Tag: Tori Torres

  • Rent control measure advances toward 2026 ballot as housing debate intensifies

    The responses grew louder each time Dorchester resident Antonio Ennis started a new chant in the small meeting room inside Church on the Hill. “What do we want?” Ennis called out, rousing the crowd.

    “Rent control!” dozens of Massachusetts residents roared back.

    “When do we want it?” Ennis prompted.

    “Now!” the crowd shouted back.

    “And if we don’t get it?” Ennis questioned.

    “Shut it down!” their voices boomed, echoing off the walls.

    The gathering, held just across the street from the Statehouse, brought together supporters of a proposed ballot initiative to limit annual rent increases to 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. The campaign group Keep Massachusetts Home said they collected more than 124,000 signatures from voters statewide, moving the initiative closer to appearing on the 2026 statewide ballot.

    If approved by voters, the measure would reverse Massachusetts’ decades-long ban on rent control, which has been in place since 1994. Supporters say the proposal would protect tenants from displacement amid rising housing costs, while opponents worry it could worsen the state’s housing shortage by discouraging new construction and investment.

    Ennis became involved with the campaign through one of its coalition partners, City Life/Vida Urbana, a nonprofit organization committed to building working-class power, according to its mission statement.

    After the economy crashed in 2009, Ennis said he fell into foreclosure on his home. He found City Life, which helped him fight the foreclosure and ultimately regain the property. Ennis said he hopes the rent control measure will help stabilize communities and mitigate rent increases that some residents cannot absorb on top of other living expenses.

    “It’s the only shot right now at allowing people to not have to choose between a rent increase and their medical bills, the food in their refrigerators, the clothes on their backs, their health care and children,” said Ennis.

    While proponents of the ballot initiative argue that rent control is needed as an urgent tool to prevent displacement, some housing groups in Newton are unsure whether the measure would best address problems facing renters in Massachusetts.

    Luke Mann-O’Halloran, a member of the Newton for Everyone’s steering committee, said the organization works to promote housing for Newton residents of all backgrounds, levels of income, abilities, ages and ethnic backgrounds.

    While Newton for Everyone has not taken a stance on this measure, Mann-O’Halloran said rent control in general aligns with the group’s interest in ensuring renter security.

    “If you own your home, you typically have a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. I know exactly how much I will have to pay for my house every month for the next 25 years,” said Mann-O’Halloran.

    He said renters do not always have the same security as homeowners, which he said is unfair because “everyone needs a place to sleep at night.”

    While renters facing displacement due to steep rent increases are a significant issue, Mann-O’Halloran said Newton for Everyone is more focused on addressing the statewide housing shortage.

    “I think of rent control as more of a management thing as opposed to fixing the shortage,” said Mann-O’Halloran.

    Mann-O’Halloran said it is important to get the details of a rent control policy right because it could discourage the construction of new market-rate housing. While affordable and subsidized housing is important, he said, it relies on public or nonprofit funding, whereas market-rate housing does not and can help lower rents overall.

    Newton has a higher rate of home ownership than the rest of the commonwealth, and most of its housing stock consists of single-family homes, which are typically owned, said Mann-O’Halloran.

    “But that doesn’t mean renters aren’t as important a part of our community as everybody else,” said Mann-O’Halloran.

    Mann-O’Halloran said Newton for Everyone encourages construction of new housing close to public transportation and village centers, where residents can access amenities by walking or a short bike ride.

    While housing advocates like Newton for Everyone emphasize renter security and long-term affordability, real estate industry groups worry the proposal could have statewide consequences for housing development.

    Tamara Small, CEO of NAIOP Massachusetts, stated in an interview that the measure would be one of the most restrictive forms of rent control in the United States and there is confusion about what is actually being proposed.

    “Some reporters have said, ‘Oh, it’s capped at 5%,’ but that’s not the case,” said Small. “It’s the annual increase in the consumer price index or 5%—whichever is lower.”

    Small said the CPI has exceeded 5% only twice in the past 20 years and has averaged about 2.5%, meaning annual rent increases would usually be capped at roughly that level. She also raised concerns about the rent cap being implemented based on the market prices from January of 2026, even though voters will not vote on the measure until later that year.

