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S 891

Directs the department of social services to establish a centralized homelessness crisis response data system

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Kristen Gonzalez and 2 co-sponsors

Massachusetts creates a state loan-forgiveness and workforce development grant program for community health centers to recruit/retain primary care staff, with 4-year contracts.

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Bill Summary · S 891

Summary — S. 891 (Massachusetts Senate No. 891, 194th General Court)

Title: An Act relative to the primary care workforce development and loan repayment grant program at community health centers

Status & Procedural History
- Filed: 01/15/2025 (Senate Docket No. 996).
- Introduced by Senator Liz Miranda. Referred to Health Care Financing; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Hearing scheduled for 05/12/2025 (Gardner Auditorium).
- Bill inserts a new section (16GG) into Chapter 6A of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Purpose / Intent
- Establish a state-administered grant program to strengthen recruitment and retention of primary care and related workforce at community health centers across the Commonwealth by providing loan repayment/forgiveness and workforce development supports.

Key Provisions
- Creation of Program (Section 16GG):
- Establishes a Primary Care Workforce Development and Loan Forgiveness Grant Program at community health centers.
- Administered by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS); EOHHS may contract with an external organization to run the program.
- Explicitly continues state-level loan repayment efforts for community health center clinicians, including programs begun under Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021 (reference to reserve 1599-2026).

  • Eligible Participants and Priorities:

    • Intended beneficiaries include primary care physicians and other clinicians; bachelor’s degree–level mental health and primary care professionals (e.g., community health workers, recovery coaches, family partners); and other non‑clinician community health center staff.
    • Priority given to clinicians and bachelor’s degree–level mental health/primary care professionals.
    • Program will prioritize recruitment and retention of a culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse workforce.

  • Eligibility Conditions for Loan Repayment Assistance:

    • Must work in a community health center.
    • Must have outstanding educational debt.
    • Must not be participating in any other loan repayment program.
    • Must enter into a contract with the Commonwealth for not less than four (4) years.
    • Assistance for part-time workers is to be pro-rated.

  • Administration and Enforcement:

    • EOHHS to promulgate regulations for program administration, including penalties and repayment procedures if participants fail to meet program requirements.

  • Funding:

    • Program funded from the Behavioral Health and Community‑Based Primary Care Reserve established in section 2A of Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021.

Who Would Be Affected
- Directly: community health centers (employers), clinicians and specified allied/credentialed staff with educational debt who meet eligibility requirements.
- Indirectly: patients in communities served by health centers (potentially improved access), EOHHS (administration/oversight), and state budget/reserve funds from which program is financed.

Potential Impact
- Expected benefits:
- Improve recruitment and retention of primary care and behavioral health workforce in community health centers.
- Support workforce diversity and language/cultural concordance with patient populations.
- Maintain continuity of previously established state loan repayment programs.

  • Considerations and trade-offs:
    • Requires multi‑year service commitments (4 years), which may limit mobility for participants.
    • Fiscal impact depends on available balance in the referenced reserve; future budget decisions could affect program scale.
    • Enforcement provisions (repayment penalties) may deter some applicants or create administrative burden.

Short note
- The bill is state-level (Massachusetts) and distinct from federal bills with similar short titles; it amends state law by adding section 16GG to Chapter 6A.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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