CHIA Reports on the Performance of the MA Health Care System
DATE: March 14, 2022
The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) today announced the release of its Annual Report on the Performance of the Massachusetts Health Care System. The report is CHIA’s first comprehensive look at the COVID-19 pandemic’s unprecedented impact on the health care system in 2020. It includes a calculation of Total Health Care Expenditures for 2020, in addition to other key indicators used to assess the performance of the state's health care system.
Data in this report covers a period in which health care utilization, service delivery, and payer and provider finances were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reversals in long term spending and utilization trends should be viewed within the context of these extraordinary, time-limited circumstances, as findings from 2020 may not accurately predict future cost growth.
Massachusetts experienced a 2.4% decrease in Total Health Care Expenditures (THCE) per capita between 2019 and 2020, representing the first time the state has experienced negative growth in this category and falling well below the health care cost growth benchmark of 3.1%. THCE totaled $62.6 billion ($8,912 per capita) in 2020 for health care services received by Massachusetts residents.
The Annual Report also examines adoption of alternative payment methods (APMs); commercial and public insurance enrollment, premium, and cost-sharing trends; as well as quality of care in the Commonwealth compared to national performance. The report also contains new sections examining trends in provider and health systems finances and utilization throughout the first year of the pandemic.
Supporting materials include a databook, datasets, and technical appendices. CHIA has also developed a short video about Total Health Care Expenditures and CHIA's analysis of COVID-era data. Read the full report and download the supporting materials at http://www.chiamass.gov/annual-report/.
Findings from the report will be presented at the Health Policy Commission’s Hearing on the 2023 Health Care Cost Growth Benchmark. The annual public hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, 2022, solicits data, information, and feedback from market participants, stakeholders, and other interested parties regarding whether modification of the Health Care Cost Growth Benchmark for calendar year 2023 is necessary. Members of the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, led by Senate Chair Cindy Friedman and House Chair John Lawn Jr., will co-host the hearing alongside the HPC’s Board. The hearing will be livestreamed on the HPC’s YouTube channel.