    Small said that rent caps can make it harder for landlords to fund repairs and upgrades, leading to a decline in housing quality. She emphasized that the proposal includes few exceptions and would apply to most rental properties, including multifamily buildings, owner-occupied properties and short-term rentals like Airbnbs.

    “This is not an opt-in proposal. This would take effect in all 351 communities in Massachusetts, whether or not they want it,” said Small.

    Small pointed to Gov. Maura Healey’s statement about how Massachusetts needs 222,000 units of housing to be produced in the next 10 years to address the housing shortage. However, Small said that the housing crisis will get worse due to lack of investor interest if rent control is implemented.

    “We get calls from investors all over the world who say, if rent control is in place, we will not invest there,” said Small. “Without investment, housing is not produced.”

    Despite concerns from various groups, Keep Massachusetts Home celebrated their submission of over 124,000 signatures in support of the ballot initiative to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office.

    These signatures must still be certified before the measure can officially appear on the 2026 statewide ballot.

    “As responsible landlords, we want long-term tenants. We want to build and stabilize our communities,” said Ennis. “And we need rent control—yesterday. Every day that we wait, a family is being displaced.”

  • Ballot question for 2026 could upend Newton’s cannabis industry

    A proposed state ballot question that would repeal recreational cannabis legalization in Massachusetts has alarmed industry leaders, while supporters argue the measure could strengthen public health efforts.

    The measure would overturn the 2016 law permitting the sale and use of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts. If placed on the ballot and passed by voters, it would shut down adult-use retail operations and eliminate home cultivation for personal use, while preserving medical cannabis access. The proposal is currently undergoing signature certification for potential placement on the 2026 statewide ballot.

    But residents across the state have reported instances of alleged signature-gathering misconduct being routinely committed by the repeal campaign, according to a press release from the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association. The group backing the proposal, the Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts, has been accused of using deceptive practices to collect signatures to advance the petition.

    “If you’re a voter who signed this petition under the impression you were signing for something else, please do not hesitate to contact your local clerk and speak with them,” said David O’Brien, president and CEO of MassCBA.

    Wendy Wakeman, a spokesperson and chair of the coalition, said in an interview that the campaign hired professionals to gather signatures, and found no evidence of deceptive behavior.

    “There was no reason to lie about the petition, because plenty of people would like to bring this subject to the table for discussion,” said Wakeman. “There’s a strong, organized pro-marijuana lobby, and their last-ditch effort to try and kill the signature drive is to make up the idea that somehow our signature gatherers were unsavory.”

    Wakeman said the initiative aims to address what she called growing concerns about corruption, health and public safety since recreational cannabis was legalized in 2016. She cited a Wall Street Journal analysis she said shows an increase in automobile accidents and fatalities correlating with lowered use of alcohol and increased marijuana use.

    In Newton, local businesses and residents have mixed reactions to what the repeal could mean locally. Jeffrey Herold, CEO of Garden Remedies cannabis business, said eliminating the recreational market would lead to mass layoffs and a difficult shift for many companies in the industry.

    At minimum, 3% of all recreational cannabis sales go to the city as a local option tax, said Herold in an interview. Because medical cannabis is not taxed, Newton would lose thousands of dollars each year if those sales ended. Herold also noted there are currently between 15,000 and 20,000 employees working in the cannabis industry in Massachusetts.

    Beyond jobs and tax revenue, Herold said maintaining access to regulated sellers helps ensure safe and tested products.

    “I would assume that cannabis use doesn’t just disappear—which would mean people would probably revert back to the illicit market where there’s untested, unregulated products that are sold in non-child-resistant packaging and with no age requirements,” said Herold.

    In June, adult-use cannabis revenue surpassed $8 billion in gross sales since the first two adult-use stores opened for business in November 2018, according to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s Annual Report. As of January 2025 in Middlesex County, marijuana establishments and medical marijuana treatment centers grossed $1.1 billion.

    Newton resident Anwesha Nag said in an interview that she initially voted to legalize cannabis in 2016 but now regrets her decision.

    Nag lives in an apartment complex where she said her young kids are exposed to “ungodly” amounts of cannabis smoke from her neighbors. She said some residents, whom she described as living on social assistance, smoke frequently, creating a persistent smell in shared hallways.

