(Left-to-right) MMS Immediate Past President Dr. Maryanne Bombaugh, with speakers Phillip Gardiner, Dr. Valerie Yerger, and Simon McNabb, and coalition chair Dr. Lauren Smith at the MMS-hosted Tobacco Free Mass annual policy forum.
The Medical Society is committed to collaborating with key stakeholder groups in support of shared goals and objectives to advance medical knowledge and the medical profession to improve patient care and outcomes.
MMS works in coalition on an array of issues to broaden and leverage our expertise and influence, and to create lasting partnerships that will help the Medical Society generate momentum on critical health care and public health issues both large and small,
including those that might otherwise be overlooked in a complex policy environment.
MMS staff regularly attend coalition meetings in support of access to and affordability of care, expansion of harm reduction for substance use disorder, increasing routine childhood immunizations, improving prescription drug affordability, reducing inequities
in reproductive and maternal health, and more.
Some of these coalitions include:
Putting Patients Over Paperwork: The Coalition to Streamline Access to Care (PA Coalition)
The MMS is a founding member of the PA Coalition, formed in recognition of the pressing needs to reform the prior authorization process in Massachusetts as it delays necessary patient care and creates inordinate burdens for physicians and hospitals alike.
The PA Coalition collectively represents physicians and health care providers, hospital systems, and most importantly, patients, in advocating for legislation that ensures timely access to high-quality, efficient care. Together with our partners,
we have filed legislation to meaningfully reform prior authorization to reduce administrative burden and promote access to quality, timely care.
Massachusetts for Overdose Prevention Centers
The MMS is a founding member of “Massachusetts for Overdose Prevention Centers”
(MA4OPC), a statewide coalition dedicated to establishing Overdose Prevention Centers (commonly known as “Safe Consumption/Injection Sites”) in the Commonwealth.
tMED Coalition
The MMS serves in a leadership role on the tMED Coalition, which represents more than 50 health care provider organizations, consumer advocates, technology organizations and telecommunication associations. Its mission is to support the advancement
and expansion of the use of telehealth in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Families for Vaccines
The MMS is a leading partner in “Massachusetts Families for Vaccines,” a grassroots network that organizes to combat misinformation
about vaccines and advance science-based legislation to improve vaccination rates in the Commonwealth.
MA Prescription Drug Affordability Coalition
The MMS is a member of the MA Prescription Drug Affordability Coalition, which advocates for comprehensive legislation to
contain prescription drug costs and improve affordability of care for patients.
Mind the Gap
As a member of the “Mind the Gap” coalition, the MMS supports efforts to grow and diversify the state’s perinatal mental health workforce and invest
in community-based organizations supporting perinatal people.
Tobacco Free Mass
The MMS is a founding member of Tobacco Free Mass, which advocates for legislation, policies and programs that counteract the tobacco industry’s
impact on the people of Massachusetts, focusing on those most affected by tobacco use and its harms.
Mass Collaborative
MMS is a member of the Mass Collaborative, a voluntary, open organization of more than 35 payers, providers, and trade associations dedicated to reducing
complex and cumbersome health care administrative processes in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Health Council
MMS is also a member of the Massachusetts Health Council, a broad group of stakeholders formed to foster a strong culture of health in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Health Council promotes policies and programs that enable healthier lifestyles, wellness, and preventative care so all people and their communities can thrive.
Additional MMS-involved coalitions include:
