BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)--Confronting the strained primary care workforce and state residents struggling to get basic preventive care, Massachusetts health regulators recommend reducing administrative burdens, growing the talent pipeline and expanding investments. The Health Policy Commission released a report Thursday delving into a shortage of new providers entering the field, low reimbursement rates compared to specialty care, unsustainable workloads and burnout, and a high volume of patients turning to the emergency room because they couldn't access a primary care clinician. Study finds financial incentives help people quit smoking The HPC also outlined recommendations for lawmakers, health care organizations, and public and private insurers aimed at shoring up the primary care field. The recommendations will be honed and expanded through a new primary care task force created through the new hospital and market oversight law. "The state of primary care in the United States and in Massachusetts is in a state of extreme challenge, and the need for action and policy action to improve both the delivery of care and to support the primary care workforce is urgent," HPC Executive Director David Seltz told board members Thursday afternoon. "And so we at HPC will be working to really the support the work of this task force, dedicating our staff and resources and time to this task force. I expect that we will be moving with urgency on the mandates of this task force." Gov. Maura Healey and Senate President Karen Spilka have expressed interest recently in investing in primary care, although concrete plans have not emerged. State officials are crafting fiscal 2026 spending plans based on a 2.2% tax revenue growth estimate, and facing pressure to bring down soaring health care costs. Seltz suggested his agency may need more financial and staffing resources this budget cycle to carry out the "ambitious" mandates from the new hospital oversight and prescription drug reform laws, which creates new offices at the HPC, including those focused on pharmaceutical policy and health care resources.  "We'll be working with our partners in the Legislature in this budgetary process to work with them and to model out what we think the actual budgetary impact will be in this first year and in the years to come, as many of these will be multi-year efforts," Seltz said.  Measured against 15 U.S. metros, Boston logged the second-longest wait times for a new patient appointment for a physical in 2022. Just over 40% of Bay Staters said they struggled to access care in 2023, and about two-thirds of residents in a survey said they turned to the emergency department since they couldn't schedule an appointment soon enough at a doctor's office or clinic. Compared to other states, Massachusetts has "among the lowest shares of physicians working in primary care," the HPC said. The state had roughly 15,000 primary care providers in 2022, and the provider mix is changing. The percentage of providers who are nurse practitioners or physician assistants increased from 26% to 31% from 2018 to 2022, the HPC said.