    Nag said she worries because children were not historically exposed to this amount of cannabis in the past, and the long-term effects of secondhand exposure in developing children are unknown.

    “Children did not sign up to be experimental subjects to demonstrate the long-term impacts,” she said. Nag added that a major issue is the lack of statewide guidance on where people can consume cannabis. She said there needs to be better guidance from the state rather than leaving the issue to property owners and city management.”

  • Creem files legislation for database to monitor quality of special education in districts

    A proposed bill on Beacon Hill sponsored by Newton’s state senator would require the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to publish more detailed student data each year, with a particular focus on special education access.

    Filed by Sen. Cynthia Creem, the measure would require school districts to report exactly which special education services students receive, allowing the state to identify disparities in how support is delivered.

    It would also require the state to make this information easily searchable and cross tabulated by race, gender, disability type, socioeconomic status, English-learner status, and homelessness to give families and policymakers a clearer picture of inequities across districts and individual schools.

    “S.317 ensures that families, educators and the state finally have clear, transparent data to better identify problematic demographic patterns in our education system,” Creem said in an interview. “Better data will help support earlier interventions and assist policymakers in creating more tailored and targeted policy solutions.”

    Beth Berman, a Newton resident and social worker, said her daughter received special education services in the Newton Public Schools from kindergarten through age 22 after being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, epilepsy and multiple learning disabilities.

    At Underwood Elementary, her daughter had a one-on-one aide, occupational therapy, reading pullouts, summer services, and even supervision during the after-school program—support Berman said is rare today.

    Those services changed when her daughter moved to F.A. Day Middle School. She was placed in a sub-separate program, a small classroom with students who had higher support needs, which Berman said caused her daughter’s academic progress to stall.

    When she sought an alternative placement, Berman said the school did not provide support, forcing her into what she described as an “expensive and acrimonious” legal process to secure an out-of-district therapeutic school.

    “It’s a fight for parents every step of the way, because resources are few, and it depends on the political landscape of how supported teachers and specialists are,” she said. “Socioeconomics is one of the biggest barriers in Newton.”

    Berman said measurable and readable data would be helpful to show how special education resources are being used.

    “I’ve had some parents say she was using a lot of resources,” Berman said. “I thought, if you want a brain-damaged child, then you can have her aide.”

    NPS Superintendent Anna Nolin said she welcomes the data collection proposed in Creem’s bill.

    Nolin said she does not believe special education students are denied access to support any more than non-special education students in Newton. She said the district’s programs are strong and even “dominate the support landscape” in NPS.

    She noted that the district has built an internal dashboard capable of breaking down the types of information outlined in the bill.

    “We believe parents should see how their kids are doing in real time and be empowered partners at the table,” Nolin said. “The data helps make Individual Education Program and non-IEP meetings more productive and ensures parents have equal footing and understanding when they meet with educators.”

    Responding to concerns from parents who said they needed legal counsel to secure services, Nolin said that while few general-education supports have been integrated since the COVID pandemic, NPS has added staff and resources to expand and integrate five in-house special education programs.

    “Parents also need to know that unless we are given the resources to support their children—staffing, training and support—we cannot effectively meet their needs,” Nolin said. “And in Newton, after six years of budget cuts, we struggle at times to provide what I would call the best level of support for all kids.”

  • MA seeks solution to decline in number of primary care doctors

    Arline MacCormack has had four primary care physicians in the past four years.

    MacCormack, a college administrator and longtime Newton resident, saw the same “fabulous” doctor through Newton-Wellesley Physicians Primary Care for more than two decades. But four years ago, her doctor suddenly retired, telling her she was frustrated with the health care system.

    After searching for more than a year – without assistance from her former physician’s office – MacCormack found a new doctor and made an appointment. During her first visit, the doctor told her that she would soon be leaving her practice.

    MacCormack then switched to another doctor within that practice, but was notified that the doctor was leaving before she even had her first appointment. Again, after one visit and a prescription refill, MacCormack was left to find her fourth primary care physician in four years.

    She now sees a physician assistant at Wellesley Family Care Associates and does not have trouble getting appointments.

    “I’m happy now, but it was a scary three years,” MacCormack said. “Bigger picture, health care in our country is very broken, and we need to learn from others who are doing it better.”

    She’s not alone in her struggle to find stable primary care.

