The rising cost of providing health care to employees remains a daunting challenge for AIM members working to attract and retain talented people.

That’s why I was pleased to be part of a Work Group of select business leaders and health-care experts convened by The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation to explore solutions to help the health-care system upon which employers and employees depend.

AIM occupies a unique position as a convener of both traditional employers and health-care organizations. We believe that solving the health-care crisis requires participation from everyone – no single sector, company, or entity can bear this burden alone.

It comes as no surprise to AIM members that the Massachusetts’ health-care system is in crisis.

Patients struggle to access timely care; emergency departments are experiencing sustained backups; and inpatient and long-term care capacity constraints are burdening families, clinicians, and hospitals. These access breakdowns sit alongside other longstanding structural failures that are driving unsustainable cost growth and worsening affordability for patients, employers, health plans, and providers.

Add in federal funding reductions contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) and the world-renowned Massachusetts health-care system find itself at an inflection point.

The Blue Cross Foundation work group identified five steps to improve both access and affordability in Massachusetts:

• Revamp the Coverage and Funding System for Adults with Low Incomes – Build a more durable system of coverage and financing of care for adults with low incomes, including uninsured and underinsured individuals.
• Multi-Payer, Value-Driven Payment – Use state regulatory authority to drive health care payment toward value across payers and reduce overall cost growth.
• Multi-Payer Administrative Alignment – Develop uniform, statewide standards, where applicable, and shared administrative connectivity across payers and providers.
• State-Supported Clinical Training Programs – Fund additional clinical training opportunities tied to in-state service commitments, with a focus on primary care and behavioral health.
• Volunteer Clinic Expansion – Expand programs for volunteer medical providers through public and philanthropic funding as a stopgap for addressing access gaps while systemic solutions are implemented.

The framework published by the Work Group earlier this month recommends a second phase of work in which public and private sectors collaborate to develop, model, and implement specific policies based on the Solutions Framework.

The report does not present detailed or fully designed policy proposals, nor does it reflect full consensus on specific policy levers or revenue options to help implement and sustain these solutions. Rather, it reflects consensus on the core system challenges and shared principles.

AIM intends to represent its members in the next phase of this work as we develop policies that advance health-care affordability and set our health-care system on a sustainable path forward.

I extend the sincere gratitude of AIM to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation for including AIM in this important effort, and to our fellow working group members for their meaningful and dedicated contributions throughout this process.