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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Primary care is in crisis — and Rhode Island can't delay addressing it any longer
Advertisement Primary care providers are being asked to do more than ever before: manage complex chronic conditions, integrate behavioral health services, address social needs, and navigate fragmented systems. But they're doing it with fewer staff, declining reimbursement, and an unsustainable administrative load — particularly prior authorization and denials that delay or block needed care. Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up There are efforts underway. The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner has taken meaningful steps to highlight the value of primary care. Governor Dan McKee and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services have included targeted investments in the state budget. Advertisement We can't fix this overnight, but we can take meaningful steps now. Increasing Medicaid rates, removing prior authorization barriers, and creating a safe harbor for physicians seeking mental health support won't solve everything, but they will keep more doors from closing while we work toward a better system. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson have both said that fixing health care is a top priority. Now we need to see that commitment reflected in action. Legislative and budget decisions made in the coming weeks will determine whether we're managing decline, or rebuilding the foundation we know we can't do without. This isn't just about physicians. It's about every Rhode Islander who has been told to wait six months for an appointment. It's about children overdue for physicals and older adults unable to refill a prescription. The erosion of primary care affects all of us — regardless of income, ZIP code, or insurance status. Rhode Island has the tools and talent to lead the nation in building a stronger, more equitable primary care system — one that respects clinicians, pays for what matters, and removes the bureaucratic roadblocks between patients and care. But we have to choose to act — and that time is now. The real fix will take time, funding, and the political will to follow through. But the longer we wait, the harder it will be to rebuild. If we don't act, we won't just lose practices — we'll lose the foundation of health care in Rhode Island. Advertisement Dr. Peter Hollmann is a board member of the Rhode Island Medical Society.
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
‘You sacrifice your life': Home health care workers are demanding better pay. Cuts to Medicaid could stand in their way.
Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'You sacrifice your life so someone else can have one,' said Moshier. 'I've done that for the last three years without a full day off, no matter how I've felt, no matter how sick I was, or how much physical pain I've been in due to my own physical ailments.' Advertisement Moshier makes $21 an hour for a 40-hour week, or less than $44,000 annually — a rate that cannot contend with Advertisement It's a system that is not sustainable and deeply broken, advocates say. Now Moshier and thousands of other home health care workers who care for some of the state's frailest residents are fighting for change. In March, Moshier and nearly 2,000 fellow home health care workers in Rhode Island overwhelmingly voted to unionize, marking the largest election of state workers since the 1980s. They'll join the SEIU 1199NE union. 'This is the lowest wage health care job in the state of Rhode Island,' said Jesse Martin, SEIU 1199's executive vice president. 'They are working in apocalyptic conditions.' These Rhode Island workers are part of a broader effort by home health care workers and the unions trying to organize them nationally to demand better wages and benefits. But they may face an uphill battle, due to Proposed changes in federal funding and policy 'are likely to have wide-ranging impacts on health and human services programs and resource availability moving forward,' said Kerri White, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the state agency that runs the home care programs. White said any federal changes 'may require us to make difficult decisions to preserve the progress we have made' while also reallocating investments elsewhere. US House Republicans have proposed Advertisement Home health care workers, who call themselves the 'invisible workforce,' help seniors and people with disabilities who live at home with daily needs including bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, getting to doctors appointments, grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions and medication reminders. Cuts to Medicaid would have profound effects on the Across the country, a " In 2023, legislation made thousands more home care workers in Massachusetts eligible to organize and join a union. At the time, Advertisement Workers in Rhode Island are expected to request higher wages, benefits, time off, and training in their negotiations with the state. They will also seek a functional registry to connect consumers with workers, create more stability and flexibility in the system, and give workers the ability to take time off. Destiny Moshier has been caring of her best friend, Holly Allen, for the last three years. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff 'If there was a registry, I could take a full day off to go to the doctor's while someone else cares for Holly,' said Moshier, who currently must complete daily errands for herself and Allen within two hours, the amount of time Allen can be left on her own. Overwhelmingly, home health workers are typically family member caregivers or close friends of their patients. That includes Emanuel Rodriguez, 25, who cares for his brother Jorge, 26, who was born developmentally delayed. His brother, Rodriguez said, can't be left alone for long. 