    Massachusetts has seen decline in primary care physicians

    Primary care services are facing difficulties throughout the country. In Massachusetts, trends show that the number of primary care physicians in the commonwealth is declining. Employment in physician offices has barely increased from pre-pandemic levels and lags far behind national trends, according to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.

    The HPC also said that Massachusetts has one of the smallest proportions of its physicians specializing in primary care, and of new doctors entering primary care following their residencies. This shortage of doctors, coupled with a growing population, has created more difficulties in accessing care.

    “We know that access to primary care improves health outcomes, reduces health disparities and can ultimately help avoid unnecessary emergency department and hospital use,” said HPC Executive Director and Primary Care Task Force Co-Chair David Seltz in a statement. “Yet despite this overwhelming evidence, support and investment in primary care is declining and represents a shrinking portion of our health care dollar.”

    Jessica Benjamin of Newton said seeing her primary care physician just once a year has led to a lack of continuity in her health care.

    She first entered the Mass General Brigham health care system in 2017, when she began seeing a new doctor. When the doctor moved away in 2022, Benjamin was reassigned to another doctor within the system, and since then she has only been able to see that doctor for annual checkups. For anything else, she has been assigned to another doctor, nurse practitioner or sent to urgent care.

    Over the past few years, Benjamin has been treated for chronic pain. In November 2024, she made an appointment with a doctor she had never met and they prescribed her a muscle relaxant called Robaxin – but never told her about possible side effects.

    In May, Benjamin fainted and broke her ankle. Later, she learned that fainting is a known side effect of Robaxin. The injury was a displaced fracture that required surgery, followed by months of recovery. She couldn’t put weight on her foot until July and started physical therapy in September. Because she was out of work for so long, she was ultimately separated from her job.

    “You’re seeing all these different people who don’t know you and your history, and I think that contributed to me breaking my ankle,” Benjamin said. “I used to be able to call my doctor and she knew about my various issues, which is just a lot easier than going to see a new person every time.”

    Healey establishes primary care task force

    The Primary Care Access, Delivery, and Payment Task Force was established in January by Gov. Maura Healey to develop recommendations to stabilize and strengthen the primary care system throughout Massachusetts, including a primary care spending target. Since its first meeting in April, the task force has completed its first deliverable to define primary care services, codes and providers.

    A study on primary care appointment availability discovered that out of four states, Massachusetts wait times were more than twice as long as any of the other states.

    In 2023, 91% of Massachusetts residents reported having a primary care physician. But 41% of those residents said they had difficulty accessing care because they couldn’t get an appointment at a doctor’s office or clinic when needed, according to a survey by the Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis

    The HPC’s research found that two main factors largely contribute to the shortage: Primary care is a low-reimbursed medical field and there is a high administrative burden. Without higher pay, new medical graduates are less incentivized to enter the specialty and may run into financial limits for hiring or retaining support staff. High volumes of administrative work can lead to burnout and contribute to caregivers’ reduction in patient hours.

    Alan Sager, professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said part of what’s driving the shortage is that it’s no one’s job to make sure there’s enough primary care in the United States.

    “It’s not the job of the federal or state government, medical schools, teaching hospitals or anyone else to make sure we have enough family doctors,” he said.

    To combat the shortage, Sager suggested three possible solutions: draft physicians into primary care, pay them more, or improve working conditions. Regardless of the method used, Sager said people with political and financial power need to be designated and held accountable for training, organizing, locating and paying enough doctors to go into the field.

    ‘Everybody talks about it, nobody does anything’

    As a short-term solution, Sager said experienced nurse practitioners can handle monitoring patients, but it would be helpful to have an on-site doctor to consult with if anything goes wrong.

    “Primary care is like the weather,” Sager said. “Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it.”

    He said the problem is only worsening, which he believes isn’t acceptable considering the United States spends six times as much on health care as it spends on defense. He said a lot of the money is wasted on low-value care, administrative waste, high prices for drugs and devices, CEO salaries and theft.

    While Sager is optimistic that coordinated changes within the system can be made, he said it will probably take a crisis to “give us health care that’s as good as our caregivers.”

    “Primary care isn’t just about finding a doctor who will see you when you’re sick, it’s about building a long-term relationship of trust, and you can have confidence that they know you and care about you,” he said.

