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Mass. Sending $800 Million More To Health Care Providers

A new $800 million investment in Massachusetts health care providers who are critical to pandemic response adds to $840 million in previously announced financial assistance.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced the new aid Tuesday afternoon, describing the source of the funding as "offsets, by reductions in MassHealth and enhanced federal revenue."

Baker also discussed efforts that are ramping up to more rapidly test health care workers for the virus.

The state has still received only 100 of the 1,700 ventilators it requested to aid in a surge of virus cases that may begin on Friday, and most of those 100 ventilators have been distributed.

"We're going to continue to advocate for additional ventilators because we believe we need them, and that's a big part of what the back and forth between the state and the federal government has been about for the past few days," said Baker, who participated in a call with governors and Vice President Mike Pence on Monday.

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