'He'll start cooking, and he'll forget he's cooking and move onto something else and there's a fire. That's happened on one or two occasions already,' he said. His brother was also a victim of a recent Rodriguez went to school for one year to study mechanical engineering, but left to care for his brother. Doing so has earned him just $15 an hour for the last five years. It forced him to take a second job as a paraprofessional for children with special needs in the Coventry Public School District. Advertisement Home health care workers 'care for the most vulnerable... We make sure they are not just left to their own devices,' he said. States, including Rhode Island, could raise taxes to cover federal cuts to Medicaid. Meyers said it's more likely that states will cut back on services. 'In Rhode Island, it's a really constrained environment that's only going to be pushed further to the brink,' said Meyers. Moshier, who made a promise to her friend's elderly mother years ago to care for her daughter, gets frustrated when home care workers are characterized as 'glorified babysitters.' She sees no difference between what she does and those who work in a facility, such as a group home for adults. 'We're caring for people who have nowhere else to go. And people don't realize how many caregivers are struggling just to make ends meet and don't have a safety net,' said Moshier. 'Being in the position I'm in, you have to make it work. You have no choice,' said Moshier. 'You do it out of love for another human being. But comes at a cost.' Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State pours $25M into scholarship program for counselors, social workers
Massachusetts doesn't have enough social workers, mental health counselors and dozens of other types of professionals associated with behavioral health — and the shortage is growing. That's why the Healey administration is launching a two-year $25 million scholarship program for Massachusetts graduate students completing degrees or certificates in behavioral health fields. 'We need to take care of our residents in Massachusetts who are facing mental health, substance use or other behavioral health challenges and need help from highly trained professionals,' said Governor Maura Healey. 'By supporting graduate students who are building specialized knowledge in behavioral health, we're building a workforce that can support members of our communities who need care.' Kiame Mahaniah, undersecretary for health at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, told MassLive that the scholarship is about building a resilient community through mental wellness. 'Our interest is really in how we make sure that as we come out of this pandemic, that we have the people that concerned parents can take their kids to, that schools can take their students to, that employers can refer their employees to,' he said. Read more: Could Trump's crackdown on foreign students exacerbate declining college enrollment? Noe Ortega, who is the state's secretary of higher education, agreed, stating that if there is one thing the state doesn't want to erase from the pandemic, it is the increased attention that people have been giving to the behavioral and mental health fields. Students offered the scholarship will be awarded up to $12,500 for tuition, fees and stipends for each academic year. The maximum amount given will be $25,000 per recipient across two academic years. Students have to reapply for the second year of scholarship funding. Since the pandemic, burnout and turnover in behavioral health fields have been concerns as the need for more providers has increased, especially in underserved communities, according to a 2024 Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report. Thirty communities across the state have been experiencing the largest health inequities leading to premature death in Massachusetts, both in maternal/perinatal health and cardiometabolic health, according to the state initiative Advancing Health Equity in MA. Many of those communities, such as Greater Springfield, Roxbury and Lynn, are where more people of color reside. At the same time, only 22% of behavioral health clinicians in the state are people of color, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Given the ongoing challenges the behavioral health field has endured in Massachusetts, the state will prioritize certain applicants, such as students who speak more than one language and either live or work in communities that are experiencing high levels of racial disparities, Mahaniah said. 'One of the goals is to really focus on those communities where there are the greatest disparities and the greatest needs and obviously the hope is that if you're prioritizing people who live, study or work in those communities, you will get a more diverse workforce,' he said. The scholarship is also an attempt to have more people go into the behavioral health field, which isn't as well compensated as other health professionals are. 'The ... thing about behavioral health is that as professionals, they're also not as well paid as physicians and nurses. And so this is also an effort to try to keep making the fields more attractive by taking away as much as possible from the pain — the financial pain — of studying to compensate to some degree for also the lower salaries that they get,' Mahaniah said. Read more: Harvard changes admissions policy, offering foreign students a 'backup plan' The scholarships are funded by Massachusetts' Behavioral Health Trust Fund, which was established with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and is managed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Behavioral Health Trust Fund was a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Advisory Commission, which was comprised of 22 members from government and the behavioral health sector. The new program follows in the footsteps of another initiative that launched last December, where institutions with behavioral programs were offered grants to support students completing unpaid internships and field placements in behavioral health fields. The applications for the scholarship program are open and can be retroactively given for the fall 2024 semester. Students enrolled in private and public institutions are able to apply through June 15, 