Massachusetts Nurses Association

Governor Maura Healey signed a $63.4 billion fiscal year 2027 budget without any vetoes, focusing on economic stability, healthcare, and education funding while avoiding tax increases. The budget includes $2.7 billion from surtax revenues and allocates $51 million to the rainy day fund, which is projected to reach $8.2 billion by fiscal year-end.

Governor Maura Healey intervened in a negotiation stalemate between Mass General Brigham and over 4,000 nurses and 450 home care clinicians ahead of a potential historic strike. The nurses seek cost-of-living increases, affordable health insurance, and limits on temporary staff, while home care workers negotiate their first union contract. Healey urged both parties to resolve the dispute to avoid disruptions to healthcare services.

Merrimack Health closed the Methuen Hospital maternity unit six days earlier than planned, consolidating services at Lawrence General Hospital. The closure eliminates 24 maternity beds and 10 special care nursery beds, affecting 85 employees, with Merrimack Health citing staffing concerns and operational efficiency as reasons.

Massachusetts is set to reopen the Cambridge Health Alliance Birth Center after its 2020 closure, while Methuen Hospital is discontinuing maternity services earlier than planned, highlighting challenges in maternal healthcare access. A 2024 maternal health law aims to support freestanding birth centers, but reimbursement rates remain a barrier. Nurses and advocates express concerns over the Methuen closure's impact on patients.

Lawmakers extended a 20-cent per-ride fee on rideshare trips through a $1.56 billion surtax spending bill, preserving the fee set to expire in 2027. The bill also included provisions for collective bargaining agreements involving the University of Massachusetts, unions like the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and other state entities.

RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse convicted of negligent homicide after a fatal medication error in 2017, has turned her experience into a speaking career to highlight healthcare industry issues. She now works as a farmer and shares her story to raise awareness about systemic factors contributing to medical errors.