By Bob Katzen

“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many hard lessons. The failure to center both equity and public health expertise in the state’s response to the pandemic cost us dearly. Now, we must commit to building a 21st-century public health system that will provide robust protections to all Massachusetts residents, regardless of income, race or zip code.
—Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association.

“The initiative announced today by the Connector represents an enormous step forward for the commonwealth in making care more accessible and equitable. By eliminating co-pays for critical medications and services used to treat chronic conditions that disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income consumers, the Connector is showing that it is possible to do more than just talk about health equity.” –
—Health Care for All Executive Director Amy Rosenthal issued the following statement on the Massachusetts Health Connector’s new policy to eliminate co-pay requirements from ConnectorCare plan members for 20 widely used medications, for sick-visits to primary care providers and for treatment of four chronic conditions: diabetes, asthma, coronary artery disease and hypertension.

“While only a fraction of our $104 billion pension fund, any money invested in Russia or companies doing business with the Russian state is tacit approval of the reprehensible actions taken by Russian President Vladimir Putin and those who prop up his regime.”
—Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston executive director Jeremy Burton urging the state to divest of all Russia-related funds.

“In the Massachusetts House of Representatives, she consistently prioritized reducing greenhouse gas emissions over reliability and affordability. She has openly celebrated abandoning America’s abundant coal, oil and natural gas resources in favor of intermittent, unreliable and unaffordable renewable energy. These traditional energy resources are the very backbone of our nation’s electrical system.”
— Republican U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, on the reasons that he planned to oppose the confirmation of President Biden’s pick of Rep. Maria Robinson (D-Framingham) as assistant secretary in the Federal Office of Electricity.