FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Jay Dean 646-599-5928

‍

Primary Care Doctors Press Lawmakers to Act on Access Crisis, Demand MGB Recognize Union and Begin Bargaining

‍

WATCH STATEHOUSE PANEL DISCUSSION HERE 

PHOTOS

‍

Boston, MA — February 10, 2026 — Primary care physicians from Mass General Brigham (MGB), organized with Doctors Council SEIU, along with patients and medical students, briefed state legislators today at the Massachusetts State House on the escalating primary care access crisis and its impact on patients across the Commonwealth.

‍

Panelists described how chronic understaffing, excessive workloads, and a lack of frontline input into care delivery decisions are driving doctors out of primary care and limiting patients’ ability to access timely, continuous care. Panelists also raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding MGB’s reported $400 million investment in primary care and the rapid rollout of its AI-driven Care Connect model without meaningful physician involvement.

‍

During the briefing, physicians emphasized that 250 MGB primary care doctors voted overwhelmingly, 88 percent, to unionize as a strategy to stabilize the workforce, protect patient-centered care, and ensure doctors have a voice in decisions that directly affect access and quality.

“I became a doctor because I enjoy listening to my patients, getting to know them, and finding a way to help them,” said Dr. Zoe Tseng, Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But being a primary care doctor is grueling work, we are responsible for so much of our patients’ health with limited time and resources — yet we are given little say in how we take care of our patients, and have felt the needs of our patients, and our profession, increasingly at odds with the profit-driven decisions at MGB.”

‍

Panelists called on lawmakers to support policies that strengthen primary care, including the Primary Care for You (PC4You) legislation, and urged legislators to hold MGB accountable for ensuring that investments in primary care prioritize patients and workforce stability over corporate priorities.

‍

Panelists also asked legislators to sign onto a letter demanding that Mass General Brigham immediately recognize the doctors’ union and begin bargaining in good faith, stating there is no justification for continued delay following a clear and decisive union election.

‍

“Although our union was certified with the Regional National Labor Relations Board last June, MGB continues to delay union recognition and refuses to bargain. How many primary care doctors will leave in that time? Mass General Brigham could choose to recognize our union at any time. We are asking the senators and representatives to sign on to our letter encouraging MGB to recognize our union and start negotiating,” said Dr. Kristin Gunning, Internal Medicine, Mass General Hospital. . 

‍

Physicians, patients, and medical students made clear that the future of primary care in Massachusetts depends on immediate action. Union members say that without union recognition, transparency, and meaningful investment in the frontline workforce, patient access will continue to erode. Doctors discussed how recognizing the union and bargaining in good faith is a critical step toward stabilizing primary care, retaining physicians, and ensuring patients across the Commonwealth can get the care they need when they need it. This call is echoed by labor unions and community organizations across the Commonwealth that see a stable primary care workforce as essential to public health and patient access.

###

‍