To the Editor:
Massachusetts recently took a key step in passing the Prioritizing Patients Access to Care Act to ensure that decisions about abortion care remain where they belong: between patients and their doctors.
Every day, as providers, we are trusted to listen to our patients, assess their unique medical circumstances, and determine the best course of care. But when the government interferes, providers can be forced to navigate legal restrictions alongside complex healthcare decisions, compromising the provider-patient relationship at moments when patients need compassionate, individualized care most.
No law can anticipate every diagnosis, complication, or circumstance. Healthcare works best when providers can use their medical expertise and professional judgement to respond to the patient in front of them.
At Health Imperatives, we see every day how barriers to healthcare disproportionately affect people with limited incomes, transportation challenges, and other circumstances that can make traveling hundreds of miles for care difficult, if not impossible. Last year we had 1,800 clinical visits and treated more than 1,000 individuals from Martha’s Vineyard, regardless of their income, insurance coverage, or immigration status.
We thank Gov. Healey and the Massachusetts legislature for protecting the provider-patient relationship, and for recognizing these patients deserve quality care close to home.
Dr. Timothy Spurrell, medical director
Health Imperatives
