A group of students from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health got an insiders’ glimpse of health policymaking in Massachusetts at the annual Massachusetts Student Health Policy Forum, held Jan. 8-9.
The forum, held at the Massachusetts State House and other locations around Beacon Hill, drew about 70 students, including nine health policy students from the School. Topics covered included how the state is dealing with its large current budget shortfall and its potential impact on health programs, how prepared the state is for the avian flu, and how potential policy changes from the incoming Trump Administration might impact health programs in the state.
The event was sponsored by Harvard Chan School, the Heller School at Brandeis University, six other Massachusetts schools of public health, medicine, nursing, and others.
Over two packed days, students met with key Massachusetts health policy leaders from the State Legislature and the executive branch, including Sen. Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington) and Rep. Christine Barber (D-Somerville); Michael Levine, assistant secretary for MassHealth, David Seltz, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission; and Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Health.
Sophie Hearn, MPH ’25, said, “It was extremely informative and inspiring to hear about all the work happening in the state government and to learn more about career paths in state health policy.”
John McDonough, professor of the practice of public health, as well as co-founder and sponsor of the Forum, said, “Many students come to Harvard Chan School believing that all important health policy making starts and ends in Washington DC. In truth, states are a huge part of the action, for better and for worse. Students are excited to learn, up close and personal, how Massachusetts is definitely among the best.”
