Aim to advance legislation that passed both House and Senate in last session to address critical infrastructure and equity needs to shore up Commonwealth’s public health readiness

WHAT:  The Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community (SAPHE 2.0) Act is a top legislative  priority for the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) because of its foundational approach to ensuring that every city and town – regardless of race, income, or zip code – will have the resources and tools needed to address both daily health needs and emergency situations impacting the health and lives of its residents. Sponsored by Senator Jo Comerford and Representatives Hannah Kane and Denise Garlick, this critical bill will transform the Massachusetts local public health system by ensuring minimum standards for every community, increasing local capacity, creating a uniform data collection and reporting system, and establishing sustainable state funding.

SAPHE 2.0 builds on a body of work undertaken by the executive branch, the legislature, municipal leaders, public health officials, and fiscal policy experts. This bill implements the unanimous recommendations of the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health, as well as a key recommendation of the Joint Committee on COVID19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management’s report. SAPHE 2.0 also serves as the roadmap for efficiently and equitably spending the legislature’s $200M ARPA investment in local and regional public health. SAPHE 2.0, as unanimously passed by the legislature in 2022, provides the framework to realize a truly equitable and efficient local public health system.

WHO:  Public health administrators, municipal leaders, and advocates from across the Commonwealth will present testimony and detail the current and ever present need for these improvements. Along with MPHA, organizational sponsors include MA Association of Public Health Nurses, MA Association of Health Boards, Blue Cross Blue Shield MA, the MA Healthy Aging Collaborative, regional planning commissions, and many more.

WHEN AND WHERE: Thursday, May 4th, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in State House Hearing Room A-2. Also available via Hearings & Events (malegislature.gov) 

WHY:  “SAPHE 2.0 will transform the Commonwealth’s public health system into one that is informed, responsive, connected, and nimble,” said Oami Amarasingham, MPHA Deputy Director. While many of the issues identified and recommendations made in the Special Commission’s report pre-date COVID, the need to address them proactively was brought into stark relief over the past three years.

Amarasingham added, “Our decentralized public health and response systems – and the longstanding inequities and inefficiencies embedded within them – became more widely known as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Having unanimously passed the bill through both chambers at the end of the last legislative session, the House and Senate clearly understand that the time to act is now. We look forward to swift action on SAPHE 2.0 so that our public health system is prepared to meet the public health challenges of today and tomorrow.”

For more details regarding SAPHE 2.0 or to arrange an interview, please contact Toni Troop, MPHA Media Consultant by phone (ttroop@mapublichealth.org).