Healey signs abortion bill while state girds for MassHealth fallout

With lawmakers miles away from their unfinished work on Beacon Hill, Gov. Maura Healey commanded the spotlight this week between bill signings and press conferences that more or less doubled as campaign events.

With the gubernatorial race and down-ballot contests heating up, the governor on Monday left her mark on reproductive care access in the commonwealth. Healey signed a law, which legislators unexpectedly fast-tracked in the waning days of July, that removes barriers to abortion after 24 weeks of gestation.

"Abortion is on the ballot this November in Massachusetts and around the country," Healey told reporters in her ceremonial office. "My opponents are anti-abortion. One of my opponents, Mike Minogue, is proudly anti-abortion."

GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve has said he's pro-choice. Minogue, who's openly pro-life due to his Catholic faith, rebuked Healey on Monday for "playing extreme politics with women's health."

"I would much rather see the people of Massachusetts voice their opinion and decide this - not the politicians. Most people have compassion for women going through such a difficult decision and don't want this to be a political issue," Minogue said. "That said, this is not what I hear voters asking about on the campaign trail."

Minogue has previously vowed to "uphold the law" concerning reproductive rights if he's elected governor.

Rep. Christine Barber, the bill's co-sponsor who stood behind Healey at the signing ceremony, faces a crowded primary battle to fill the Senate seat that Somerville Sen. Pat Jehlen is vacating. Barber's campaign website features an endorsement from Healey, who highlights the the six-term rep's efforts in "making healthcare more affordable" and "protecting reproductive freedom."

Roughly 360,000 MassHealth members must comply with new federal work and education requirements starting this January. The policy shift could result in potential coverage losses as residents scramble to make sense of complicated administrative requirements and paperwork demands, on top of more frequent eligibility checks.

The Legislature appropriated $10 million for an outreach campaign to alert Bay Staters and help them stay on the MassHealth rolls. But as Healey and top health officials unveiled the initiative in Haverhill Tuesday, they spent far less time boosting public awareness compared to criticizing President Donald Trump for making them go through this arduous exercise in the first place.

"I feel like déjà vu vu," Healey said, as she recalled the expiration of federal tax credits back in December that would have led to soaring premiums for Health Connector members. She added, "And so at the time, I announced that I'd work to find some funds to cover those subsidies to keep people in Massachusetts on healthcare, which is what we did."

Healey ultimately pumped $260 million into heavily subsidized ConnectorCare. No such relief plan has surfaced for the MassHealth members who may lose coverage in 2027 unless they comply with work requirements or are exempt from them.

The governor attempted to keep a lower profile on Thursday. Without a press conference planned, Healey's office blasted out a news release announcing a regulatory crackdown on kratom products that pose serious health and addiction risks.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein issued an emergency order that for one year will classify all forms of kratom as a Schedule I drug under state law — at the same risk level as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration expressed its intent to take a similar scheduling approach in early July.

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Healey later Thursday held an unscheduled press scrum to explain her newfound focus on kratom, a leafy tropical tree that's native to Southeast Asia and whose retail products can vary widely in potency — in part due to the addition of other substances. Massachusetts has recorded more than 100 kratom-associated deaths in the past six years, the governor said.

"Stores need to remove kratom substances from their shelves. And again, I'm doing this because I care a lot about people's health and safety, particularly the health and safety of young people," Healey said. "And parents shouldn't have to be afraid that their kids are going to walk into some gas station or a convenience store and buy something that looks harmless that later they ingest or use with other substances that leaves them in really bad shape, including death."

To protect residents and communities from the impact of increasingly scorching summer temperatures, the Healey administration tapped Katie Schlick to become the commonwealth's first heat resilience officer. In the position, which Arizona also created two years ago, Schlick will report directly to Goldstein and Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer.

Healey's potential successors Shortsleeve and Minogue stayed busy this week. Shortsleeve said Massachusetts taxpayers should not cover transgender care if federal coverage ends this fall, condemned a $500,000 settlement the MBTA will pay after General Manager Phil Eng admitted to pulling an employee's hair, and egged on Minogue to debate him. Minogue discussed his interest in bolstering safety at MBTA stations, lowering energy bills, addressing violent crime, and committed without offering details to "do the audit on day one" in response to Auditor Diana DiZoglio's unsuccessful quest to probe the Legislature.

In other Healey highlights of the week: The Governor's Council confirmed her second pick for the Parole Board, Kaitlyn O'Leary, and she signed a law designed to handle the flurry of attempted book bans at school and public libraries. Rep. John Gaskey was the only lawmaker who voted against sending the legislation to Healey's desk.

The Carver Republican is now mired in a legal dispute, after former legislative aide Kayla Churchill filed a civil complaint accusing Gaskey of "overtly gross and sexual conduct" and creating a "sexually offensive work environment." Gaskey called the allegations "entirely baseless, politically motivated, and false." An internal House investigation found Gaskey "had not violated the House’s rules on discrimination and harassment.” according to House Speaker Ron Mariano spokesperson Ana Vivas.

Gaskey's attorney — Michael Walsh, a Republican who happens to be running for attorney general — claims Churchill quit over a social media video dispute involving South Shore independent media personality and Republican Town Committee member Jess Machado. Churchill says Gaskey fired her after finding out she had a boyfriend. The House maintains Churchill was terminated for "unprofessional behavior."

Attorney General Andrea Campbell does not seem too keen on engaging in a debate with Gaskey's attorney. Walsh was nearly tossed from the ballot after allegations of signature fraud and then reinstated on what Campbell called a "technicality."

"Why is he still on the ballot?" Campbell said on public radio when asked whether she'd debate Walsh.

She later said, "Everyone should be concerned about the fact that there were several Republican candidates here in Massachusetts — forget the national, just our local state — who got on the ballot unlawfully."

Campbell was also asked whether Rachael Rollins, who's now facing allegations of submitting questionable signatures in her bid to win back her Suffolk DA post, should be knocked off the ballot.

"If she fraudulently got on the ballot, yes," Campbell said.

Shortsleeve on Monday called for Rollins to drop out of the race, saying she's "already demonstrated that she cannot be trusted with public office" and cited her Hatch Act violations.

"Now, we're seeing allegations that obviously fraudulent signatures were submitted to put her back on the ballot," Shortsleeve said. "Election fraud has no place in Massachusetts, and we have an obligation to call it out wherever it occurs. Someone seeking to enforce the law should not benefit from allegedly fraudulent signatures to get on the ballot in the first place."

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller sits down with Jason Galui, director of the Endicott College Center for Civic Participation, and student Alexandra Pintone to discuss the program's efforts to boost voting and other forms of civic activism in a time of apathy and division.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard’s guest is Congressman Seth Moulton.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. Anchor Ed Harding and political reporter Sharman Sacchetti interview Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

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