Watch out for blue envelopes

Also: Healey ending COVID vax mandate for state workers; what's next for Newton after split override vote [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 16, 2023 🏀 Increasingly cloudy, with a high near 48. Good Morning Boston, The [vaccine mandate for state employees]( isn't the only COVID policy in Massachusetts changing this spring: - Do you or a family member get insurance through MassHealth? If so, keep a close eye on your mailbox for a blue envelope this month. As WBUR’s Garo Hagopian explains, the state is rechecking the eligibility for all 2.3 million current MassHealth enrollees — a process officials expect will boot up to 400,000 people off the state-run health insurance program over the coming year. - Why now? The end of the federal COVID emergency [means the end of the relaxed Medicaid coverage requirements]( that allowed everyone who was part of the surge in MassHealth enrollees in 2020 to keep their coverage, even if they became ineligible later. - What to watch for: About half of MassHealth members will get a normal-looking letter saying their coverage will be “automatically” renewed. However, the other half will get attention-grabbing blue envelopes saying they need to take action or risk losing coverage. (Blue envelopes don’t necessarily mean you’re losing coverage — just that a response is needed.) - The timeline: the year-long process has already begun on a rolling basis. (State health officials say some people may have already gotten a blue envelope.) Beginning April 1, those who don't respond within 45 days could lose MassHealth coverage, even if they're still eligible. - Have questions? MassHealth is doubling the number of workers at [its call centers]( to handle the expected increase in calls. - What’s next: State House News Service reports the state’s Health Connector is [opening a special enrollment period]( from April through November for those who do lose coverage. - Attorney General Andrea Campbell is warning that towns who do not comply with [the state's recent MBTA community zoning law]( will risk facing civil rights lawsuits from her office. In an advisory Wednesday, Campbell said towns could be in violation of fair housing laws if they don't abide by the new zoning requirement, which says communities served by the MBTA must allow multi-family housing in at least one zoning district. - So far, all but four of the 177 MBTA communities have taken steps to comply. [And according to The Boston Globe]( Campbell's warning has nudged a few holdouts to reconsider their stance. - Go deeper: [Listen to this Radio Boston episode]( on how the law aims to address the Boston area's housing affordability crisis. - Have you finished [your bracket]( yet? There are only a few hours left before the NCAA men's basketball tournament tips off — the first March Madness with [legal sports betting in Massachusetts](. Alabama, Houston, Kansas and Purdue are starting off as the top-ranked teams, but as we all know: expect upsets. - Even if you're not a college basketball fan, NPR intern Hassan Burke [makes the case for filling out a bracket here]( (and fills us in on the tournament's history and this year's teams to watch). - Tired of the couch? WBUR's Hanna Ali [recommends three Boston-area sports bars]( where you can take in the madness. - While there's no Massachusetts representation in this year's men's tournament, there are three New England colleges to root for: - Fourth-seeded UConn — the local team with probably the best shot to make a deep run — plays their first game tomorrow against Iona and former Celtics coach Rick Pitino. Vermont and Providence will also try to make noise in the tournament as lower-ranked underdogs. - There is one Massachusetts college in the tournament on the women's side: Holy Cross [plays their first game tomorrow](. - Meanwhile on the ice: The world of women's professional hockey descends on Waltham tonight, where the two-time defending champion Boston Pride will [host the first game of Premier Hockey Federation's Isobel Cup semifinals]( at The Bentley Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets are [just $25]( — or watch on ESPN+ or NESN+. P.S.— With the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings approaching, WBUR's Morning Edition is looking for young adults who lived in Greater Boston at the time to share reflections on that day. If you or someone you know might be willing to talk for a potential story, simply reply to this email or reach out directly to producer Laney Ruckstuhl at esruck@bu.edu. Thanks! Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [With tax override defeated, Newton leaders fear student impacts]( Newton voters split on three ballot questions during a special election on Tuesday. Residents agreed to a temporary tax increase to overhaul two elementary schools but declined a Proposition 2 1/2 tax override that some officials said was needed to prevent cuts to student programs and even personnel. [Read more.]