    Mass General Brigham said in a statement that it’s taking steps to address the primary care shortage across the commonwealth and country, by expanding access to care and reducing physician burden.

    In May, the hospital announced a nearly $400 million commitment over five years to invest in additional support staff positions for primary care teams, AI tools to streamline clinical visit notes and new partnerships to improve primary care physicians.

    “We’re using feedback from our clinicians to ensure we’re improving every day on our mission – providing the best quality care for our patients,” MGB said in a statement.

  • New bill seeks to create new modes of transport for behavioral health patients

    There’s an effort underway to test alternate methods of transportation for behavioral health patients. Public domain photo

    Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would test alternatives to ambulances and police for transporting behavioral health patients, which supporters say could help reduce strains on emergency medical services and lower costs.

    Filed by North Attleboro Democratic Rep. Adam J. Scanlon, the bill would establish five regional pilot programs geographically dispersed across the state to test alternative transport models. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services would work with hospitals and MassHealth to manage care and provide reimbursement to pilot participants, according to the bill.

    “I filed H. 2234 after hearing from doctors in emergency rooms, as well as those who treat patients for mental and behavioral health issues, that the current system of transporting patients is not working for either side,” said Scanlon in an interview.

    He said that due to high demand and low reimbursement rates, ambulance providers cannot satisfy the needs of all behavioral health patients, who often end up boarding in emergency rooms.

    “There are usually a few hundred such cases at any particular time, and this is not the right setting for them, nor does it help with efficiency in our hospital emergency rooms which are meant for acute health emergencies,” said Scanlon.

    Scanlon added that transportation to an appropriate health facility is often done by using hospital-based ambulances—sometimes occupying an ambulance for hours to travel outside its usual service area. These diversions can lead to longer wait times for patients in all settings, delaying care and increasing the risk of hospital readmission.

    “With this bill, we can give behavioral health patients treatment in a system that is designed for them—including a calmer and more therapeutic environment than an ambulance or ER—and free up our hospital and ambulance resources at the same time,” said Scanlon.

    Scanlon said that other states have already developed specialized behavioral health transport systems so ambulances and emergency rooms can function more efficiently. In Virginia, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services uses secure and unmarked vehicles with trained, unarmed drivers who wear plain clothes to create an experience focused on recovery and engagement. This past July, Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration launched LIFTS, a streamlined network of services, including behavioral crisis, substance use and mental health support.

    In Massachusetts, the share of patients with behavioral health needs who had to wait in the emergency room for a bed rose from 31.1% of visits in 2020 to 38.8% in 2024, according to the Health Policy Commission.

    Sen. Paul Feeney, D-Foxboro, said in an interview that he sponsored the bill to address the ongoing behavioral health emergency in Massachusetts, which has been compounded by hospital closures and the Steward Health Care crisis.

    The HPC, alongside the Center for Health Information and Analysis and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, will collect data to evaluate the pilots’ effectiveness, focusing on transfer times, nonjudgmental patient treatment, cost-effectiveness and resource use compared to traditional ambulance transport, according to the senator’s office.

    “The ways in which patients are transported to receive care in Massachusetts matter. While many health care reforms provide new support for individuals with mental or behavioral health diagnoses, gaps remain—particularly in our emergency services system,” said Feeney.

    Newton-Wellesley Hospital does not currently use the ambulance system this bill would apply to. The Newton Fire and Police Department said they do not handle patient transports, but utilize a third-party contractor, Coastal Medical Transportation Services, as the EMS provider for the city.

  • Proposed alcohol tax aims to fund recovery efforts, but restaurants warn of added costs

    There’s an effort in the Massachusetts legislature to allow communities to add a sales tax to alcohol to pay for addiction programs. Courtesy photo

    A proposed bill on Beacon Hill sponsored by Newton’s state senator would give Massachusetts cities and towns the option to increase taxes on alcohol sales to fund local addiction prevention and recovery programs. But restaurant owners say the change could raise costs and hurt businesses.

    The bill, sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem, would allow a 2% local excise tax on alcohol sold in bars, restaurants and liquor stores. The state would collect the tax and return the revenue to participating municipalities to spend on local programs.

    Creem is sponsoring the bill on behalf of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, a nonprofit that works with city and town officials on advocacy and to develop policy.

