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S 2047

Relates to the term "reportable business relationship" as it relates to certain employees of the state university of New York and the city university of New York

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Brad Hoylman-Sigal and 1 co-sponsor

Replaces the health care cost growth benchmark with a 10-year average of actual GSP growth, requires annual methodology reporting, and applies retroactively from 2023.

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Bill Summary · S 2047

Summary — S.2047 (Massachusetts) — "An Act to reform the healthcare cost benchmark"

Status and procedural timeline
- Bill filed as Senate Docket No. 1027 / Senate No. 2047 (presented by Michael O. Moore). Introduced 1/15/2025; read twice and referred to committee (Finance) 6/12/2025; committed to Rules 6/13/2025. Hearings have been scheduled/rescheduled for September 2025. (The provided legislative-action record contains multiple entries; see official legislative calendar for current status.)

Purpose / intent
- The bill reforms how Massachusetts sets its statewide health care cost growth benchmark by tying the benchmark to a transparent, reproducible measure of economic growth — a 10‑year average of actual gross state product (GSP). The aim is to simplify the benchmark’s calculation, increase transparency, and make the benchmark responsive to recent economic performance.

Key provisions
1. New definition (Chapter 29, §7H½)
- Adds “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.

  1. Administrative reporting requirement (new §7H½(d))

    • By January 15 each year, the Secretary of Administration and Finance (in consultation with the House and Senate Ways & Means committees) must calculate the average annual growth rate of actual GSP for the most recent ten‑year period, report methodology and results to the Ways & Means committees, provide the rate to the Health Policy Commission (HPC), and publish it publicly.

  2. Change to Health Care Cost Growth Benchmark (Chapter 6D, §9(b)(3))

    • Replaces the existing benchmark formula so that “for calendar years 2023 and beyond, the health care cost growth benchmark shall be equal to historical growth rate in gross state product” as established under Chapter 29 §7H½.

  3. Other technical change

    • Strikes the last sentence of subsection (b) in §7H½ (removing a prior clause; text not otherwise reproduced here).

Who is affected
- Executive Office of Administration and Finance: responsible for calculation, reporting, and publication.
- Health Policy Commission: receives and uses the benchmark to guide oversight, reporting, and regulatory activity.
- State Legislature (Ways & Means): consulted and informed annually about methodology/results.
- Healthcare sector (providers, insurers), employers, insurers, municipalities, and consumers: the benchmark guides state cost‑containment goals and accountability mechanisms and may affect policy, regulation, payment models, and budget planning.
- State budgeting and oversight processes: benchmark becomes a standardized metric used in planning and performance evaluation.

Significant impacts and considerations
- The benchmark becomes explicitly tied to a rolling 10‑year average of actual GSP, potentially making it more stable and transparent than formulas tied to forecasts or other growth-rate measures; however, the 10‑year average can lag sudden economic shifts.
- The bill applies the benchmark for “calendar years 2023 and beyond,” which is effectively retroactive to 2023.
- Annual publication and a required methodology report increase transparency and allow legislative oversight, but the precise operational effects will depend on the computed 10‑year GSP average (which could be higher or lower than prior benchmarks), and on how HPC and agencies adapt their enforcement/implementation practices.

For the definitive legal text and current status, consult the Massachusetts Legislature’s official website and committee reports.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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