Lawmakers weigh 'Primary Care for You' overhaul to double primary-care spending and change payments

BOSTON — The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing heard extended testimony in favor of a package of bills collectively called "Primary Care for You" (H.1370 / S.867) that would substantially increase investments in primary care, change payment methods from fee-for-service toward monthly prospective payments, and create accountability measures to ensure funds reach frontline practices.

Representative Haggerty, the lead House sponsor of H.1370, framed the legislation as a response to a state and national primary-care crisis: access is deteriorating, providers are leaving, and primary care receives a small share of the health-care dollar. "If we invest more in keeping people healthy, we can avoid much higher costs of treating them when they get sick," Haggerty told the committee.

Witnesses described a multi-part policy package. Key elements discussed included: a primary-care spending target (moving spending toward 12% of total health-care expenditures for plans subject to the rule); a requirement that…