Grant Partners

Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) will work to protect immigrant access to state-funded healthcare benefits and ensure robust funding for valued programs. It will provide policy and practice guidance to hospitals, health clinics, and other providers to protect their immigrant patients' health and safety in the context of stepped-up immigration enforcement.  MIRA will continue to educate immigrants, advocates, service providers, and the public about the implications of any immigration policy changes and their impact on health care. Additionally, MIRA will provide impact analysis, talking points, alternative language, and other requested resources during budget debates in the House and the Senate.

The Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) will advocate for continued telehealth services for addiction and recovery and advocate for policy flexibilities that should be made permanent when we transition out of the COVID-19 moratorium period, such as allowing methadone patients to take the medication at home for 14 to 28 days. A key focus will be on advocating against all cuts to publicly funded addiction services in collaboration with Massachusetts Coalition for Addiction Services and ensuring that the proposed Recovery Coach Credentialing board has more recovery coach representation. In addition, MOAR will implement its new action plan focused on ending racial discrimination in the organization and with its external partners.

Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will organize transgender people with disabilities in Massachusetts and outreach to people of color who are deaf or hard of hearing regarding racial bias within their service community. Additionally, DPC will continue to advocate for changes to the state building codes to increase accessibility for people with disabilities accessing various locations, particularly in relation to housing access.   DPC's key focus is to continue to advocate for nursing home policies: overhaul infection control standards, end double-occupancy rooms, and develop new tools to help people transition back to the community. DPC will continue its involvement with the Disability Advocates Advancing our Healthcare Rights Coalition, focusing on social determinants of health.

Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH) will focus on expanding the number of mental health professionals participating in MassHealth and commercial insurance, ensuring continued access to telehealth, and working with partners to advise policymakers on comprehensive parity implementation. It will continue to lead the Children’s Mental Health Campaign’s efforts to promote an effective pediatric behavioral health urgent care system. Additionally, MAMH will continue to work with the Community Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Commission to promote early intervention and the integration of behavioral health and pediatric primary care, and mental health education in schools to increase awareness, resiliency, and help-seeking behaviors. Additionally, MBMH will continue to support efforts to address disparities in the justice system and ensure that police reform includes meaningful efforts to support people with mental health conditions more effectively.

Massachusetts League of Community Health Center's (MLCHC) key focus will be continued advocacy for primary care to ensure community health centers are prepared and central to the MassHealth Waiver discussion and explore ways to enhance the protection and authority of primary care providers across model types. MLCHC will continue its effort to build a case for the need for a Compliant Federally Qualified Health Center Payment; health centers, with their extensive federal requirements and expectations, rely on strong federal payment protections that outline a bundled payment methodology for all visit types. MLCHC will continue to build on its longstanding success in workforce programming by pursuing a legislative workforce agenda, including Nurse Practitioner Residency legislation; Loan Repayment legislation; and Medicaid Graduate Medical Education restoration with an emphasis on community-based primary care training and psychiatry. 

Mass Senior Action Council (MSAC) will collaborate with MLRI and HCFA to educate members about COVID-related changes within MassHealth to identify areas for long term change and identify opportunities to shape evolving telehealth policy. In addition, MSAC will advocate for further expansion of the Medicare Savings Programs and improve prescription drug cost affordability through legislative and administrative actions.

Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) will identify new ways to conduct virtual organizing in response to the ongoing pandemic. BCIL will continue to provide personal protective equipment to people with disabilities and advocate with MassHealth for stepped-up personal protective equipment distribution for people with disabilities. A key focus area for BCIL will be advocating for increased effectiveness with new One Care plans, a plan that combines MassHealth and Medicare benefits. Additionally, BCIL will continue to co-coordinate the Dignity Alliance of MA, a new advocacy effort that has attracted over 30 groups committed to real change beyond nursing home reform. It will also continue its involvement with the Disability Advocates Advancing our Healthcare Rights Coalition, focusing on social determinants of health.

The Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) will work to reduce stigma against addiction and to increase behavioral health care access and integration. Their efforts will center on increasing access to timely treatment to reduce overdose risk, as well as access to long-term treatment; advocating on behalf of populations disproportionately affected by addiction; and integrating peer support services into mainstream care. MOAR will conduct community organizing and outreach, participate in coalitions, and expand peer-oriented educational programs.

The Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (the League) will serve as a source of accurate and timely information related to health care coverage issues. The League will conduct policy analyses regarding state and federal issues and disseminates their learnings to policymakers, state agencies, member organizations, and other advocacy groups. Additional priorities will include increasing the League’s capacity for grassroots advocacy work and improving health literacy among patients at community health centers.

Health Law Advocates (HLA) will focus on improving health care access for vulnerable populations by providing direct legal services and advocating to state policymakers. Their direct legal service work will inform community outreach efforts, education programs, policy analyses, and legislative proposals. In their advocacy work, HLA will pay particular attention to children with disabilities, immigrants, and transgender individuals, and to issues related to behavioral health care access. Additionally, they will defend MassHealth members against federal Medicaid changes and ensure access to services for ACO-enrolled MassHealth members.

Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) will focus on community health integration and improving the built environment. MPHA will work with the Alliance for Community Health Integration to ensure that social determinants of health are adequately addressed, in particular through community investments, support for ACOs from MassHealth, and health care institutions’ internal policies.

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) will provide legal expertise to coalitions and organizations that maintain and improve health care coverage for low-income Massachusetts residents. MLRI will conduct policy research and analyses to help Massachusetts-based and national partners understand how federal regulations may impact coverage. Additionally, MLRI will advocate for ways to reduce churn among MassHealth beneficiaries and will work to ensure that MassHealth members know their rights as consumers.

Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will connect disability advocacy communities across the state and amplify the voices of these groups in conversations with state and federal policymakers. In so doing, DPC seeks to re-frame disability as a social rather than medical condition and to shift the focus within disability-related health care from payment to ethics. DPC will serve as a hub for cross-disability advocacy through community-based participatory action research, their co-leadership of DAAHR, and an expanded social media presence.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Massachusetts (NAMI Mass) will work to improve access to mental health services and to reduce stigma regarding mental health conditions. Priorities include restoring state funding and reimbursement for behavioral health services and improving commercial coverage of emergency services. Additionally, NAMI Mass will work on creating a statewide mental health training program for law enforcement. To achieve these goals, NAMI Mass will conduct policy analyses, organize local chapters and peer support program members, and participate in coalitions and stakeholder alliances.

The Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH) will work to improve access to behavioral health services and health-related social services for individuals with behavioral health conditions. MAMH will analyze policies and evidence-based programs related to health, including supportive housing subsidies and criminal justice reform, and will disseminate their findings through reports and through their activities as a convener and coalition leader. MAMH will also work to expand their capacity for data collection, measurement, and reporting.