Overview
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission’s (HPC) Office of Health Resource Planning (OHRP) was established in 2025, a component of historic legislation that also enhanced the public transparency and accountability of the Commonwealth’s health care system.
OHRP is charged with evaluating the supply and distribution of health care resources across the Commonwealth. OHRP leads the Commonwealth's first comprehensive state health planning initiative in over a decade, using robust data analysis and strategic planning to promote the alignment of health care resources with population needs.
Despite the strong health care infrastructure in Massachusetts, the HPC’s work has identified supply and capacity challenges, including:
- Uneven distribution of health care resources across geographies;
- Significant impact of recent hospital and essential service closures;
- Increased hospital length of stay coupled with existing post-acute capacity issues, creating bottlenecks and straining inpatient and emergency department capacity; and
- Workforce shortages, particularly in primary care, compromising patient care quality, continuity, and the ability of providers to meet the health care needs of communities.
Responsibilities and Objectives
OHRP’s key responsibilities and authorities include developing a State Health Resource Plan (SHRP); conducting focused assessments of supply, distribution, and capacity in relation to projected need; and conducting at least one annual public hearing seeking input on the SHRP and any focused assessment.
The goal of the State Health Resource Plan is to promote the appropriate and equitable distribution of health care resources across geographic regions of the Commonwealth. The plan must identify:
- The anticipated needs for health care services, providers, programs, and facilities
- The existing health care resources, providers, programs, and facilities available to meet those needs
- The project resources necessary to meet those anticipated needs
- Recommendations for the appropriate supply and distribution of resources, on a statewide and regional basis
- Recommendations for any further legislative or regulatory state action
OHRP also manages the Massachusetts Registration of Provider Organizations (MA-RPO) program, a first-in-the-nation program that increases transparency of provider structure and performance, tracks changes in the health care market over time, and provides researchers, policymakers, market participants, and the public with access to the resulting dataset.
Stay Connected
For updates on OHRP, sign up for the HPC’s newsletter.