Lawmakers appear increasingly likely to vote next year, at least in the Senate, on reshaping health care practices to funnel more money toward the front lines.
A panel of health care experts is ready to recommend establishing a state benchmark that calls for at least a doubling of the share of health care spending in Massachusetts on primary care. The proposal would call for the share of primary care spending to be ramped up to that level over the next five years, putting a specific target and timeline on paper for the first time.
With that, by the time legislators gavel in for the first time in 2026, they will have in hand a potential road map for navigating one of the thorniest health care issues facing the state — the desperate shortage of primary care providers.
They will also have the pressure to act, and the political headaches, that come with it.
Sen. Cindy Friedman, the Senate’s point person on most health care matters, said she expects a vote on some form of primary care reforms next year.
“I’ve got no indication that there is not a will to do this, at least in the Senate, in 2026,” she told CommonWealth Beacon.
Primary care is the linchpin of the health care network, the entry point where patients can get preventive services that head off more expensive care from specialists or emergency departments further downstream.
It’s also the area of health care most in crisis. Massachusetts has a shrinking primary care workforce, making it more difficult for people to get appointments. One national study published in June estimated a patient in the Boston area faced an average wait of 69 days when booking a physical with a new provider, the longest among 15 cities surveyed.
More Context
- ‘The gaps have become too big for too many’ (September 2025)
- The stress test facing Massachusetts health care (March 2025)
Published by MassINC