A commission appointed by the governor and legislature in Massachusetts has called for reform of the state’s health policy in the next five years that would end payments for service, switching instead to a system that pays a fixed fee to cover a person’s care for a whole year.

The aim is that by working within a set budget, providers would have to better coordinate patients’ care, with the hope that quality would improve and costs fall. The new policy will require the creation of integrated care, from the family doctor to specialists and hospitals.

Massachusetts would be the first state to adopt such a “global payment” …