Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Health Centers topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate adopts $2.5 million amendment to support community health centers
Summary
The Massachusetts Senate adopted Amendment 49, directing $2.5 million of a supplemental budget toward the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers for technical assistance and capacity support amid concerns about federal funding cuts and local care closures.
Senator Liz Miranda, senator from Suffolk, pressed the Senate to adopt Amendment 49, which allocates $2,500,000 of the $35,000,000 in the supplemental budget to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. "I rise today in strong support of Amendment 49 which allocates $2,500,000 of the $35,000,000 in this supplemental budget to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers," Miranda said.
The amendment, Miranda said, is intended to provide technical assistance and support to safety-net clinics facing closures, staffing reductions and service cuts as federal funding becomes uncertain. "Across Boston, more than 245,000 residents depend on community health centers for everything from primary care to dental care to behavioral health and maternal care," Miranda said, adding that "over 42 percent of those individuals are on MassHealth."
Miranda warned that possible Medicaid cuts at the federal level could force community health centers to reduce services, cut staff or turn away patients. She described the funding as a preventive investment to stabilize neighborhood-based providers. The amendment passed on voice vote; the clerk announced, "The ayes have it. The amendment is adopted."
The funding comes from a larger supplemental spending package before the Senate; the amendment does not itself create statute or programmatic changes but directs a discretionary allocation to the League. The Senate record does not include a roll-call tally for this specific amendment.
Supporters framed the measure as short-term technical assistance and capacity-building funding rather than long-term operating subsidies. Miranda tied the request to local impacts in the Second Suffolk district and to statewide concerns about the continuity of services for MassHealth enrollees.
The supplemental budget containing this amendment was later advanced by the Senate as part of broader appropriations actions taken during the session.
