Mass. advances health equity work, despite Trump’s opposition to DEI

Massachusetts health officials are rolling out new programs aimed at improving health and life expectancy in 30 communities across the state where residents are more likely to suffer preventable, early deaths.

The Healey administration’s initiative, Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts, is focused on reducing complications that happen during and after pregnancy, and addressing the social and economic drivers of heart disease and other related health conditions.

“We are really laser-focused on those two areas because we know they are driving early deaths in individuals in Massachusetts,” said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, the state commissioner of public health. “And when we look at the data, those are the areas where we see the most striking disparities when it comes to race, ethnicity, geography.”

Goldstein said he’s directing Department of Public Health dollars toward the cities and towns where residents suffer the worst health outcomes. These communities stretch from western Massachusetts to Boston and Cape Cod.

State officials are also working with two private groups, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and the Atrius Health Equity Foundation, which have agreed to fund programs in two of the communities: Chicopee and New Bedford.

State data shows residents in Chicopee and New Bedford are more likely to suffer early deaths related to heart disease and diabetes, and have a greater percentage of people living in poverty, compared to the state average.

This work is getting underway as the Trump administration tries to dismantle equity programs across the federal government and threatens to pull funding from organizations with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. President Trump has also signed executive actions taking aim at people who identify as transgender.

But Goldstein said those national developments won’t change the state’s focus on reducing health inequities between people of different races, ethnicities and genders.

“Equity work is the work of public health,” he said. “We’re talking about improving life expectancy, improving the health of individuals all across Massachusetts.”

Goldstein said state officials would continue collecting and analyzing health data by race, ethnicity and gender — whether or not the federal government does so.

“I see this as our day-to-day work, and I don’t think there’s anything that would happen at the federal level that would change what we’re doing,” he said.

Many researchers and medical professionals worry that programs in the state that rely on federal funding could be targeted for cuts by the Trump administration if they include work on equity or combating racism.

Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, which insures about 2 million people and relies heavily on federal dollars, also names health equity as a priority, and it provides money for hospitals to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have signaled they plan to cut Medicaid funding, though it’s unclear exactly how.

Jacquie Anderson, senior director of grantmaking at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, said health equity will also continue to be a priority for the foundation — though she acknowledged there is a lot of concern about reduced federal funding for this kind of work.

“Our mission has always been to ensure equitable access to health care for all those in the commonwealth who are economically, racially or socially marginalized,” Anderson said. “That hasn’t changed.”

The foundation plans to give the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts $200,000 over two years to learn more about why Chicopee residents are disproportionately affected by heart disease, diabetes and pregnancy-related complications.

“It’s about how do we equip the folks in Chicopee to make their community as healthy as they can?” Anderson said.

The Atrius foundation has agreed to spend $500,000 over two years to support the SouthCoast Community Foundation in launching a program for young people in New Bedford to identify the social factors that affect heart health.

“There are many communities in southeastern Massachusetts that have low life expectancies, and it was important for us to make some investments there,” said Dr. Ann Hwang, president of the Atrius foundation.

The Atrius foundation, created in 2022 after the nonprofit Atrius medical group was acquired by a for-profit company, has also pledged $10 million to a program aimed at helping Boston residents live longer, healthier lives. A 2023 city report found a 23-year life expectancy gap for people living around Nubian Square in Roxbury, compared with residents two miles away in the Back Bay.

Boston Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu recently told reporters that Boston can’t reach its health equity goals without more private funding.

“This is the time for us to bring less traditional partners to the table,” she said, “because there’s this uncertainty around federal funding for this type of work.”