Publications

An annual report released by the HPC documenting projects and activities undertaken during the HPC's 2024 Summer Fellowship Program.

The HPC's Health Equity Practice and Style Guide is a practical resource developed by and for HPC staff. Its purpose is to promote intentional and consistent use of language and terminology across all agency work products, to encourage reflection among staff as they communicate about equity within their workstreams, and to provide resources, tools (including preferred terms), and HPC-specific use cases. The Guide is a living document, updated by a staff committee and released annually.

This report describes the use of behavioral health managers, the regulatory landscape in Massachusetts and other states, and perspectives on the use of behavioral health managers. The report also reviews comparative health plan quality measures and concludes with recommendations.

In this annual report for 2024, the HPC presents new research to enhance the collective understanding of health care spending trends and cost drivers and evaluates progress in meeting the Commonwealth’s cost containment, care delivery, and payment system goals.

Despite the Commonwealth’s strong overall performance in measures of maternal health, recent data indicate significant, persistent inequities in maternal health outcomes. This episode of HPC Shorts highlights inequities in rates of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) by race and ethnicity, as well as the spending and affordability implications of these adverse outcomes for birthing people in Massachusetts.

This issue of the HPC’s DataPoints series explores trends in GLP-1 prescriptions in Massachusetts through September 2023 and examines the use and spending impacts of these drugs in the Commonwealth.

Brief profiles of each HPC-certified ACO, using non-confidential information submitted to the HPC through ACO Certification and other public data (includes ACOs certified by the HPC in 2024 - 2025).

This Q and A features a conversation with Ann McDonald, Award Manager and Gabriela Leon, Outreach Coordinator of Berkshire Connections, a program that seeks to respond to both the multifaceted needs of families impacted by substance use disorder and the disjointed network of supports for those families.

This policy brief describes the business model of private equity, provides a literature review of private equity’s impact on health care, and presents a novel analysis of health care provider mergers and acquisitions in Massachusetts from 2013 to 2023. In addition, the brief summarizes potential policy approaches to enhance transparency and oversight to minimize the potential harms of private equity involvement in health care.

This short video highlights the work of Birth Equity and Support through the Inclusion of Doula Expertise (BESIDE) Investment Program. This video features Massachusetts State Senator Liz Miranda, BESIDE awardee, Baystate Medical Center staff and their doula service partners, Springfield Family Doulas, along with a BESIDE program participant.