Nine mayors work to extend wellness trust fund
WBJ File
Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty was one of nine Massachusetts mayors to encourage the state to extend its Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund.
The mayors of nine Massachusetts cities are among the more than 200 civic and health leaders who urged lawmakers on Thursday to reauthorize a state trust fund aimed at preventing chronic health conditions like diabetes and asthma.
The Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund was established as part of a 2012 health care cost containment law, and its funding is slated to expire in June 2017. That's months away, but work on the fiscal 2018 budget will be underway throughout the fall, leading up to the release of Gov. Charlie Baker's budget proposal in January.
The original funding, $60 million over four years, came from an assessment on health insurers and large hospital systems.
In a letter delivered to legislative leaders Thursday, the representatives of municipalities, health associations, nonprofits and other organizations described the fund as an "essential complement to ongoing health care transformation efforts" and say those efforts cannot be successful without focusing on the underlying causes of poor health.
The fund supports services available to nearly 1 million Massachusetts residents through nine community partnerships, according to the letter.
Mayors Martin Walsh of Boston, Alex Marsh of Holyoke, Judith Kennedy of Lynn, Jon Mitchell of New Bedford, Richard Alcombright of North Adams, Linda Tyer of Pittsfield, Thomas Koch of Quincy, Joseph Petty of Worcester and Robert Hedlund of Weymouth all signed the letter, as did other local officials from Adams, Cambridge, Fall River, Hudson, Marlborough, Northborough, Stockbridge and Barnstable and Berkshire counties.
The four lawmakers who chair the Public Health Committee and Health Care Financing Committee all expressed support for the fund in a statement released by the Massachusetts Public Health Association.
Health Care Financing Committee Senate Chair James Welch, who serves on the board that oversees the trust fund, said he has been "impressed with the progress and impact" and is "eager to explore opportunities with my colleagues to keep this important work moving forward."
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