HEALTH

Massachusetts lawmakers sent a supplemental budget to the governor before their August break, including a proposed pay raise for court-appointed bar advocates.

One community health center in Franklin County is trying to build reserves before the cuts take effect. The organization's director is expecting the financial strain to be "worse than Covid."

The summer gathering of governors' wrapped up on Saturday. Mass. Gov. Maura Healey did not attend, instead opting to stay in the Commonwealth.

After several days of fielding criticism about the move behind the scenes, Gov. Maura Healey on Friday named the state's top hospital lobbyist to a position at the regulatory agency that oversees virtually all major health care decisions -- including those directly affecting his clients -- in Massachusetts.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal assembled a panel this week to highlight importance of Consumer Product Safety Commission, which he says is under attack by the Trump administration.

As part of a national class action lawsuit, drug companies and pharmacies have to pay $1 billion to Massachusetts over 18 years. Sixty percent of the money goes to the state to distribute, and 40 percent to cities and towns directly.

A State House News Service reporter digs into that supplemental budget request and explains what Mass. Gov. Maura Healey is seeking.

UMass Amherst researchers found that not only did low income patients have more insurance claims turned down, but they were less likely to contest those claims or have them reversed.

Glickman School in the city's Sixteen Acres neighborhood is one of about a dozen buildings which will, or have received new ventilation system upgrades in recent years.

As sports betting expands across the U.S., states are on their own to make the rules. A growing movement of U.S. health leaders and legislators want to strengthen and standardize the way gambling is regulated. But they are facing opposition from the betting industry.