Educator Assistance Act

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Terry Alexander and 44 co-sponsors

Health care cost growth benchmark equals the state's 10-year average GSP growth, with annual calculation and public disclosure of methods and results.

Act No. 12

Purpose and intent

This bill reforms Massachusetts’ health care cost growth benchmark by anchoring it to the state’s historical growth in gross state product (GSP). It introduces a formal, annual calculation of the historical GSP growth rate and requires disclosure of the methodology and results to lawmakers and the public. The bill sets the new benchmark for calendar years 2023 and beyond.

Key provisions

Section 1 – New definition

Inserts a definition: “Historical growth rate in gross state product,” defined as the long-run average annual growth rate of the Commonwealth’s GSP measured over the most recent ten-year period. This creates a baseline metric to guide the health care cost benchmark.

Section 2 – Removal of an existing sentence

Amends Section 7H 1/2(b) by striking the last sentence of that subsection (the exact historical text is not shown here).

Section 3 – Annual calculation and reporting (new subsection)

By January 15 each year, the Secretary of Administration and Finance, in consultation with the House and Senate Ways and Means committees, must:
Calculate the average annual growth rate of actual GSP for the most recent ten-year period.
Report the methodology and results to the Ways and Means committees.
Provide the historical GSP growth rate to the Health Policy Commission (chapter 6D) and ensure it is made public by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.

Section 4 – Health care cost growth benchmark linkage

Replaces current subsection (b)(3) of Chapter 6D, Section 9, with:
For calendar years 2023 and beyond, the health care cost growth benchmark shall equal the historical growth rate in GSP established under Section 7H 1/2 of Chapter 29.

Who is affected

State agencies: Secretary of Administration and Finance, Health Policy Commission (Chapter 6D), and the executive branch responsible for publishing the benchmark data.

Legislative committees: House and Senate Ways and Means receive the annual methodology and results.

Health care stakeholders: Institutions and programs governed by the health care cost growth benchmark will be guided by a benchmark tied to GSP growth.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Introduced: February 27, 2025.

Status: Referred to the committee on Revenue; Senate concurred.

Hearing updates: Hearing rescheduled to 09/16/2025 (A-1) with updated end time; previously scheduled for 10:30 AM–01:00 PM.

Related bill: HD 955 (replaces) referenced in the materials; H.3196 is the House version filed January 14, 2025 (House Docket No. 955).

Potential impact

Shifts the healthcare cost growth benchmark to reflect long-run economic growth in the state (ten-year average GSP), potentially altering how rapidly health care costs are allowed to grow under state programs.

Increases transparency by requiring formal methodology and public reporting.

Creates a standardized, data-driven baseline that aligns health cost benchmarks with macroeconomic performance.

If you’d like, I can add a brief comparison to the prior benchmark mechanism or map how this would affect projections under different economic scenarios.

Bill