Federal and State Leaders Visit Cambridge Health Alliance as Part of National Day of Action to Protect Medicaid
On Tuesday, March 18, Cambridge Health Alliance welcomed U.S. Congresswoman Katherine Clark, who serves as Democratic Whip, to the CHA Malden Care Center as part of a national day of action to protect Medicaid. Medicaid (MassHealth) covers one in three Massachusetts residents and more than half of CHA’s patients.
Congresswoman Clark, joined by Mass. Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh, took part in a compelling roundtable discussion with CHA CEO Assaad Sayah, MD, patients and CHA physicians which highlighted how Medicaid is absolutely critical to CHA's mission to care for all, including low-income and vulnerable people.
Traci Brooks, MD, chief of pediatrics, Nicholas Carson, MD, division chief of child and adolescent psychiatry, CHA PACE geriatrician Judy Kwok, MD, and Laura Sullivan, MD, chief of family medicine, shared how Medicaid is crucial to the care CHA provides as a public hospital system. Additionally, two CHA patients and a family member discussed the profound impact Medicaid and the care at CHA has had on their lives.
Leading efforts to protect Medicaid, Congresswoman Clark said, "CHA is an extraordinary organization where people can be treated with trust, and it is just an irreplaceable resource. You help me make the case in Washington that these aren't just numbers on a page. Your stories help us translate what this would mean to people."
Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, State Representatives Paul Donato, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, and Steve Ultrino, Emily Dulong, VP of government advocacy and public policy at the Mass. Health and Hospital Association, and CHA Board of Trustees Vice Chair Claire Laporte and CHA Foundation Board Chair Jonathan Fleming joined the event.
See coverage of the event from ABC affiliate WCVB-TV.