    In an interview, Creem said several states already use alcohol-related revenues to support prevention and treatment programs, calling the proposal a flexible tool for communities to invest in the programs they need most.

    “For some municipalities, this could mean investing in youth prevention education, funding overdose-prevention tools like test strips and Narcan, supporting counseling or treatment services,” said Creem.

    “The intent is to give cities and towns the ability to respond to the specific substance use issues they see in their communities.”

    Jessica Moore, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said in an interview she hopes the bill does not pass because of the added costs for restaurateurs and guests. She said most diners today use credit cards in restaurants, which already have processing fees on each swipe that factors in tax and tip.

    “That 2% increase is not just 2% that the customer is paying and the restaurateur is remitting to the state—the restaurateur is also paying a fee on that swipe,” said Moore.

    Moore said Massachusetts is already the most expensive state in the Northeast to dine out in, and that younger generations are drinking less than previous ones.

    “People are going out less,” said Moore. “The most recent Blue Book published by the Department of Revenue shows we’re at about $625 million in meals tax collection, and at this time last year, we were at $611 million. That’s not keeping up with the rate of inflation.”

    Logistically, Moore said restaurants would need to update their technology because most of their point-of-sale systems do not separate alcohol from other charges.

    “You’re asking a company to do more work—there’s more cost involved in that. Everything adds up,” said Moore.

    She emphasized that local taxes could worsen affordability and put pressure on independent restaurants in cities like Newton.

    “If you’re a community that has chosen to adopt a local option tax like this, and the community next to you hasn’t, folks may choose to walk across the street to the town right over there that isn’t charging that tax,” said Moore.

    In Newton, Democratic Rep. Amy Sangiolo said in an interview that the biggest local opportunity would be to launch or expand programs that address substance abuse disorders.

    She said she expects the city’s health commissioner and health advisory board to conduct outreach to the youth, senior and general population to determine what programs could be adopted or developed with additional funding.

    Newton residents seeking support for addiction or substance use recovery can find resources on the city’s Health and Human Services Department website or call the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline at 800-327-5050.

    *****

    This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Statehouse Program.

  • National primary care shortages affect Newton residents

    Arline MacCormack has had four primary care physicians in the past four years.

    MacCormack, a college administrator and longtime Newton resident, saw the same “fabulous” doctor through Newton-Wellesley Physicians Primary Care for over two decades. Four years ago, her doctor suddenly retired and told her that she was frustrated with the health care system.

    After searching for over a year—without assistance from her former physician’s office—MacCormack found a new doctor and made an appointment. At her first visit, the doctor told her that she would soon be leaving her practice.

    MacCormack then switched to another doctor within that practice, but was notified that the doctor was leaving before she even had her first appointment. Again, after one visit and a prescription refill, MacCormack was left to find her fourth primary care physician in four years. She now sees a physician assistant at Wellesley Family Care and does not have trouble getting appointments.

    “I’m happy now, but it was a scary three years. Bigger picture, health care in our country is very broken, and we need to learn from others who are doing it better,” said MacCormack.

    She is not alone in her struggle to find stable primary care. Primary care services are facing difficulties across the United States. In Massachusetts, trends show that the number of primary care physicians in the commonwealth is shrinking, with employment in physician offices barely increasing since pre-pandemic levels, lagging far behind overall national trends, according to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.

    The HPC also said that Massachusetts has one of the smallest proportions of its physicians specializing in primary care, and of new doctors entering primary care following their residencies. The shortage of doctors, coupled with a growing population, has created more difficulties in accessing care.

    “We know that access to primary care improves health outcomes, reduces health disparities, and ultimately can help avoid unnecessary emergency department and hospital use. Yet despite this overwhelming evidence, support and investment in primary care is declining and represents a shrinking portion of our health care dollar,” HPC Executive Director and Primary Care Task Force Co-Chair David Seltz said in a statement.

    Jessica Benjamin, a Newton resident, said that only seeing her primary care physician once a year has led to a lack of continuity in her health care.

    She first entered the Mass General Brigham health care system in 2017 when she began seeing a new doctor. When that doctor moved away in 2022, Benjamin was reassigned to another doctor within the system, and since then she has only been able to see that doctor for an annual checkup. For anything else, she has been assigned to another doctor, nurse practitioner or sent to urgent care.

