PATRICK ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES HISTORIC HEALTH INITIATIVE

Nine state agencies form partnership to expand access to care, contain costs, improve quality, and promote wellness

BOSTON — Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby today joined leaders from across state government to launch HealthyMass, a cross-agency initiative to build on health care reform. Collaborative initiatives will focus on five key areas: ensuring access to care; containing health care costs; advancing health care quality; promoting individual wellness; and developing healthy communities.

Representatives of nine diverse state entities came together—in their roles as purchasers; providers; regulators; insurers; stewards of public health; and potential sources for health care financing—to sign the HealthyMass Compact, an agreement demonstrating their commitment to aligning policies and practices to reflect the values, principles and goals of the Patrick Administration.

“Our health is our Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby. “Massachusetts is leading the way toward nearly universal health insurance coverage, but people in the Commonwealth must also have access to quality, affordable care, and we as a Commonwealth must do more to prevent disease and promote wellness.”

Jon Kingsdale, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, added, “While we celebrate our success in enrolling nearly 300,000 people under healthcare reform, this makes it all the more important to control healthcare costs and improve the value of insurance in accessing quality care. The sustainability of reform depends on our ability to succeed in this.”

The new initiative’s early efforts include alignment of performance measures and incentives; a disease management and prevention initiative focused on diabetes and obesity; payment reform; and administrative simplification, including elimination of redundant data submissions to the state.

“The HealthyMass Compact represents a transformation in how we approach health in Massachusetts,” Bigby added. “By aligning our efforts across state government, we will work towards a more comprehensive approach to health—one that recognizes the inextricable links between cost, quality, access, and individual and community wellness. We look forward to working with our many partners outside state government, who will play an integral role in making this initiative a success.”

Dolores Mitchell, Executive Director of the Group Insurance Commission, said: “Massachusetts has a time-honored tradition of ‘mutual aid,’ whereby communities support each other in times of need. This new agreement among agencies to work together and support each other to achieve a healthy Commonwealth is very much in line with that tradition.”

Robert Culver, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, added: “We’re committed to this initiative and look forward to using MassDevelopment’s finance and development expertise to promote healthcare access and quality throughout the Commonwealth.”

Signatories to the HealthyMass Compact are:

Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Executive Office of Administration and Finance
Office of the Attorney General
Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority
Division of Insurance, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
Group Insurance Commission
Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority
Massachusetts Development Finance Agency
Department of Correction, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security

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