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Advocates urge target increase in behavioral‑health spending to rebalance health system
Summary
Advocates asked the committee to back S.1399, which would require measurable increases in the share of total health spending devoted to behavioral health while remaining under the Health Policy Commission’s cost growth benchmark.
Representatives of statewide advocacy organizations urged the committee to support S.1399, which would require the Health Policy Commission (HPC) to set a baseline measure for behavioral‑health expenditures and a timetable for targeted increases while keeping total health spending within the state’s health care cost growth benchmark.
Jessica LaRochelle described the bill’s mechanics with a numerical example: if a healthcare entity spends $100 per beneficiary and currently allocates $10 (10%) to behavioral health, a 30% increase to the behavioral‑health share would raise that $10 baseline to $13. Witnesses framed the policy as measurable and achievable — a way to reorient resources toward behavioral health without exceeding overall system spending caps.
Lydia Conley (Association for Behavioral Healthcare) and others cited data showing low behavioral‑health shares in Massachusetts (7.8% of health care spending in 2022 per CHIA) and high unmet need metrics (Mental Health America 2025 report: 30% of adults with any mental illness had unmet treatment needs; 77% of adults with substance use disorders had unmet needs). Conley argued that rebalancing spending could reduce costly downstream outcomes (emergency visits, homelessness, criminal justice involvement) and yield societal returns.
Witnesses asked the committee to report the bill favorably and provided written testimony and citations for the record. The committee did not take a formal vote during this hearing.
Provenance: - topicintro: testimony by Jessica LaRochelle beginning at 00:43:10 on S.1399 and behavioral‑health expenditure targets. - topfinish: closing of testimony by Lydia Conley and discussion of CHIA metrics.
