Mass. Health Plan-Hospital Partnership Targets Care Delivery, Payment Models

Massachusetts health plans and hospitals have joined forces to create the Massachusetts Payer-Provider Partnership (MP3), an organization dedicated to implementing shared ideas between institutions that deliver care and organizations that pay for care. 

MP3 was founded in recognition of the growing affordability and access challenges patients are facing – as well as the enormous financial pressures that health systems, hospitals, and health plans are navigating. It will focus on practical, collaborative solutions – which may include modernizing and streamlining administrative processes and fostering innovative care delivery and payment models – to reduce costs and improve the patient care experience. Members will pilot these solutions within their own organizations and patient populations with the goal of scaling successful initiatives statewide.

MP3, an affiliated but autonomous entity of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, will be led by Lauren Peters, who most recently served as executive director of the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). Before joining CHIA, Peters served as Undersecretary for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

“Once again, Massachusetts is leaning into its long legacy of working together and finding common ground to improve the local healthcare experience,” said Steve Tringale, president of Mass General Brigham Health Plan and MP3 board member, in a statement. “That is the fundamental mission of health plans and health systems through MP3, and we believe this group has a tremendous opportunity for payers and providers to work collaboratively to improve the patient experience, outcomes, and affordability within a rapidly changing healthcare environment.”

The organization’s inaugural members will begin meeting in early spring 2026 to discuss initial goals and ideas. Those members include:
• Baystate Health
• Boston Medical Center Health System 
• Fallon Health 
• Health New England
• Mass General Brigham
• Mass General Brigham Health Plan 
• UMass Memorial Health
• UMass Memorial Health Mass Advantage
• WellSense Health Plan 


MP3 is designed to be an on-the-ground complement to policy-focused efforts underway, including the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Health Care Affordability Workgroup, the work of the Health Policy Commission, and other statewide collaborations.

“This new organization is built on a belief that no single part of the healthcare sector has all the answers,” said Alastair Bell, M.D., president and CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System and MP3 board member, in a statement. “Given the scale and complexity of today’s challenges across the industry, collaboration and developing innovative, practical solutions are critical to making sustained progress. At Boston Medical Center Health System, I’ve seen what can be accomplished when payer and provider functions are aligned. I am optimistic and excited about the potential of MP3 to extend innovations across the entire sector.”