ADVERTISEMENT

New from CommonWealth Beacon OPINION: Massachusetts is on track to reduce over 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions between 2022 and 2040 thanks to smart investments in public transit. But Massachusetts could potentially reduce an additional 500,000 tonnes in the next 15 years, and save $250 million, if roadway capacity expansion project funding is dedicated to mobility options that have emissions reducing co-benefits, writes Reggie Ramos, executive director of Transportation for Massachusetts.  SHIELD LAW: Gov. Maura Healey signed an expanded shield law designed to protect providers and patients of reproductive care, including abortions, and transgender care. Alison Kuznitz and Colin A. Young of State House News Service have more.

Emergency waits, primary care crisis trouble UMass Memorial head August 11, 2025 By CommonWealth Beacon Staff

The Bay State is already struggling with a primary care provider crisis, and the head of the largest not-for-profit health care system in Central Massachusetts sees an increasingly grim road ahead if current trends persist.

This week on the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute speak with Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health.

“It pains me, especially as an emergency physician, to look at the trajectory of some of the key metrics and health care in this state,” Dickson said.

Massachusetts now has the third longest ER wait times in country, which Dickson said is a reflection of a decline in primary care access.

“Primary care is the foundation of any good health care system, on a national or state level or regional basis,” he said. “So you don't have primary care. Patients can't get seen early. They end up in the emergency department later, in the course of their disease, which explains a lot about why healthcare costs so much in the state of Massachusetts.”

Medical universities are struggling to produce enough physicians to keep up with the need, he said.

UMass Chan is one of only two New England medical schools to rank in the top 10 percentile for primary care education, he noted. But students attending the school – where Dickson himself studied medicine – are now paying far more than he did or are doing the math and concluding that working in primary care and paying back loans to cover $70,000 a year in out-of-state tuition is unmanageable.

And federal headwinds are not helping the broader health landscape, he said. For hospitals that have a large number of patients on Medicaid, like UMass Memorial, they will be greatly impacted by the coming cuts to Medicaid signed into law on July 4 by President Trump in his sweeping tax and spend bill.

ADVERTISEMENT

But the scale of damage is still hard to pin down, Dickson said, because new work requirements for Medicaid recipients will go into effect in October 2026 and take some unknown number of people off of their coverage. Plus, the new federal posture on vaccinations from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a long history of vaccine skepticism and is rolling back recommendations and research into vaccinations, will likely lead to resurgences in long-forgotten diseases, Dickson said.

“This will become a nation of people with chronic disease,” he said. “And as the population, ages and medications get better to keep people alive longer, it's a little bit scary to think about the shortage of primary care that exists today, and how bad that will be 10 years from now, if something doesn't change.”

LISTEN NOW

More Context  Treating the ‘dire diagnosis’ of Massachusetts’ primary care crisis (February 2025)  Primary care in Mass. needs major overhaul (February 2024)  The stress test facing Massachusetts health care (March 2025)

More from CommonWealth Beacon UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY: In recent years, historic mills and old industrial buildings in Gateway Cities across the state have been renovated and converted into much-needed housing. But Western Massachusetts cities with weaker housing markets have struggled to get developers to restore their vacant properties. Hallie Claflin has more.    OPINION: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 marks a low point for America, but it also presents an opportunity for Massachusetts to lead through crisis, much as we did 250 years ago in leading our fledgling country’s fight for independence, writes Amie Shei of the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.

Job Board Director of Green Infrastructure — City of Boston Solar Construction Manager — Resonant Energy Sr. Business Development Manager — Resonant Energy Senior Economic Development Planner — Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) Senior Director of Offshore Wind — Environmental League of Massachusetts Senior Manager, Technology Market Transformation — Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) ADVERTISE YOUR JOB LISTING

What We're Reading REAL ESTATE: Over the past five years, lab space in the greater Boston area has about doubled, but much of the real estate — about 36 percent — remains vacant. But converting that space into housing or other uses is complicated. (The Boston Globe – paywall)  CONSERVATION: The Trustees of Reservations, a 134-year-old conservation nonprofit, is planning to add another 12,000 acres of land to its portfolio to preserve wildlife, combat climate change, and protect habitats. (The Berkshire Eagle – paywall)  ENVIRONMENT: More than 30 beaches across Massachusetts were closed Monday because of high levels of bacteria in the water. Several of the beaches are seeing cyanobacteria outbreaks, according to the Department of Public Health. (MassLive)    PUBLIC SAFETY: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city will seek a $12 million Urban Area Security Initiative grant from the federal government despite the condition that at least 10 percent of the money be spent on collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (The Flipside)

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