    Over the past few years, Benjamin has been treated for chronic pain. In November 2024, she made an appointment with a doctor she had never met before and they prescribed her a muscle relaxant called Robaxin – but never told her about possible side effects.

    In May, Benjamin fainted and broke her ankle. Later, she learned that fainting is a known side effect of Robaxin. The injury was a displaced fracture that required surgery, followed by months of recovery. She couldn’t put weight on her foot until July and started physical therapy in September. Because she was out of work for so long, she was ultimately separated from her job.

    “You’re seeing all these different people who don’t know you and your history, and I think that contributed to me breaking my ankle,” said Benjamin. “I used to be able to call my doctor and she knew about my various issues, which is just a lot easier than going to see a new person every time.”

    The Primary Care Access, Delivery, and Payment Task Force was established in January by Gov. Maura Healey to develop recommendations to stabilize and strengthen the primary care system across Massachusetts, including a primary care spending target. Since their first meeting in April, the task force has completed its first deliverable to define primary care services, codes and providers.

    A study on primary care appointment availability discovered that out of four states, Massachusetts wait times were more than twice as long as in the other states.

    In 2023, 91% of Massachusetts residents reported having a primary care physician, but 41% of those residents said they had difficulty accessing care because they couldn’t get an appointment at a doctor’s office or clinic when needed, according to a survey by the Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis The HPC’s research found that two main factors largely contribute to the shortage: primary care is a low-reimbursed medical field and there is a high administrative burden. Without higher pay, new medical graduates are less incentivized to enter the specialty and may run into financial limits for hiring or retaining support staff. High volumes of administrative work can lead to burnout and contribute to caregivers’ reduction in patient hours.

    As the Massachusetts Legislature’s only primary care doctor and physician, Newton Democratic Rep. Greg Schwartz said he brings a new perspective to health policy discussions.

    “I’ve seen increasing demands on providers to do the busy work of prior-authorizations, computerized documentation, and elaborate billing,” said Schwartz. “All of this takes time away from directly interacting with patients and face-to-face care.”

    Schwartz said that currently 6-7% of all health expenditures in Massachusetts are spent on primary care, and that the remaining 93-94% is spent on specialty care. Schwartz has sponsored a bill to rebalance the system by increasing the proportion spent on primary care to 12% in the next four years.

    “If we can increase the amount of growth in resources going into primary care, through higher reimbursements for primary care services, we can increase support for the providers in the trenches,” said Schwartz.

    Alan Sager, professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said that part of what’s driving the shortage is that it’s no one’s job to make sure there is enough primary care in the United States.

    “It’s not the job of the federal or state government, medical schools, teaching hospitals or anyone else to make sure we have enough family doctors,” said Sager. To combat the shortage, Sager suggested three possible solutions: draft physicians into primary care; pay them more; or improve working conditions. Regardless of the method used, Sager said that people with political and financial power need to be designated and held accountable for training, organizing, locating and paying enough doctors to go into the field.

    As a short-term solution, Sager said that experienced nurse practitioners can handle monitoring patients, but it would be helpful to have an on-site doctor to consult with if anything goes wrong.

    “Primary care is like the weather,” said Sager. “Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it.”

    Sager said that the problem is only worsening, which he believes isn’t acceptable considering the United States spends six times as much on health care as it spends on defense. He said that a lot of the money is wasted on low-value care, administrative waste, high prices for drugs and devices, CEO salaries and theft. While Sager is optimistic that coordinated changes within the system can be made, he said that it will probably take a crisis to “give us health care that’s as good as our caregivers.”

    “Primary care isn’t just about finding a doctor who will see you when you’re sick, it’s about building a long-term relationship of trust, and you can have confidence that they know you and care about you,” said Sager.

    Mass General Brigham said in a statement that they are taking steps to address the primary care shortage across the commonwealth and country, by expanding access to care and reducing physician burden.

    In May, they announced a nearly $400 million commitment over five years to invest in additional support staff positions for primary care teams, AI tools to streamline clinical visit notes and new partnerships to improve primary care physicians.

    “We’re using feedback from our clinicians to ensure we’re improving every day on our mission–providing the best quality care for our patients,” MGB said in a statement.

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    This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Statehouse Program.