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.     The legislation passed by the state Senate would require a ratcheting up of the share of health spending devoted to primary care from its current level of less than 7 percent to at least 15 percent of the overall health care spend in Massachusetts. The legislation also calls for the change to have no net impact on overall health care spending, insurance premiums, or cost sharing (copays and deductibles).    We see, every day, how the erosion of primary care undermines our ability to care for patients. We support the greater investment in primary care called for in the bill passed by the Senate.     Primary care clinicians are overwhelmed by a payment system that asks them to address acute concerns, coordinate complex care, manage multiple chronic conditions, provide preventive services, and navigate countless administrative demands, while failing to adequately pay for the time, expertise, and long-term relationships that make high-quality primary care possible.    The result is predictable. Fewer medical students choose careers in primary care. More physicians leave independent practice or reduce their clinical hours. Patients wait months for appointments, if they can even find a primary care clinician at all.    We understand why some specialists worry that strengthening primary care will come at their expense.     We see it differently.     A healthy primary care system ensures that specialists spend their time on the patients who truly need their expertise instead of managing uncontrolled hypertension because a patient couldn't get a primary care appointment, renewing routine medications, or coordinating care that should already have been coordinated if primary care had the bandwidth and resources that it needed.

READ MORE

Submit an Opinion Piece We welcome informed commentary about local, state and national public policy. SUBMIT   Send a Tip Have a scoop you want to share? Click below to get in touch with the CommonWealth Beacon team. SEND A TIP

More Commentary from CommonWealth Voices

Here are the strong elements of House and Senate energy legislation that should be included in the final bill By Erin Baker and Jared Starr Massachusetts can no longer ignore the health care affordability crisis By Eileen McAnneny and Michael Bailit It’s time to act on the state’s PFAS problem By Connor Read Gov. Healey should reject the federal education voucher program By Jessica Tang

Job Board ⭐️ Chief Financial Officer, Metro Housing|Boston ⭐️ Managing Editor, CommonWealth Beacon ⭐️ Project Manager, Resonant Energy ⭐️ Senior Marketing & Partnerships Manager, Resonant Energy Street Program Coordinator, Roslindale Village Main Street Youth Programs Associate, Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) Community Building Associate, Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) Manager of Training and Capacity Building, Mass Mentoring Partnership President, Reproductive Equity Now Director of Development & Communications, Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) Clean Transportation Program Coordinator/Manager – Green Energy Consumers Alliance Political Manager, Better Future Project ADVERTISE YOUR JOB LISTING

Published by MassINC

CommonWealth Beacon, 11 Beacon Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02108, United States