12/01/2025
“The disproportionate impact of the opioid epidemic on rural communities has been heartbreaking. So the focus on access to medications for opioid use disorder will be an important component,” said Lydia Conley, ABH president and CEO, in a recent WBUR 90.9 FM story on the state’s request for funds to significantly expand rural health access: https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/11/14/massachusetts-rural-health-care-federal-funding.
The Commonwealth seeks to offer more mobile addiction treatment and remote appointments and build the behavioral health workforce, which would enable ABH member organizations and others to provide these important services to communities that historically have not had access.
In about six weeks, Massachusetts and all 50 states expect to learn whether they’ll receive some of a $50 billion federal fund for rural health care — and if so, how much. The money, from the Rural Health Transformation Program, was set aside by Congress to help prevent hospital closures as Medi...