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Senator Friedman withdraws amendment to require commercial insurers to match MassHealth rates for community health centers
Summary
An amendment to require commercial insurers to reimburse community health centers at no less than MassHealth rates was offered and withdrawn; proponents said the change would strengthen CHC finances with modest insurer cost.
Senator Cindy F. Friedman offered and then withdrew an amendment that would have required commercial insurers to reimburse community health centers (CHCs) at rates no lower than MassHealth.
Friedman said CHCs provide care to communities that otherwise would struggle to access services and that some commercial insurers negotiate reimbursement rates below MassHealth levels, which “contribute[s] to putting CHCs in a challenging financial position.” She said that low commercial rates shift costs to public payers and the state budget.
“Requiring commercial insurers to reimburse CHCs no less than MassHealth would cost insurers relatively little while significantly improving CHC's financial stability,” Friedman said on the floor, citing a CHEER analysis that she said estimated an insurer cost of $35,000,000 — about 0.1% of the $23.7 billion insurers spent in 2019.
Senator Julian Cyr and others voiced support for addressing CHC reimbursement and urged further action in other legislative vehicles. Friedman withdrew the amendment and asked to continue pursuing the policy in subsequent legislation or budget work.
No vote was taken on the substance because the sponsor withdrew the amendment. Advocates and senators who spoke described the item as time‑sensitive for CHCs’ financial viability but indicated they will seek other vehicles to pursue the change.
The amendment's withdrawal leaves the issue for later negotiations in the budget process or separate legislation.
