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Rep. Richard Neal among those pushing for more changes at Holyoke Soldiers' Home

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HOLYOKE, Mass. — A Massachusetts congressman is working with a coalition that is calling for more changes at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home following a massive COVID-19 outbreak at the veterans facility. Rep. Richard Neal, who represents the state's 1st District, held a news conference on Saturday with members of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home Coalition, which is made up of former facility administrators,...

Veterans, advocates demand say in Soldiers’ Home changes

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HOLYOKE — A coalition of veterans, their families and local advocates are raising concerns with changes announced by Gov. Charlie Baker that are intended to improve oversight and operations at the Soldiers’ Home. Called the “Coalition to Fund the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Now,” the group demanded Friday that none of the governor’s extensive list of changes be made without an outreach effort first. Ba...

Congressman Neal calls for major change to Holyoke Soldiers' Home

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HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Congressman Richard Neal held a press conference at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home today, and he is now calling for change to happen at the facility where more than 70 veteran residents died from the coronavirus. The Holyoke Soldiers' Home has been under the microscope since the coronavirus spread throughout the facility. The killing of at least 76 veteran residents. "I am p...

Congressman Neal visits Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, discusses plans to protect veterans going forward

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HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – The last three months have been very hard on family members of veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The coronavirus killed 78 veterans, including Laurie Beuadette’s father James. “It’s agonizing knowing how my dad passed seeing him fade away on Facetime, it was awful. I took screenshots and I get nightmares looking at them,” Beuadette told 22News. Congressman Richard Nea...

U.S. Rep. Neal supports plan to renovate and expand Holyoke Solidiers’ Home

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A proposal to renovate and expand the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home got a major boost Saturday as First District U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Chairmen of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, threw his support behind the plan. “The proposals that we are speaking about today regarding the renovation for the future of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home are critical given the terrible tragedy of 76 veterans losing th...

Massachusetts East-West Rail Would Compete For Grants

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The beacon of light touted recently by Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Richard Neal for an east-west passenger rail extension in the state is a grant program under which all states could compete for transportation project funding. Neal, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, said at a press conference last week that the new $1.5 trillion infrastructure package House Democrats will pursue includes ...

Neal And Democrats Want To Expand ACA Coverage, But No Traction In Senate

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Rep. Richard Neal, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic House committee chairs to present a bill that would expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act during the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re very much in the midst of this pandemic,” Neal said during a press conference yesterday. “There is no better time to increase access to high ...

'Very Troubling' Holyoke Soldiers' Home Report Elicits Calls For Major Changes At The Facility

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Lawmakers, officials and others weighed in Wednesday on findings of an independent report that said leadership at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home made "substantial errors and failures" in handling a deadly COVID-19 outbreak. Seventy-six veterans at the state-run facility testing positive for the virus have died in recent months. John Paradis was a deputy superintendent at the Soldiers' Home until 2015,...

Calls for reform grow after report into Holyoke Soldiers’ Home coronavirus outbreak

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Advocates, lawmakers and relatives of loved ones lost to the devastating coronavirus outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home are pushing the Baker administration for major reforms and are calling for further investigations after the release of a harrowing report on the facility’s failures to sufficiently respond to the crisis. The report on the independent investigation by former federal prosecutor...

House Democrats unveil package to enhance Affordable Care Act, reduce health care costs and drug prices

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Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping health care package to strengthen the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, lowering the costs of insurance premiums, expanding eligibility for premium tax credits and allowing states to create state-based health insurance marketplaces. Democrats framed the proposals as a way to protect the Affordable Care Act, the ...