Healey says cuts to Children’s Hospital funding could be devastating

Gov. Maura Healey warned of the potential impacts of the proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health and Medicaid during a press conference at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“We want to make absolutely clear what is at stake and who is being harmed,” Healey said Monday.

Boston Children’s is the leading recipient of pediatric research funding from the National Institutes of Health, receiving more awards than any other children’s hospital. 

According to Healey’s administration, the hospital receives over $200 million in NIH funding annually, including $230 million last year. The proposed cuts by the Trump administration would cut that funding in half. 

“That means halting research into the diseases that harm children,” Healey said. “Ripping away hope from families … who are facing a devastating diagnosis. These cuts are going to cost jobs. They’re going to cost lives, young, vulnerable lives.”

“It’s not rhetoric,” she continued. “It’s not hyperbole. It’s a fact.”

Congress also recently passed a budget resolution that could potentially impact Medicaid, which about 2 million Massachusetts residents and nearly half of the state’s children rely on for health care. 

About 46% of Boston Children’s patients have coverage through MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, including 60% of those with the most complex medical needs.

“Everyone needs to understand how very serious this threat is,” said Healey.  “And everyone needs to understand the cuts that are being proposed in order to fund huge tax breaks for some of the richest people in the world are going to come on the backs of these patients and their families.”

Healey said the cuts have already had an effect in Massachusetts. Despite a federal judge’s temporary restraining order against the NIH for barring funding for medical research, Healey said the funding is still not coming through. 

Healey said that colleges and universities in the state are already reducing their budgets because of these cuts, which are stopping research and clinical trials in their tracks. 

Now, Healey said that a presence from China, Europe, and the Middle East is looking to poach these researchers to move overseas. 

“That is against America First,” she said. “We are giving away assets to other countries instead of retaining them and supporting them here.” 

Dr. Kevin Churchwell, the executive officer of Boston Children’s Hospital, stated that vaccine development and efforts to monitor diseases like the flu are facing the most significant impacts.

“At Boston Children’s, our mission is clear – to improve and transform the lives of children through compassionate care, groundbreaking research, and unwavering commitment to every child, no matter their circumstance, because we believe that care is a right, not a privilege,” Churchwell said in a statement. “That conviction drives our work every day.”

During the visit, Healey and first lady Joanna Lydgate toured the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, where they met with clinicians, patients, and families. 

Healey said it is unclear what the Trump administration will cut next, but “this is an important one.” 

Choking up, she said after seeing the children fighting, she questioned who would “want to take that hope away from any family.” 

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.