Stronger primary care means better specialty care
Sponsored by The Boston Foundation The Best of CommonWealth Beacon OPINION ( Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash Stronger primary care means better specialty care July 12, 2026 By Mario Motta, David Fefferman, Andrew Scott, and Wayne Altman A cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, an ear/nose/throat surgeon, and a family physician walk into a bar. That sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it’s actually the make-up of an unusual coalition. As doctors who practice specialty care and primary care medicine, we are following the debate on Beacon Hill over how to address the state’s growing primary care shortage. “Senate ready to force more money toward primary care — and away from specialists” was the headline of a recent CommonWealth Beacon article . We don’t think this is about choosing between primary care and specialty care. It's about creating a health care system that depends on both in a way that works best for patients. ...