Recommendations of the Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System

Section 44 of Chapter 305 of the Acts of 2008 mandated the creation of a Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System to "investigate reforming and restructuring the system to provide incentives for efficient and effective patient-centered care and to reduce variations in the quality and cost of care." Section 44 established three responsibilities for the Special Commission: (1) to examine payment methodologies and purchasing strategies, (2) to recommend a common transparent methodology, and (3) to recommend a plan for the implementation of the common payment methodology across all public and private payers in the Commonwealth.

The legislation designated three categories of appointments to the Special Commission: three ex officio members, one member to be appointed by the Senate President, one member to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, and five members to be appointed by the Governor.

The Special Commission met on nine occasions between January and July 2009 to create a set of principles to guide the development of payment policy recommendations, elicit and consider input from key stakeholders, assess and debate alternative payment approaches, and arrive at recommendations for payment policy.

Recommendations of the Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System - Full Report (PDF)  file size 1MB

Appendices A-G (20.7 MB) (PDF)  file size 20MB

Individual Appendices

Appendix A: Section 44 of Chapter 305 of the Acts of 2008: An Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and Efficiency in the Delivery of Quality Health Care (PDF) 

Appendix B: Special Commission Meeting Agendas (PDF) 

Appendix C: Memos on Basic Payment Models and Complementary Payment-Related Strategies (PDF) 

Appendix D: Presentations to the Special Commission (PDF)  file size 13MB |

Appendix E: Special Commission Meeting Minutes (PDF)  file size 1MB

Appendix F.I, Public Input Statements and Appendix F.II, Stakeholder Engagement Memos (PDF)  file size 5MB |

Appendix G: List of Stakeholder Meetings (PDF) 

Meeting Presentation:
Recommendations of the Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System (PPT) 

See: Complete Special Commission on the Health Care Payment System meeting schedule and associated materials

If you have any questions or need assistance regarding this report, please contact the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy at (617) 988-3100.