Senate Bill Takes Aim at Health Care Affordability, Primary Care Shortages and Long Wait Times

Proposal boosts primary care spending, supports neighborhood health centers, and helps train the next generation of doctors

(BOSTON—6/11/2026) A key health policy bill to help improve access to primary care services and the affordability of health care in Massachusetts was advanced to the full Massachusetts Senate today ahead of a public debate.

The legislation requires greater investment in primary care, mandates fairer compensation for smaller health centers, and takes advantage of matching federal funds to grow the primary care workforce.

“Massachusetts residents are struggling to find a primary care doctor, waiting months for an appointment, and too often facing high costs when they finally receive care,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “This bill is about making health care more affordable for residents. By increasing investment in primary care, strengthening community health centers, and expanding the pipeline of new primary care physicians, we can improve access to care while helping to bring down costs over time. I want to thank Chair Rodrigues for bringing this important bill to the floor, and Senator Friedman for her tireless leadership in advancing a more equitable health care system.”

“With the Committee’s favorable action today, the Senate moved decisively on a comprehensive package of provisions informed by recommendations from the Primary Care Task Force, improving access to primary care for all Massachusetts residents,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “This bill supports our residents by incentivizing more investment into primary care, growing our health care workforce, supporting our community health centers, and cutting down on administrative bureaucracy. I’m pleased that this bill complements the Senate’s recent efforts in the Fair Share supplemental budget to support the primary care workforce and ensures we continue to foster the next generation of providers and strengthen our neighborhood health centers. Thank you to the Senate President for her leadership and Senator Friedman for her collaboration, dedication, and hard work on bring this important bill forward.”

“Primary care is the backbone of our healthcare system, but for far too long we have watched Massachusetts health care spending increase in areas like specialty care, while neglecting investment in primary care,” said Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. “Rather than wait for people to get sick and need costly treatments, we should be supporting access to preventive care and making it easier for the primary care providers to administer it. This bill builds off of recommendations from the Primary Care Task Force, which I have been proud to serve on, and puts Massachusetts on track to transform our primary care system to patient-centered care that will benefit providers and patients statewide. I thank Senate President Spilka and Chair Rodrigues for prioritizing this fundamental reform to how our residents receive care.”

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means reported the redrafted bill—S.3116, An Act relative to primary care for you—today to the full Senate, which will debate the proposal at a formal session next Thursday, June 18. 

In recent years, as investment in specialty care has surged in Massachusetts, only 6.7 per cent of the total health care spending in the state has been on primary care services. This legislation would create a more robust system by gradually raising the level of primary care spending to 15 per cent through requirements for providers which would be enforced by the Health Policy Commission (HPC).

The bill levels the playing field for community health centers (CHCs), which serve as the main primary care providers in many neighborhoods across the state. It calls for setting fairer rates by requiring commercial insurers to reimburse CHCs at least the same rates that MassHealth does for the same services.

The legislation would also draw more primary care providers to Massachusetts by re-establishing a Medicaid graduate medical education (GME) program, which takes advantage of matching federal funds to help cover the costs of fellowships and residency programs. The state previously found success with a GME program, though today it is one of just seven states that do not currently utilize available Medicaid money to fund medical residencies.

Full details of the legislation are available in a fact sheet in the Senate press room.

The bill advanced today by the Committee on Ways and Means is a redrafted version of legislation that was favorably reported by the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing with a 6-0 vote on June 16, 2025. The joint committee conducted a hearing to solicit public input on the proposal on May 12, 2025. The underlying bill was originally filed by Senator Friedman. 

All votes taken at the committee and chamber levels are publicly posted on the Legislature’s website. The full Senate debate next Thursday will be livestreamed on the Legislature’s website.

###