MassHealth 1115 Amendments Approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
On April 19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Massachusetts’s request to amend the MassHealth Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plan Section 1115 Demonstration. This approval recognizes shelter as a health-related social need and allows MassHealth to spend federal money on shelter and other assistance for MassHealth families experiencing homelessness in the Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program. This policy change will bring significant federal money into the EA shelter system which can be used for shelter costs and supportive health-related services for MassHealth members.
Spring Advocacy Updates
Our advocates know that meaningful change takes time – a win today only leads to change tomorrow if advocacy is ongoing.
Whether it is the restoration of state-funded food benefits for immigrants or the creation of access to counsel in eviction cases, when we take on issues, we are making a long-term commitment.
The successes we’ve had in the past few months are the result of that committed advocacy – and will be the catalyst for more wins down the road. Thank you for joining us on this journey towards justice.
111 Organizations Support Request by MassHealth to Allow Use of Federal Funds for Shelter
In October, MassHealth submitted a Section 1115 Demonstration waiver amendment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which included, among other things, a request to spend federal money on shelter and other assistance for MassHealth families experiencing homelessness currently in the Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program. If approved, this would bring significant federal money into the EA shelter system which could be used for shelter costs and supportive health-related services for MassHealth members.
MLRI Launches New Website to Connect MassHealth Beneficiaries and their Advocates to Resources
The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) has launched a new website, MassHealthProject.org, for its MassHealth Monitoring Project. The purpose of the project is to monitor MassHealth redeterminations and provide MassHealth beneficiaries and their advocates with the tools and resources to maintain their MassHealth coverage or successfully transition to other affordable coverage.
Statement of Georgia D. Katsoulomitis, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, in Response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a stunning reversal of legal precedent and the loss of a constitutional right that has been protected for almost half a century. The reversal of Roe v. Wade is not only a devastating loss of reproductive rights for women in the United States but it is also an affront to the fundamental right to bodily autonomy and to our privacy rights. Furthermore, it opens the door to legal challenges that threaten to weaken or eliminate other important fundamental rights and liberties.
Dobbs does not outlaw abortion in the United States; it simply leaves the legality of abortion access to each individual state. The consequence is that the choice of whether a woman has access to reproductive health services will depend on where in the United States she happens to live. Women of economic means who reside in states that restrict or outlaw access to abortion may have the financial ability to travel to states where abortion remains legal and accessible. However, low income women in states with restrictive abortion access now have no choice or options – at least not safe ones.
Senate Ways and Means FY 2023 Budget Proposal: Preliminary Analysis of Key Issues Affecting Low-Income Massachusetts Residents
On May 10, 2022, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2023 (FY 23), which is referred to as Senate 4. The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute prepared this analysis of selected budget topics impacting low-income residents of the Commonwealth:
- Cash Assistance, SNAP and Related Items Administered by DTA
- Child Welfare: DCF and Related Items
- Criminal Justice Reform
- Health Issues in MassHealth and ConnectorCare
- Homeless Services
- Housing
- Legal Services/Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation
MLRI Will Honor Mintz’s Brent Henry with Catalyst for Change Award
Organization to recognize Henry in April 2022 for his work on behalf of vulnerable communities
Boston, Mass. (November 4, 2021) – The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) will honor Brent Henry, a leading health care attorney at Mintz, as the latest recipient of the organization’s prestigious Catalyst for Change Award. MLRI is a nonprofit poverty law and policy center that advocates to advance policies and practices that secure economic, racial, and social justice for low-income communities. Henry will be honored for his work promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, advocating for more funding for legal aid programs, and supporting health and housing equity at an event on April 28, 2022.
“Now more than ever, MLRI’s mission to fight for policies that benefit low-income people in Massachusetts and that advance racial equity justice is important to the future of our Commonwealth and our nation,” said MLRI’s Executive Director, Georgia Katsoulomitis. “Brent Henry knows what it is like to stand in the trenches to help those in need of support and to address both economic and racial injustice. His career is defined by promoting equity and inclusion, from the legal profession to health care to housing. We are honored to celebrate his work.”
House HWM Legislation a Good Start but Legislature Should Address Opportunities
On Monday, October 25, the Commonwealth’s House Ways and Means (HWM) Committee released a bill that details how the state will spend the billions of dollars that Massachusetts received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In total, the Commonwealth received $8.7 billion from the federal government, with $5.3 billion allocated to the state and $3.4 billion designated for municipalities.
Unfortunately, some key priorities that will help the most vulnerable of the state’s residents — those who this funding is supposed to help — were left out of the HWM bill. The bill includes no support for Right to Counsel, despite the fact that the COVID Eviction Legal Help Program (CELHP) has been successful in preventing evictions. There is also no increase in grants for children living in deep poverty.
President Biden and Congress made their priorities clear when they passed ARPA this past spring. These funds are meant to help the most vulnerable, the people struggling to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and have access to health care. This current iteration of the bill is a good start, but does not go far enough in meeting those goals and investing in the Commonwealth’s human capital.