( [With tax override defeated, Newton leaders fear student impacts]( Newton voters split on three ballot questions during a special election on Tuesday. Residents agreed to a temporary tax increase to overhaul two elementary schools but declined a Proposition 2 1/2 tax override that some officials said was needed to prevent cuts to student programs and even personnel. [Read more.]( [What it will cost to issue drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants in Mass.]( The so-called "Work and Family Mobility Act" that legislators passed last summer—and was upheld by voters in the fall— to expand driver's license access to immigrants without legal status will take effect on July 1. [Read more.]( [What it will cost to issue drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants in Mass.]( The so-called "Work and Family Mobility Act" that legislators passed last summer—and was upheld by voters in the fall— to expand driver's license access to immigrants without legal status will take effect on July 1. [Read more.]( [Healey will end the COVID vaccination mandate for state workers]( Gov. Maura Healey said the vaccination requirement saved “countless lives." But she said it’s time to update the state’s COVID response. [Read more.]( [Healey will end the COVID vaccination mandate for state workers]( Gov. Maura Healey said the vaccination requirement saved “countless lives." But she said it’s time to update the state’s COVID response. [Read more.]( [Boston school officials tout new accountability measures in proposed bus contract]( School committee members will vote whether to approve the new contract with school bus vendor Transdev that would begin in July. [Read more.]( [Boston school officials tout new accountability measures in proposed bus contract]( School committee members will vote whether to approve the new contract with school bus vendor Transdev that would begin in July. [Read more.]( [Healey appointees tasked with ‘transforming’ the Department of Public Utilities]( The Healey administration appointed Jamie Van Nostrand as DPU chair, and Staci Rubin and Cecile Fraser as commissioners.It also set four broad goals for the department’s new leadership. [Read more.]( [Healey appointees tasked with ‘transforming’ the Department of Public Utilities]( The Healey administration appointed Jamie Van Nostrand as DPU chair, and Staci Rubin and Cecile Fraser as commissioners.It also set four broad goals for the department’s new leadership. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - For the first time, President Joe Biden's administration is explicitly threatening to ban TikTok — unless the Chinese-owned social media app is sold to a buyer within the U.S. Here's [what could come next](. - Massachusetts Auditor Diana Dizoglio says she's trying to set up meetings this week with her old colleagues on Beacon Hill after announcing the [first audit of the state Legislature in over a century](. But she told Radio Boston yesterday that she hasn't heard back from House or Senate leadership, who say she doesn't have the authority. Listen to [the full interview here](. - Yes, the Southie St. Patricks Day parade is this weekend (and that's certainly on our list). But our arts and culture team's [weekend events preview]( also includes taproom yoga and a talk at Boston’s City Winery featuring a woman whose first boyfriend was John Lennon. - Health and science journalist Chelsea Conaboy [writes in this Cognoscenti commentary]( that postpartum depression is almost accepted as "an inevitable outcome" in the United States — even though we know how to help struggling mothers.  What We're Reading 📚 - The New Middle Age ([The New York Times]( - Wynn Resorts buys Everett power plant site. Is a Revs stadium on the Mystic next? ([The Boston Globe]( - What We Still Don’t Understand About Postpartum Psychosis ([The New Yorker](  Food for Thought ['My Vermont Table' cookbook celebrates recipes with local ingredients from all 6 seasons in state]( It’s mud season in Vermont — time to put on a pair of boots and head to a sugar house where the sap is boiling. Mud season, of course, is one of the six seasons in Vermont — yes, six!And each one is celebrated in a new cookbook released this week. [Read more.]( ['My Vermont Table' cookbook celebrates recipes with local ingredients from all 6 seasons in state]( It’s mud season in Vermont — time to put on a pair of boots and head to a sugar house where the sap is boiling. Mud season, of course, is one of the six seasons in Vermont — yes, six!And each one is celebrated in a new cookbook released this week. [Read more.]( Listen: The Common [talks to award-winning local chef Irene Li about culture and accountability in Boston's restaurant industry](. Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: Try those Dorchester turkeys and [see what happens](. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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