HPC Policy and Research Reports

• Health Care Workforce Trends and Challenges in the Era of COVID-19 Chartpack (Released March 2023)
  • Executive Summary: Health Care Workforce Trends and Challenges in the Era of COVID-19
• Emergency Ground Ambulance Utilization and Payment Rates in Massachusetts Chartpack (Released March 2023)
• Telehealth Use in the Commonwealth and Policy Recommendations (Released January 2023)
• VIDEO: HPC Short: Out-of-Pocket Spending for Birth Care (Released April 2022)
• Children with Medical Complexity in the Commonwealth (Published February 2022)
• Certified Nurse Midwives and Maternity Care in Massachusetts Chartpack (Published January 2022)
• VIDEO: HPC Short: Certified Nurse Midwives and Maternity Care in Massachusetts (Released January 2022)
• Evaluation of the Commonwealth's Entry into the Nurse Licensure Compact (Published May 2021)
• Impact of COVID-19 on the Massachusetts Health Care System: Interim Report (Published April 2021)
  • VIDEO: HPC Short: COVID-19's Impact on Emergency Department Visits (Released August 2021)
• Presentation: Impact of COVID-19 on Health Care System (Published November 2020)
• VIDEO: Healing Together: Voices of the Commonwealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Released October 2020)
• Prescription Drug Coupon Study (Published July 2020)
  • Technical Appendix
• Out of Network Billing in Massachusetts Chartpack (Published May 2020)
• Review of Third-Party Specialty Pharmacy Use for Clinician-Administered Drugs (Published July 2019)
• Opioid-Related Acute Hospital Utilization in Massachusetts Chartpack (Published June 2019)
  • Interactive map
• Co-Occurring Disorders Care in Massachusetts: A Report on the Statewide Availability of Health Care Providers Serving Patients with Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorder and Mental Illness (Published May 2019)
  • Interactive map
• Behavioral Health-Related Emergency Department Boarding (Published November 2017)
• Out-of-network Billing in Massachusetts (Published November 2017)
• Opioid Chart Pack (Published August 2017)
• Opioid Use Disorder Report (Published September 2016)
• Community Hospitals at a Crossroads: Findings from an Examination of the Massachusetts Health Care System (Published March 2016)
• HPC 2015 Cost Trends Report: Policy Brief on Out-of-network Billing (January 2016)

• Performance Improvement Plan Process Overview (Published January 2022)
• Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts: Profiles of the 2019 and 2020 HPC-Certified ACOs (Published August 2021)
• Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts: Profiles of the 2019 HPC-Certified ACOs (Published October 2020)
• Policy Brief: Serious Illness Care in Massachusetts: Differences in care received at the end of life by race and ethnicity (Published September 2020)
• Policy Brief: The Nurse Practitioner Workforce and Its Role in the Massachusetts Health Care Delivery System (Published May 2020)
• CHART Program Impact Brief (Published August 2019)
• Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts: Profiles of the 2017 and 2018 HPC-Certified ACOs (Published September 2018, Updated April 2019)
• Opportunities for Savings in Health Care 2018 (Published May 2018)
• ACO Policy Briefs:
  • ACO Brief #1 - Transforming Care: An Introduction to Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts (Published April 2018)
  • ACO Brief #2 - Transforming Care: How ACOs in Massachusetts Manage Population Health (Published September 2018)
  • ACO Brief #3 - Transforming Care: Risk Contracts and Performance Management Approaches of Massachusetts ACOs (Published June 2019)
• Research Brief: Serious Illness and End of Life Care in the Commonwealth (Published November 2016)
• Policy Brief: Oral Health (Published August 2016)
• Research Brief: Behavioral Health Compendium (Published March 2016)

• HPC Letter to AGO - Atrius Optum (August 2021)

• The HPC's Role in Massachusetts Health Care Reform:
  • Reflection Video
  • Interactive Timeline
• HPC Business Reports:
  • HPC Business Report and Funds Sheet, FY13 - FY21 (Published January 2023)
  • HPC Business Report and Funds Sheet, FY13 - FY20 (Published October 2020)
  • HPC Business Report and Funds Sheets, FY13 - FY19 (Published July 2019)
  • HPC Business Report and Funds Sheets, FY13-FY18 (Published January 2018)
  • HPC Business Report and Funds Sheets, FY13-FY17 (Estimated) (Published January 2017)
  • HPC Business Report and Funds Sheets, FY13-FY16 (Published July 2016)
• HPC Fellowship Program Reports:
  • 2022 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2021 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2020 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2019 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2018 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2017 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2016 HPC Summer Fellowship Report
  • 2015 HPC Summer Fellowship Report

In partnership with CHIA, HPC staff have examined trends in commercial medical spending using data from the APCD. Some salient results appear in the supplement to the HPC’s 2013 Cost Trends Report. In addition, the HPC and CHIA are jointly publishing additional results on topics such as overall spending trends and spending by category of service, type of episode, and region in an Almanac. A chartpack highlights the most important trends in a graphical manner, while a databook offers additional results in a machine-readable format, enabling others to re-analyze this data for their own purposes.

These materials enhance our understanding of the Massachusetts health care market and demonstrate our commitment to transparency and ongoing collaboration with other state agencies.

• APCD Almanac - Chartbook   (Published July 2014)
• APCD Almanac - Databook   (Published July 2014)
• APCD Almanac - Technical Notes   (Published July 2014)