unnecessary costs and often causes pa-
    patients to forgo needed treatment.

    The bill, aimed at reducing delays in patient care and administrative burden, would strengthen oversight and improve timely access to treatment.

    Addressing declines in vaccination rates

    In addition to administrative and industry issues, physicians also advocated for pressing public health concerns as nationwide threats to vaccine and immigration policies begin to take effect
    in Massachusetts.

    In early January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the number of recommended vaccines for children. Massachusetts has seen declines in vaccination rates in recent years, as well as a record high number of non-medical religious exemptions, according to the Mass. Medical Society.

    In some school communities, vaccination rates have dropped below herd immunity thresholds — the point at which enough people in an area have protection from a disease that it no longer spreads easily, according to the Mass. Medical Society. Vaccination ex-
    emption rates among kindergarten students are rising in central and western counties, with 1.6% exempt in Worcester County and 2.7% in Hampden County. In Middlesex County, 1.2% of students had exemptions, while in Suffolk County the rate was 0.8% for the 2024-25 school year, according to the Department of Public Health.

    Another proposal would require all public and private schools to report immunization data annually to the Department of Public Health, while ensuring that necessary medical exemptions are maintained.

    Physicians also advocated for a provision in a supplemental budget proposal, offered by Gov. Maura Healey, that calls for protecting health care facilities from civil immigration enforce-
    ment actions, with the goal of reducing appointment cancellations and no-shows. The bill would restrict immigration agents’ access to health care facilities, requiring a judicial warrant to en-
    ter medical facilities.

    The House-approved PROTECT Act would restrict local law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE. However, the act does not designate health care facilities as sensitive locations.

  • Framingham ban of nicotine products challenged

    The City of Framingham is seeking to dismiss a complaint brought against it by a New Hampshire wholesale business that claims Framingham’s health board conducted an unscientic “smell test” of nicotine products supplied by the wholesaler, then banned them after concluding they were flavored products.

    Salem, New Hampshire-based MBM Wholesale Inc. points out that Massachusetts doesn’t have a law that bans the sale of tobacco products that don’t smell like tobacco; instead, tobacco products must not have a “characterizing flavor.” That means they can’t have a distinguishable taste or aroma from any ingredient other than what comes from tobacco. For example, a product can’t contain items like fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, menthol, mint or spice.

    MBM wants the court to rule the Framingham ban is unlawful, claiming the city didn’t test whether the products were flavored, but only whether they did not smell like tobacco. MBM wants the city to pay damages and attorneys’ fees.

    But Framingham City Solicitor Kathryn Fallon and Public Health Director William Murphy led the motion to dismiss the complaint, stating that MBM has no legal right to file suit because it’s “not an electronic nicotine delivery systems distributor licensed in Massachusetts, as required by law,” according to a memo from Fallon that was provided to the Daily News by Framingham Public Information Officer Susan Petroni.

    “This is pending litigation, so the city has no further comment beyond this document,” Petroni told the Daily News in an email.

    According to state records, MBM was listed as a licensed electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) distributor for the 2024-25 cycle, which runs from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, but isn’t on the list for the current 2025-26 cycle.

    MBM claims it received conflicting information from Dept. of Revenue

    The parties were allotted one day after a Jan. 29 hearing in Middlesex Superior Court to submit additional evidence. MBM submitted an affidavit from its corporate attorney stating that it was a licensed ENDS retailer and claimed the Massachusetts Department of Revenue gave the company conflicting information, according to Fallon’s memo, which was presented during a Feb. 2 Framingham Board of Health meeting.

    In response, Framingham officials submitted affidavits from Parivallal Thillagovindan, the public health department’s tobacco control program manager, stating MBM is not a licensed ENDS distributor because it’s not included on the state’s current ENDS distributor lists. The affidavit also included a recent email from the Department of Revenue confirming that MBM was not a licensed ENDS distributor, according to Fallon’s memo.

    Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, said he has seen local health boards conduct all types of tests on nicotine products. Those tests include placing both a cigarette and a nicotine pouch in water, and concluding that the nicotine pouch water does not taste like tobacco and is therefore flavored.

    “There’s no tobacco in nicotine pouches, unless it’s specifically designed to have tobacco flavor,” Brennan said. “It’s essentially nicotine salt and some organic material.”

    Trade group executive: ‘Not the standard you should use’

    Brennan said the tests used in this case are not the “standard you should use,” especially when the focus is on nicotine pouch regulations.

    “Clear” flavored nicotine products have become more popular, especially in pouches. The product is intended as an unflavored alternative to tobacco-flavored products. Brennan said manufacturers he has spoken to say it’s unflavored, while some local health boards say otherwise.

    “I’ve never tasted or smelled one to know what they’re basing this on, but that does seem to be the reason behind this lawsuit,” Brennan said.

    The case is under advisement pending a decision on the motion to dismiss.

    Henry Schwan of the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester contributed to this report.

  • Student Opportunity Act enters its final year in MA. What’s next?

    Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal of $63.36 billion calls for cutting the minimum per-pupil aid increase in half from the current year, reflecting declining enrollments and changes in federal aid. But Senate President Karen Spilka said MetroWest communities have seen significant increases in school funding already, thanks to the Student Opportunity Act.