2025, through this website. In order to qualify, students need to: Be enrolled in an eligible institution Physically reside in Massachusetts for at least one year, as of the start of the enrolled term, with an intent to remain in Massachusetts consistent with Board of Higher Education (BHE) policy Be a U.S. Citizen, lawful permanent resident or non-citizen eligible under Title IV regulations; or have an approved eligibility status designated by the BHE pursuant to the Massachusetts Tuition Equity Law or otherwise Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA) as applicable for eligible students under the Massachusetts Tuition Equity Law annually Comply with financial aid verification requirements Not be in default on any federal or state student loans for attendance at any institution, or owe a refund for any previous state financial aid program Enroll, as a matriculated student, on a full-time or part-time basis (minimum of 6 credits, or the equivalent) in an eligible behavioral health program of study leading to a baccalaureate or graduate level degree Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) according to the institution's requirements and federal standards For more information about eligibility and the process, visit this website or reach out to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. This is when a judge will hear arguments in Harvard v. Trump administration lawsuit Court battle over Harvard funding freeze to extend into summer Harvard changes admissions policy, offering foreign students a 'backup plan' Closed Central Mass. college makes 'crucial' gift as one of its final acts How Trump vs. Harvard is a page out of the Project 2025 playbook
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Partnership to improve maternal, cardiometabolic health in Chicopee, New Bedford
BOSTON (WWLP) – A new partnership has been formed to help identify needs that are related to maternal health or social drivers of cardiometabolic health in Massachusetts. How to prevent the spread of viruses this season The Executive Office of Health and Human Services states that the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that they have partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (BCBSMA) and Atrius Health Equity Foundation as part of the administration's Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts (AHEM) initiative. The AHEM works to eliminate racial, economic, and regional imbalances in health outcomes. The partnerships will finance community-level initiatives in both Chicopee and New Bedford and will identify and understand the needs that are related to maternal health or social drivers of cardiometabolic health. Cardiometabolic disease refers to disease of the heart and blood vessels, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic kidney disease, and is a leading cause of death across Massachusetts. They will also work to improve health outcomes in 30 communities that are identified as having the greatest health disparities for maternal health and social drivers of cardiometabolic health. The BCBSMA Foundation approved in $100,000 in funding for the first year of a two-year Strategic Health Equity Grant to the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. This nonprofit will lead a community engagement process in Chicopee to identify community needs related to the initiative. The work will engage communities of color and other marginalized communities to identify needs, preferred solutions, and the implementation of those solutions. Atrius Health Equity Foundation announced that they are committing $500,000 over two years to establish Youth Creating a Healthier New Bedford, which is a youth-led initiative that empowers young people to identify the social drivers that's impacting cardiometabolic health, engages them to developing a shared agenda for promoting community health and wellness, and supports them as emerging leaders. This is the first partnership of many that AHEM seeks to create with the private sector partners to address health inequities. 'While we recognize that disparities in these health conditions occur in these regions, we strongly believe that each community may face different challenges in addressing them, and that requires solutions at the community level,' said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. 'I look forward to hearing from the programs in the communities, and am grateful to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and Atrius Health Equity Foundation for their support and partnership that will have a real difference in the lives of people in the communities.' 'We are pleased to partner with leaders from EOHHS and DPH on a place-based community engagement model that will help advance our shared health equity goals,' said Audrey Shelto, President and CEO of BCBSMA Foundation. 'Our grant partner is well-positioned to serve as a backbone organization for the AHEM initiative in Chicopee, and to support community members as they develop solutions to the health disparities in their region.' 'Improving the health and wellbeing of Chicopee residents begins with understanding the issues and complications facing our community,' said Chicopee Mayor John Vieau. 'The work sponsored by the BCBSMA Foundation and performed by the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts will help us to determine the best way to positively affect the health of our residents.' 'Our Foundation's mission is to close the life expectancy gap across Eastern Massachusetts. We're pleased to invest in organizations working to build a stronger, healthier New Bedford by supporting a future generation of youth leaders,' said Ann Hwang, MD, president of the Atrius Health Equity Foundation. 'The SouthCoast Community Foundation is pleased to be a strategic partner to this effort,' said Dr. Melanie Edwards-Tavares, President and CEO of the SouthCoast Community Foundation. 'This investment, which is a testament to the power of collaboration and community-driven solutions, builds on the strengths of New Bedford and our dedicated and talented youth.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
