A $52.7 billion state budget could be on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk by Monday afternoon, after a team of legislative negotiators filed their compromise bill Sunday night.
The product of about five weeks of closed-door negotiations that stretched past the July 1 start of the fiscal year, the deal would increase spending by about $5 billion dollars over the $47.6 billion budget that Baker signed in July 2021.
It also calls for a two-year pilot program expanding eligibility for ConnectorCare, the state’s subsidized health insurance program, to people earning up to 500% of the federal poverty level, or about $139,000 for a family of four. The advocacy group Health Care for All said the pilot would mean an estimated 37,000 additional Massachusetts residents would be eligible for more affordable coverage.
“We hear every day on our HelpLine from people who desperately need access to care but can not afford it,” Health Care for All executive director Amy Rosenthal said in a statement. “Instead, they delay care or face difficult choices in deciding whether to see a doctor or pay their rent.”
To read the full article, click here.