We're just weeks away from the general election, and we're hearing a lot of political messaging flying around.
After beginning in the Berkshires, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio this week continues her a 140-plus mile walk across the state, raising awareness about Question 1 on November's ballot. If passed, her office would gain the authority to audit the Legislature.
Chris Lisinksi, a reporter for the State House News Service, said this campaign walk offers a unique publicity element.
Chris Lisinksi, SHNS: You know, I think that it's pretty interesting to see the auditor starting her effort out there in western Mass., walking west to east. And it's the kind of thing that is just different enough from the usual campaign events that we see that it could draw some extra attention.
You know, it's not just a rally on the Statehouse steps, which can kind of blend into the background because you see those so frequently. It's a little bit unusual. And sometimes in campaign season, a little bit unusual is what you want.
Carrie Healy, NEPM: Yeah. And in other ballot question headlines, state Republicans have taken a position on ballot Question 5, which would gradually increase the minimum wage. Employers would pay tipped workers in increasing amounts until it mirrors that same minimum wage for all other workers statewide. So, what is Mass GOP saying?
Their arguments against this question are pretty similar to what other opponents, specifically the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, have said. They claim that raising what employers need to pay tipped workers could drive down the gratuities that these workers earn, and that tipped workers themselves don't actually want this because they like [those gratuities].
Workers can make so much in tips right now, and they don't want to have to share tips with other workers. Granted, that would not be a requirement for every worker, but restaurants or other businesses could choose to do pooled tips if they felt so inclined.
In other news, Baystate Health, the largest hospital system in western Mass., we learn, is among a minority of hospitals across the state that are not operating in the red, according to a recently published state report.
This follows the financial demise of Steward Health Care, where we saw the state step in and commit millions of dollars to prop up struggling health facilities as they transition to new operators. Chris, you covered the release of this report. Can you characterize what the data shows about Massachusetts hospitals?
Yeah, largely, it is a pretty worrying indication of where hospitals stand. Unsurprisingly, the absolute worst conditions were at Steward hospitals. This data covers the period through June 30th, so right in the midst of the bankruptcy proceedings at Steward. But what it shows is that those hospitals were not an outlier. They were not the only ones struggling.
Something like four in 10 non-Steward hospitals had negative operating margins through about three quarters of their fiscal year in the most recent period. This is something that the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, an industry group representing hospitals, called "deeply troubling." And it's a trend that state lawmakers don't really seem to be able to rein in, at least not so far.
Well, does this report give lawmakers what they'll need in order to put up guardrails, maybe so that we don't have to go through what happened with Steward again at some point in the future?
You would think so, that the data here is at least another piece of evidence. Remember, both branches have already approved hospital oversight reforms largely inspired by the Steward Health Care crisis. But because top Democrats can't agree with each other, none of those reforms are actually in place today.
Recently, Chris, we talked about revenue projections for this current fiscal year. And just last week, September revenues, which officials consider significant because many individuals and corporations are required to make estimated payments that month, were released. Did this latest tax collection in any way change what you and I knew to be the situation just a few weeks ago?
No, I think we're still roughly on the same track. Tax collections are better than they were last year, but still a little bit below what state officials expected them to be at this point. Granted, the shortfall below projections is fairly minor, so I would say there's no sense of panic quite yet, but sluggish definitely seems to be an appropriate word here.
