January 21, 2026
Last week Governor Healey announced reforms to streamline patient access and reduce administrative burden in health care. The Division of Insurance (DOI) will issue regulations that simplify or completely remove prior authorization requirements for many routine health care services. The change will benefit patients by reducing delays for routine and essential care. Prior authorizations require doctors to receive approval from health insurance companies before providing certain types of care. Reducing or eliminating that process step will curtail administrative burden and lower health care costs.
To further address the issue of healthcare costs in the state, Governor Healey announced the creation of a Health Care Affordability Working Group (HCAWG). The group comprises professionals from government, healthcare providers and insurers, labor organizations, and academia. Members are tasked with developing actionable recommendations to reduce costs in the healthcare system by addressing inefficiencies and administrative waste. The end goal is to reduce costs without compromising patient access to or quality of care.