Healey-Driscoll Administration Gathers Health Care Leaders to Discuss Housing’s Impact on Public Health

Healey-Driscoll Administration Gathers Health Care Leaders to Discuss Housing’s Impact on Public Health 

Officials and subject matter experts discuss how to safeguard public health, recruit and retain health care workforce  

BOSTON - Today, Governor Maura T. Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll met with health care leaders to discuss the impact of the high housing costs on public health, as well as the industry’s ability to recruit and retain a talented workforce to provide care. 

Health and Human Service Secretary Kate Walsh and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus led the discussion hosted by Boston Medical Center. The meeting pulled in subject matter experts from across the health care industry who shared both the challenges hospitals and other health care facilities face in finding and retaining workers due to a lack of affordable housing and the impact housing insecurity has on healthcare outcomes and public health.   

“Massachusetts has the world’s best medical providers, institutions and researchers. But if we want to continue to recruit and retain the talented workforce that makes this possible, we need to address the high cost of housing in our state,” said Governor Healey. “Access to affordable and stable housing is also a matter of public health and health equity. Our Affordable Homes Act proposes significant investments that would have a positive impact on residents’ health, including rehabbing our public housing stock, expanding supportive housing, and decarbonizing housing in environmental justice communities.” 

Participants discussed how the high cost of housing and limited availability is impacting the health care workforce with some facing difficulties in hiring and filling important shifts. The lack of affordable housing also presents challenges in recruiting recent college graduates who are moving to other states where housing is less expensive.  

“Housing is a workforce issue and a public health issue,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “Study after study has shown the enormous influence stable housing has on the health of individuals and their ability to succeed. As we build solutions to our housing crunch, we’re also giving Massachusetts residents the ability to lead healthier and happier lives.”  

Without stable housing, it is very hard to access employment, nutritious food and other critical needs. It’s also exceptionally difficult to stabilize major physical and behavioral health conditions. 

Moderated by Secretaries Walsh and Augustus, the Housing is Health Care roundtable included participants from the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, the Association for Behavioral Health, the Massachusetts Public Health Association, Boston Medical Center, Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Pine Street Inn, MassPACE and various hospital CEO’s from across the state.  

“It’s almost impossible for individuals and families to thrive and live healthy, productive lives when they are not adequately and safely housed,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. “Affordable, accessible housing allows people to prioritize their health care needs and the needs of their families, while also creating vibrant, healthier, safer and more productive communities across Massachusetts.” 

A key component of the administration’s housing plan includes the $4 billion Affordable Homes Act, filed by the governor with the Legislature last fall. These investments go directly toward programs with the maximum positive impact on health. Those include $1.4 billion to rehabilitate the state’s public housing stock, the production of tens of thousands of units of affordable housing, creation of a flexible supportive housing pool and the creation of net-zero clean energy housing. In addition to an $800 million investment in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and historic investments in the public housing stock, the Affordable Homes Act will commit $100 million to support middle-income housing production. The mixed-income housing will create rental housing that is affordable for households whose incomes are too high for subsidized housing but are priced out by market rents. The bill also includes $100 million for the CommonWealth Builder to build affordable homeownership opportunities for our workforce.  

“Three years ago, during the COVID-19 outbreak, we were calling our health care workers heroes, and now those same heroes can’t afford a place to live in Massachusetts, said Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus. "They need our help now in making Massachusetts more affordable. Likewise, we know children who lack a stable place to call home, struggle more with their homework and face increased stress and anxiety. We need and can do better for them as well. The actions we take today to provide more housing and build livable communities will have positive ramifications for generations to come.” 

Earlier this year, Massachusetts was selected as one of eight states to participate in a new federal initiative, the Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator. Massachusetts plans to use the Accelerator to create a map of housing-related services for people experiencing homelessness, to explore the ways that Medicaid and other federal funding can be leveraged in the implementation of a permanent supportive housing pool fund and to study the costs of building a permanent supportive housing program. 

The roundtable was part of the administration’s statewide Housing Campaign to call attention to the urgent need to lower housing costs throughout Massachusetts and the ways in which the high cost of housing impacts businesses. Events earlier this week focused on identifying housing solutions with the business industry, ending veteran homelessness and the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s partnership with cities and towns to find solutions.