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SEPTEMBER 2025

We hope everyone is having an enjoyable beginning to the first official days of autumn! CHIA has been busy since our last DataMatters newsletter was emailed in July.

We published several reports for the first time, including a research brief studying the impact of race and ethnicity on unmet health-related social needs, which used data from the 2023 Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey. CHIA also published the latest annual report on relative price and provider price variation as well as the latest analyses of hospital inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department utilization. Last week, we released the HFY 2024 Hospital and Health System Annual Financial Performance Report.

In the “News You Can Use” section below, we’re excited to highlight the first publication on equity in quality of care in Massachusetts. Read below for more details.

Earlier this month, CHIA held its third Oversight Council meeting of the year. The livestream of the meeting is available for viewing on YouTube. And as always, later in the newsletter you’ll see a list of upcoming health care-related events that may be of interest.

We are always interested in hearing from you! If you have any questions or opinions you want to share, send your feedback to newsletter@chiamass.gov. 

CHIA continues to expand its reporting on equity in health care for Massachusetts residents. Earlier this month, we published our first report on Equity in Quality of Care: Select Clinical Quality and Patient Experience Measures in Massachusetts Stratified by Race and Ethnicity.

This report looks at clinical quality and patient experience measures across several primary care domains. For the first time, CHIA is examining these measures through a health equity lens to identify disparities and areas for improvement in an effort to advance a more equitable health care system in Massachusetts. The report shows that overall statewide performance measures mask disparities that emerge only when performance is stratified by race and ethnicity.

This report includes select metrics from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) and the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) Patient Experience Survey (PES), both of which focus on quality of care in the primary care setting. The report also includes data on hospital performance for the Leapfrog Group’s health equity measure.

CHIA has released several other reports in 2025 related to equity in health care, including its first Health Care Equity Dashboard, which looks at health care disparities across key measures such as coverage, access, and affordability with findings stratified by race, ethnicity, and geography, as well as publishing a research brief analyzing disparities by race and ethnicity in unmet health-related social needs. 

Unmet Health-Related Social Needs Research Brief

July 2025

CHIA published a new research brief examining disparities in the rates of unmet health-related social needs (HRSNs) by race/ethnicity in Massachusetts. The brief, Black and Hispanic Residents in Massachusetts Report Higher Rates of Unmet Health-Related Social Needs in Their Families, utilizes data from the 2023 Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey (MHIS).

Relative Price and Provider Price Variation

August 2025

The latest edition of the Relative Price and Provider Price Variation report for calendar year (CY) 2023 was published last month. The relative price (RP) metric shows providers’ average prices compared with a payer’s network average prices, accounting for differences in patient acuity, the types of services delivered to patients, and the insurance products offered.

An accompanying interactive dashboard shows CY 2023 data for Massachusetts hospitals and physician groups and includes payer-specific results for all hospital types and physician groups as well as cross-payer results for acute care hospitals, known as statewide relative price (S-RP).

2025 Quality Measure Catalog

August 2025

CHIA’s latest Quality Measure Catalog, produced in collaboration with the Health Policy Commission (HPC), includes an interactive dashboard updated with the results from the 2025 Quality Measure Catalog survey. This voluntary survey collects information on which quality measures payers have included in their contracts with health care providers for the upcoming year. 

Quarterly Case Mix Dashboards

August 2025

CHIA also recently released the latest quarterly Case Mix update. It includes emergency department, hospital inpatient, and outpatient observation dashboards that offer insights into patterns and trends on key utilization measures between October 2019 and March 2025.

Equity in Quality of Care

September 2025

CHIA earlier this month published its first report on Equity in Quality of Care: Select Clinical Quality and Patient Experience Measures in Massachusetts Stratified by Race and Ethnicity. In this report, CHIA uses a health equity lens to examine metrics across several care domains in the primary care setting to identify disparities and areas for improvement. See the “News You Can Use” section for more detail. 

Enrollment Trends

September 2025

CHIA updated its detailed Enrollment Trends analysis for the most recent 2-year period to give researchers and policymakers insight into the market. The latest edition covers the period between September 2022 and March 2025 and includes breakouts by payers and product types in private commercial and public market sectors. 

HFY 2024 Massachusetts Hospital and Health System Annual Financial Performance Report

September 2025

In the Hospital Fiscal Year (HFY) 2024 Hospital and Health System Annual Financial Performance Report, CHIA reports on the profitability, liquidity, and solvency of hospital health systems and their affiliated acute hospitals as well as the profitability of affiliated physician organizations. For the first time, this report also includes profitability data for non-acute hospitals, which comprise behavioral health, chronic care, rehabilitation, and specialty hospitals.

Hospital and Hospital Health System Year-To-Date Financial Report

September 2025

CHIA has released the latest year-to-date hospital and health system financial data, which includes the quarterly period through June 2025. The release includes data from acute hospitals, associated health systems, and physician organizations and provides an update on profitability, liquidity, and solvency for these entities. This publication is presented as an interactive Tableau dashboard and as an enhanced databook.

This section includes events and announcements of interest to our community, organized by CHIA, other Commonwealth agencies, and others.

Massachusetts Health Policy Commission Board Meeting

Thursday, October 23, 2025, 12 PM

Virtual

The HPC’s 11-member board meets approximately every 6 weeks throughout the year to review the agency’s major workstreams and other topics related to health care cost containment and reform. Major reports, statutory regulations, and publications are authorized by a majority vote at these meetings. Meetings will stream live on HPC’s YouTube channel.

CHIA Data User Workgroup

Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 3 PM

Virtual

These ongoing meetings are designed for data users and other interested parties to connect with CHIA to discuss analytical techniques and best practices in research using CHIA’s MA APCD and Case Mix databases. For more information, including past presentations and user support materials, visit the data user workgroup information page or the CHIA Data page.

Primary Care Access, Delivery, and Payment Task Force

Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 10 AM – 12 PM

Virtual

The next meeting of the task force can be livestreamed on the HPC’s YouTube channel. This task force was charged with studying and making recommendations to improve primary care access, delivery, and payment in the Commonwealth. See the task force website for more information.

National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO) Annual Conference

NAHDO at 40: Data and Policy Spanning the Decades

November 4-6, 2025

Virtual

Join NAHDO for its fully virtual annual conference to be held in November. Additional pre-conference sessions are also being held in October. Visit the conference website to see the full agenda. Registration is currently open.

Massachusetts Association of Health Plans (MAHP) Annual Conference

Health Care at a Crossroads—How Federal and State Polices Are Impacting Change

Friday, November 21, 2025, 8 AM – 3 PM Everett, MA

Join the leading voices in health care at MAHP’s 2025 Annual Conference, where more than 500 health care professionals will discuss issues impacting the health care system in Massachusetts and across the country. Visit the MAHP conference webpage to view the agenda, register for the event, and learn more about available sponsorship opportunities.

Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA) Conference

2025 Annual Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference

Friday, December 5, 2025, 8 AM – 2:30 PM

Boston, MA



MHA’s Annual Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference takes place on Friday, December 5, and is titled “Women Supporting Women: Strength in Community Building.” Registration is now open. The full agenda and roster of speakers will be available soon.

CHIA Oversight Council Meeting

Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 2 PM

Virtual

CHIA’s appointed Oversight Council meets quarterly to discuss agency priorities and agenda-setting. The next meeting will stream live on CHIA’s YouTube channel.

Join Our Team

A selection of open positions at CHIA. Please feel free to share broadly with your network. Follow CHIA on LinkedIn for more regular updates.

Manager of Financial Assessments 

Finance Team

ETL Developer

Data Operations and Technology Team

CENTER FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS

www.chiamass.gov