Boston Medical Center (BMC)

BMC has several affiliates and partner institutions through which it provides medical care to the greater Boston area, including Clearway Health, WellSense Health Plan, Boston Health Net, and its research partnerships with Boston University medical students. ¹

In 2019, Boston Medical Center employees organized a silent, “Stand in for Solidarity” protest of a visit by First Lady Melania Trump to the Boston Medical Center. Although BCM’s CEO defended the decision to allow Trump to visit the hospital, more than 250 BMC employees participated in the protest. Critics of the visit argued that Melania Trump’s presence at the hospital was harmful to patients and care providers because of President Donald Trump’s policies related to immigration and abortion. ^{6  7}

Activities

Medical Specialties and Research

The Boston Medical Center (BMC) has received recognition for excellence in several areas of medical care and research. The hospital was named one of the U.S. News and World Report High Performing hospitals in neurology and neurosurgery, geriatrics, urology, heart failure, diabetes, kidney failure, stroke, and pneumonia. It was also awarded a Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest national credential for nursing excellence, quality patient care, and innovations in professional nursing practice. In 2022, BMC was named to the 2022 Becker’s Healthcare list of top 150 places to work in health care. ¹

Affiliated Organizations and Projects

As part of its healthcare work, the Boston Medical Center has several affiliate healthcare organizations and projects with which it works, including Clearway Health, WellSense Health Plan, Boston Health Net, and Boston University. ¹ Clearway Health is the pharmacy services affiliate of the Boston Medical Center and greater Boston Medical Center Health System (BMCHS). ⁸

WellSense Health Plan is a nonprofit health insurance company and benefits consulting group that provides services to more than 700,000 members across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, connecting them to Medicare, Individual and Family, and Medicaid plans. ⁹

Boston HealthNet is a central organizing group that operates and maintains the network of in-person community health centers across New England, particularly those in low-income areas. It is a network affiliation that includes the Boston Medical Center, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, and 13 community health centers. ¹⁰

Boston Medical Center is also the principal teaching affiliate of Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. BMC operates 67 residency training programs that offer 679 resident, research, and fellowship positions. ¹

Political Activism

The Boston Medical Center promotes critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as central goals in providing health care to patients. The hospital lists several awards it has received for its commitment to left-of-center diversity initiatives, including its recognition by Forbes as a Best Large Employer and Best Employer for Diversity in America, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health for the Hypertension Innovator Award, by Practice Greenhealth for earning the DEI Impact Award from Smart Energy Decisions. ^{1  2}

BMC supports transgender medical operations and research. During the Biden administration, BMC received $696,928 in federal grants to study cardiovascular health problems in transgender people and how hormone treatments affect long-term heart health. ⁴

In October 2025, the Independent Institute reported that Boston Medical Center research was allegedly cited by the Trump administration in suggesting acetaminophen may increase autism rates among children exposed to the painkiller in utero. The BMC study examined 996 infants and found a slight increase in autism and ADHD in children exposed to acetaminophen in utero. ¹¹

In 2021, BMC academics and researchers published an article regarding a proposed Boston Medical Center Immigration Taskforce initiative. They argued that instead of educating health care providers in the complexities of immigration law, hospitals should establish in-house immigration task forces composed of legal experts and clinicians so that providers can evade immigration law to provide medical care to illegal immigrants. ⁵

BMC argues for increased access to abortion. Following the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) that overturned a federal right to abortion, BMC published a report arguing that abortion is health care and reaffirming its “commitment to maintaining reproductive justice,” which means performing abortions. ³ In 2023, BMC released a study suggesting that abortion restrictions would have the most harm on Black women since they are the most likely demographic to seek abortion. BMC argued in favor of increased access to abortion for Black women. ¹²

Controversy

In 2019 during the first Trump administration, First Lady Melania Trump visited the Boston Medical Center (BMC) as part of her “Be Better” initiative, which focused on wellbeing, internet safety, and opioid abuse. According to a White House press release, Trump, along with then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, came to BMC to learn about the hospital’s Cuddling Assists in Lowering Maternal and Infant Stress (CALM) program, developed to treat babies born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Trump was also informed of the status of several other programs BMC has developed to assist pregnant women with substance use disorders and their children. ⁶

In response to her visit, 250 BMC workers participated in a silent “Stand-In for Solidarity” protest. The protest was intended “to reflect participants’ support of BMC patients, many of whom have been aversely [sic] affected by Trump administration policies.” United States Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) made a Twitter post in support of the employee protest: “With each passing day, this administration, led be [sic] HHS Secretary Azar, continues to the [sic] undermine the efforts of the incredible staff at BMC and health centers across the nation by stoking fear, limiting access to maternity and reproductive health care, and allowing providers to refuse care to patients in need.” ⁶

In response to the protest by employees, then-BMC CEO Kate Walsh sent a message to the more than 6,000 BCM employees explaining her decision to host the First Lady. Walsh stated that “[t]he First Lady of the United States asked to come here because we are leaders,” and because “[w]e are doing important, impactful work. It’s my hope that this visit will lead other providers across the country to offer the types of effective, non-stigmatizing treatment and programming that we provide here at BMC.” ⁶

In response to Melania Trump’s visit, psychiatrist Jennifer Okwerekwu published an opinion editorial in STAT News claiming that Trump’s visit to BMC “harms patients and providers.” Okwerekwu blamed the Trump administration’s insistence on enforcing immigration law as harmful to BMC patients, some of whom are illegal immigrants. ⁷

Leadership

As of 2025, Alastair Bell was the president and CEO of the Boston Medical Center (BMC). As president, he oversaw the comprehensive system strategy and operations of all BMC entities, including BMC, Boston Accountable Care Organization, Clearway Health, and the WellSense Health Plan. Previously, Bell was a leader in the North American payor and provider practice at McKinsey and Company, advising a range of national and international health-care organizations and leading large-scale transformation programs. He received a medical degree from the University of Oxford, a master’s degree in physiology from the University of Cambridge, and a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Harvard Business School. As of 2025, Bell was co-chair of the board for the Boston Children’s Chorus. ¹³

As of 2025, David Ament was chair of the board of trustees at BMC. At that time, he was working as a managing partner and the co-CEO of Parthenon Capital, a Boston-based investment firm. Before joining Parthenon, Ament was a Principal at Audax Group, a private equity firm, and an investment professional at Apollo Management, a large-cap global private equity firm. He is the former chair of the Wellsense Health Plan, a BMC affiliate. Ament received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. ¹⁴

Financials

In 2024, the Boston Medical Center reported $2,600,525,380 in total revenue, $2,641,501,168 in total expenses, and $2,832,076,979 in total assets. ¹⁵ In 2024, one of BMC’s affiliates, WellSense Health Plan, reported $5,196,975,117 in total revenue, $5,141,306,831 in total expenses, and $1,702,165,103 in total expenses. ¹⁶