HEALTH

We learn about all the community-forward healthcare that is provided by local organization Tapestry Health, learn about the invasive spotted lantern fly with NEPM reporter Philip Bishop and Jennifer Foreman Orth of MDAR and check in with Rep. Jim McGovern.

Western Mass has among the lowest vaccine rates in the state. Officials say vaccine hesitancy is likely to get worse under Trump administration, which is attacking vaccines through rhetoric and funding cuts.

Despite Beacon Hill being quiet, a number of ballot questions have cleared the first hurdle towards getting onto the Massachusetts ballot.

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.