Community Care Partners

As you may recall, the federal government passed a law on July 4th, 2025 called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3). Some key provisions of this law include changes that will impact some, but not all, MassHealth members. The biggest changes involve new work and education requirements and more frequent renewals for some members, and they are not being implemented until January 2027. In order to ensure members and providers are well-versed on these changes, MassHealth has created a comprehensive website explaining how new requirements will impact members and how to prepare for them. Visit the site: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/federal-changes-affecting-masshealth-members

From Hannah’s desk: As a Managing Director of a MassHealth Community Partner, I sit inside one of the most invisible—but most essential—parts of our healthcare system.

Community Partners are the connective tissue for MassHealth members who fall through the cracks: people with complex medical, behavioral health, housing, disability, and social needs who are often too complex for traditional systems to hold. We work in living rooms, shelters, emergency departments, and community spaces—coordinating care when systems don’t talk to each other and showing up when no one else does.

And right now, we need the community to show up and witness what our members are living with.

MassHealth will be holding two public meetings to review updates to the 1115 Demonstration Waiver Extension, including initiatives being considered for the next extension period (2028–2032):

🔹 Monday, February 9, 2026 | 12:00–1:30 PM
🔹 Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | 12:00–1:30 PM

👉 Details here: https://lnkd.in/dmrfmFgN

These meetings matter. The 1115 waiver is not abstract policy—it shapes whether people can access care coordination, behavioral health support, housing-related services, and community-based interventions that actually keep them alive and stable.

As Community Partners, we see every day:
• The consequences of underfunded, fragmented systems
• The cost of delayed care and bureaucratic barriers
• The resilience of members who are navigating impossible conditions

But too often, these realities are discussed without the presence of the people most impacted—or the community organizations holding the risk alongside them.

Public participation matters. Witnessing matters. Speaking up matters.

If you care about health equity, disability justice, behavioral health access, housing stability, or the future of MassHealth, I urge you to attend, listen, and lend your voice. These decisions will shape what support looks like for our most vulnerable neighbors for years to come.

We can’t fix what remains unseen.
Please show up.

MassHealth will be holding two public meetings to review an update on the MassHealth 1115 Demonstration Waiver Extension:

🔹Monday, February 9, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
🔹Wednesday, February 25, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

We will share additional details regarding a subset of initiatives that we are considering requesting authority for in our next 1115 Demonstration extension request (2028-2032): https://www.mass.gov/info-details/masshealth-section-1115-demonstration-waiver

On this day, may we honor the legacy of Dr. King with a reminder to have hope for what is right and just despite the adversities in front of us.