Press Release  Governor Healey Announces Public Listening Sessions to Lower Health Care Costs for Massachusetts Families and Small Businesses

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced a series of six public listening sessions as it moves forward with recommendations to lower health care costs for Massachusetts families and small businesses. Hosted by the Division of Insurance (DOI), the virtual sessions will gather input from patients, providers, insurers, employers and other stakeholders to help shape new state regulations aimed at lowering costs and stabilizing insurance premiums.

The sessions are a next step in implementing recommendations released this month by Governor Healey’s Health Care Affordability Working Group, which brought together health care providers, insurers, employers, labor and consumer advocates to identify immediate and long-term ways to make health care more affordable.

“Health care costs are too high, and they’re putting real pressure on families and small businesses across Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We created our Health Care Affordability working group and brought together patients, providers, insurers and employers to identify ways to lower costs, and now we’re moving those recommendations forward. These listening sessions are an important next step in delivering meaningful relief.” 

“If we want to make health care more affordable, we need to hear directly from the people who are paying these bills and navigating the system every day,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These sessions will help us get the details right as we move forward with changes to lower costs for residents and small businesses.”

“Sustained financial relief can only be built through collective engagement and strong partnerships,” said Insurance Commissioner Michael Caljouw. “By bringing providers, insurers, patients, and businesses to the table, we can forge a more transparent, stable, and affordable health care ecosystem for everyone in the Commonwealth.”

 The listening sessions will focus on two recommendations from the Governor’s Health Care Affordability Working Group that DOI is moving forward:

1. Reducing Out-of-Network Costs: Developing new standards to protect patients and reduce excessive out-of-network health care costs.
2. Stabilizing the Small Business and Individual Markets: Exploring changes to strengthen the individual and small group insurance market and help moderate  premiums.

Listening Session Schedule

DOI will hold all six listening sessions virtually.  Additional information, including topics and registration details for each session, will be available as the dates approach:

• Wednesday, September 9 at 11:00 AM
• Thursday, October 1 at 10:00 AM
• Monday, October 5 at 10:00 AM
• Monday, October 19 at 10:00 AM
• Monday, November 2 at 10:00 AM
• Thursday, November 5 at 10:00 AM

Governor Healey has already begun moving forward with other recommendations from the Health Care Affordability Working Group. This includes directing MassHealth to increase its investment in primary care to 12 percent of total medical expenditures by 2028, along with efforts to lower prescription drug costs.

Patients, consumer advocates, health care providers, insurers, employers and other interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate. For more information, see Division of Insurance Listening Sessions on Out-of-Network Costs and Listening Sessions on Stabilizing Insurance Markets to Drive Down Premium Costs.

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