Press Release: 9/21/2025

HPC Elects to Conduct Cost and Market Impact Review of Proposed New CVS and Mass General Brigham Primary Care Partnership

 

HPC will review potential implications on primary care access, quality, and cost



BOSTON — Today, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) Board of Commissioners voted to initiate a cost and market impact review of the proposed contracting affiliation between Mass General Brigham (MGB) and CVS MinuteClinic. The presentation materials(opens in a new tab) and a recording of the meeting are available on the HPC’s website(opens in a new tab).



Under the proposed transaction, MinuteClinic plans to transform 37 urgent/convenience care centers to MinuteClinic Primary Care and proposes to offer longitudinal care for adults across the sites co-located in CVS retail locations. MinuteClinic Primary Care is proposing to join MGB’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO) as an affiliated provider organization, participate in MGB’s existing risk contracts, and have access to MGB’s population health management infrastructure. The parties expect that approximately 80 MinuteClinic Primary Care Advanced Practice Providers would begin managing panels of 1,500 patients each, creating capacity to serve 120,000 adult primary care patients statewide.



The proposed affiliation was filed as a material change notice (MCN)(opens in a new tab) with the HPC in June 2025. The HPC determined that the affiliation is likely to have a significant impact on spending and the health care market in Massachusetts. As a result, the HPC exercised its authority to initiate a cost and market impact review (CMIR).



The CMIR is a comprehensive, data-driven review that will assess the impact of the proposed contracting affiliation on costs and the Commonwealth’s ability to meet the health care cost growth benchmark(opens in a new tab), market functioning, quality of care, and health equity and access for consumers. The HPC leverages confidential information provided by the transaction parties and other market participants, public data sources including those collected by the Center for Health Information and Analysis, and the advice of expert consultant teams in order to build its analyses. The outcome of this process will be a public report detailing the HPC’s findings.



“In the midst of a primary care access crisis in the state, we look forward to working with Mass General Brigham and CVS to understand and assess this proposal’s potential to provide access to new primary care sites, as well as its impact on health care costs, quality, and equity for Massachusetts patients,” said Deborah Devaux, HPC Board Chair.



“Primary care is the foundation of a strong, sustainable health system, yet it faces increasing pressures in Massachusetts. Research has demonstrated that a lack of access leads to worse outcomes, both for residents’ health and in terms of cost to the system,” said HPC Executive Director David Seltz. “Innovative solutions that deliver high quality, affordable primary care that is accessible to all residents are desperately needed.  The HPC’s vetting in a CMIR will help ensure that this proposal meets those goals.”



The HPC does not have the authority to prohibit a transaction but may refer its report and findings to the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Public Health, or other state agencies for possible further action on behalf of consumers in the health care market. Through this process, the HPC also seeks to encourage providers to evaluate and take steps to minimize negative impacts and enhance positive outcomes of any proposed change.



Further detail on the HPC’s transactional review process(opens in a new tab) is available on the HPC website.