Governor seeks billions in additional spending while resisting federal eligibility reforms and redirecting money from state reserves

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance today blasted Governor Maura Healey’s newly filed $2.24 billion supplemental budget, saying the Governor is refusing to make necessary reforms to state benefit programs and instead asking working Massachusetts taxpayers to spend more to preserve the status quo.

“Washington is telling states to enforce basic eligibility standards that are long-overdue, require certain able-bodied adults to meet work requirements and limit taxpayer-funded benefits for people who are not legally eligible for them. Governor Healey’s response is to fight the reforms and send the bill to Massachusetts taxpayers,” said Paul Diego Craney, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “Instead of reforming these programs that are bleeding taxpayers dry, she wants to set up another government fund on the back of taxpayers, more state workers paid for by taxpayers and access to money that should be strengthening the Commonwealth’s financial position.”

The federal Medicaid changes include work or community engagement requirements for certain able-bodied adults, more frequent eligibility redeterminations, changes to retroactive coverage and restrictions on federal Medicaid funding for certain immigrants. Healey’s proposal would establish a new Health Care Stabilization Fund to help cover costs as those changes take effect.

“Calling basic eligibility reforms ‘cuts’ does not change what they are,” said Craney. “If an able-bodied adult is required to work, volunteer or attend school to remain eligible for taxpayer-funded health coverage, Massachusetts should implement that requirement like every other state in the nation. If Washington will no longer reimburse states for providing certain benefits to people who are not lawfully present, Massachusetts should reform its policies accordingly, not reach deeper into the pockets of working taxpayers.”

The Governor’s proposal would also redirect a portion of excess capital gains revenue that would otherwise flow toward the Commonwealth’s long-term liabilities, including the Stabilization Fund, to the new Health Care Stabilization Fund.

“One-time and volatile revenues should not become Beacon Hill’s piggy bank whenever politicians refuse to make difficult spending decisions,” said Craney. “Massachusetts should be protecting its reserves and structural financial integrity, not creating new ways to spend money before it ever gets there.”

The supplemental budget also includes $41.5 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance, including $26.6 million to retain 78 recently hired employees and hire 10 additional workers, as Massachusetts attempts to address its SNAP payment error rate.

“Massachusetts taxpayers are being asked to pay for a larger state workforce because state government has failed to properly administer the program,” said Craney. “Hiring more state employees may inflate government job numbers, but it does not fix the underlying failures. Massachusetts needs meaningful reform and better administration, not another taxpayer-funded expansion of a broken state bureaucracy.”

The package also contains Healey’s proposal to suspend Massachusetts’ 24-cent-per-gallon gas tax for two months. Healey opposed suspending the gas tax during the 2022 price spike, saying Massachusetts should instead pursue “real solutions” to reduce costs. She is now proposing a temporary suspension as she seeks reelection with 26 days before early voting starts.

“MassFiscal welcomes any relief taxpayers can get, but Governor Healey has some explaining to do,” said Craney. “When gas prices were even higher in 2022, she opposed suspending the gas tax and called for ‘real solutions.’ Now that she is up for reelection, and with 26 days before voters can vote early, she is proposing suspending the gas tax. Massachusetts taxpayers are entitled to ask what changed and will the Governor simply discard this idea after the election.”

“If Governor Healey is serious about finding ‘real solutions’ and alleviating the suffering caused by high energy costs, she should suspend the costly climate mandates her administration continues to impose on Massachusetts families and businesses,” continued Craney. “Twenty-four cents at the pump matters, but so do the skyrocketing electric and heating bills Massachusetts families are paying under her climate energy agenda.”

“This supplemental budget is a cop-out and exactly what happens when a Governor refuses much needed government reform,” concluded Craney. “Faced with new basic eligibility rules, she wants Massachusetts taxpayers to replace federal money. Faced with high SNAP errors, she wants more taxpayer funded state workers. Faced with self-induced spending pressures, she wants access to money intended for our reserves. Governor Healey appears willing to spend whatever it takes of other people’s money to resist federal reforms and score political points with her base, but it’s working Massachusetts taxpayers who will be stuck with the bill.”