    “In MetroWest alone, some communities have seen their state aid nearly double in the time since its passage (in 2019),” Spilka, D-Ashland, said in a statement given to the Daily News.

    Spilka helped spearhead the law through the Legislature more than six years ago. The measure increased Chapter 70 aid and other funding that year by $1.5 billion over inflation for Massachusetts K-12 public education. Now entering its final year, the bill has provided an estimated $2.3 billion to local school districts.

    Gov. Maura Healey, pictured in 2023, told the Joint Ways and Means Committee last month that her budget would allocate $7.6 billion in Chapter 70 aid to local school districts. Marc Vasconcellos/The
    Enterprise

    Healey told the Joint Ways and Means Committee in early February that her budget would allocate $7.6 billion in Chapter 70 aid and guarantee a minimum per-pupil aid of $75 for all local school districts. The current year allocates $7.36 billion for Chapter 70 aid, with a minimum allocation of $150 per pupil, a historic high.

    State leaders plan to revise the Student Opportunity Act during fiscal 2027, the governor said. Its current focus has been to provide funding to districts with high concentrations of low-income students, while also directing investments to support special education programs.

    “The Student Opportunity Act was also structured to ensure that every child in the Commonwealth has the opportunity to receive a quality education, regardless of background or ZIP code,” Spilka said, adding that in MetroWest municipalities the funding has gone to teachers’ salaries as well as modernizing facilities.

    “In our enrollment in specific student groups, the Student Opportunity Act has certainly helped us funding wise, to support students and staff,” added Lincoln Lynch IV, executive director of finance and operations for Framingham Public Schools.

    Legislator didn’t feel state was giving her town enough aid

    Spilka said she spearheaded the legislation based on her personal experience with how funding was distributed to her children’s schools in Ashland, saying she felt the state education budget was not giving her hometown the funding it “deserved,” due to “the way the state formula was structured.”

    This year’s 50% reduction comes as more municipalities are seeing declines in enrollment, pushing additional districts into minimum-aid status. External factors, such as federal funding cuts, have also influenced the amount of state-allocated student aid.

    In response to a question from House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, about the future of the Student Opportunity Act, Healey acknowledged that “as a general matter, we recognize that cities and towns across the state are really struggling with their own budgets right now.”

    But Massachusetts is also feeling strained by federal cuts to the state’s Health and Human Services budget, particularly a $2 billion cut from MassHealth, according to Massachusetts Municipal Association.

    In the face of those constraints, lawmakers last month agreed to take a fresh look at how the state and municipalities divide education costs.

    Despite those pressures, Spilka said the Senate “remains committed to working alongside educators and communities to find solutions that help deliver a world-class education for every Massachusetts student.”

  • Why Bill Galvin is concerned about Gov. Healey’s fiscal ’27 budget

    Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has said that Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal may not include enough money to cover what he says will be significantly higher costs for local and state elections later this year.

    At least two MetroWest town clerks agree with him.

    Galvin recently told the Joint Committee on Ways and Means that up to 12 ballot questions could appear on the November state ballot. He pointed out that the $89.6 million Healey is proposing to be set aside for ballot printing costs is only slightly more than the $82.9 million spent on fiscal 2025 elections, which included the 2024 Presidential Election.

    Healey’s proposal sets aside $15 million as a contingency, but Galvin said that won’t cover an expected 50% increase in printing costs.

    “In the real world, I need real money. I can’t get an IOU balance,” the state’s top election official said.

    Hopkinton Town Clerk Connor Degan said he appreciates the state anticipating unforeseen costs, given $3.7 billion in federal government cuts to the Commonwealth. But he has concerns about meeting local costs for things like early voting.

    “I know we’ve continued to see less financial support coming from the federal level, so knowing that the state is ready to pick up the slack is comforting,” Degan said.

    Town clerk worries about reimbursements to municipalities

    The state election budget includes funding for reimbursements to municipalities for unfunded mandates such as the costs associated with early voting. Degan said he’s hopeful that “there’s going to be enough money to ensure that reimbursements can be made to municipalities.”

    Degan anticipated a higher early voting turnout for the November mid-term elections, which will include races for governor, state legislators, Congress and a U.S. Senate seat. In past election cycles, Degan said Hopkinton dedicated resources such as staffing to early voting locations but did not see the anticipated turnout.

    Natick Town Clerk Andrew Ghobrial said communities must also budget for town elections. Natick’s budget includes three elections in the upcoming year, including the September primary, the gubernatorial election in November and a town election in March 2027.

    Ghobrial said he has “boosted the budget to ask for funding to cover all the expenses related to vote by mail, early voting, operational costs for overtime, for staff, everything in between.”

    Galvin specifically pointed to the costs associated with the 12 ballot questions. His office is required to include an informational booklet with the full text of each proposal. When including comments from those on both sides of each question, that booklet could run to 100 pages.

    Galvin estimated needing an additional $4 million just for the printing costs, not including postage, adding he doesn’t believe that could be covered by Healey’s $15 million contingency.

    In his eight terms as secretary of the Commonwealth, Galvin said he has never seen more than eight questions on the ballot. He urged lawmakers to resolve some of those issues before May 6, to reduce both the number of questions on the ballot and the costs associated with them.