ARTICLES
RESEARCH
REPORTS
POLICY PRIORITIES
HOME‘We don’t want people to panic unnecessarily’: Massachusetts’ top health official braces for changes under Trump
This article was originally published on the Boston Globe.
In her first interview since Donald Trump took office, Massachusetts’ top health official said the state is holding firm in response to a flurry of federal activity that could affect medical and social services for millions of people but is prepared for the possibility of hard fights ahead.
Kate Walsh, secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and one of Governor Maura Healey’s most influential Cabinet members, oversees more than half the state’s budget, ranging from public health to Medicaid administration to senior affairs. She describedthe Trump administration’s executive orders to curtail funding for states, at least so far, as more bark than bite. She acknowledged concern, though, that some federal changes could hit Massachusetts hard.
