Axios Boston

May 12, 2026
It's Tuesday.
- A class-action lawsuit accuses a Massachusetts insurer of maintaining "ghost networks," and we look at Boston's homicide rate after recent shootings.
🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 63 and a low of 47.
Today's newsletter is 1,023 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Lawsuit claims "ghost networks" persist
Two Massachusetts residents filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Harvard Pilgrim is skirting laws requiring accurate provider directories.
Why it matters: State and federal laws ban "ghost networks," but several reports in recent years have found that they haven't gone away.
- Now two Bay Staters are pointing the finger at the insurer owned by Canton-based Point32Health.
Driving the news: The lawsuit, filed last week in Suffolk Superior Court, accuses Harvard Pilgrim of deceptive and misleading practices that delayed care for customers and financially benefited the insurer.
- The policyholders, Jessica Bousquet of Worcester County and Brian Green of Hampden County, say the directory inaccurately listed several mental health providers as in-network and taking new patients.
Case in point: Bousquet, who works in special education, told Axios she spent at least an hour after work most days calling providers treating anxiety on the directory, including several listed as taking new patients.
- Every number led to a dead end — the doctor was out of network, no longer practiced or wasn't taking new patients — for 16 months, she said.
What they're saying: "I'd just try to juggle parenting while making phone calls, which is very difficult," Bousquet said.
- She caught a break with the last number she dialed: The provider called back, saying she had an opening.
- "I still remember thinking, 'Wow, did I just get lucky,'" Bousquet added.
A spokesperson for Point32 didn't respond to emails seeking comment Monday.
Stunning stats: Research consultants hired by Bousquet and Green's legal team replicated their searches on Harvard Pilgrim's directories.
- They reported an 81.6% "ghost" rate for Bousquet.
- Green, who started with a Tufts plan and enrolled in Harvard Pilgrim after they merged, had a 54% ghost rate.
- His son, who also sought treatment, had a 75% ghost rate, per the complaint.
What's next: Harvard Pilgrim will have a chance to respond to the complaint formally in Suffolk Superior Court.
2. Boston's homicide rate down — for now
Boston has reported fewer homicides than this time last year, but that could change if this summer looks anything like the past weekend.
The big picture: Boston has had one of the lowest violent-crime rates in the nation in the year's first quarter, along with several other major U.S. cities.
- The Hub's homicide total remains lower than in most other big cities, at least for now, according to data collected by the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
Driving the news: Boston recorded four homicides in the first three months of the year — two fewer killings than in the first quarter of 2025.
- The city also reported fewer rapes, robberies and assaults in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
- That marked a step in the right direction after Boston's homicide rate increased 30% in 2024, from 24 in 2024 to 31 last year.
Yes, but: That was before police shot and killed a man who they say attacked an officer and an EMS worker with a sword on April 4, and before fatal shootings on April 18 and this past weekend.
The latest: Police responded to three shootings over the weekend, including one that left a man dead Saturday night in Mattapan.
- Two separate shootings on Sunday in Dorchester left four people injured, NBC Boston reported.
State of play: Boston officials haven't ruled all of these deaths as homicides yet, but they will likely bring the city's tally up to seven.
- That's below last year's tally of 17 homicides in the first half of the year and the same number of homicides the city reported in the first half of 2024.
What we're watching: Violent crime tends to increase in the summer amid hot weather, more social events and alcohol consumption.
3. 🔙 BTMU: Cambridge shooting
A gunman opened fire on Memorial Drive in Cambridge yesterday afternoon, seriously injuring two motorists. (CBS Boston)
- The alleged gunman, identified as Tyler Brown of Boston, was shot by a state trooper and was wounded.
💼 TD Bank plans to make Boston employees return to the office four days a week once it completes its move to International Place. (BBJ)
⚖️ The Supreme Court extended its order allowing patients to get the abortion pill mifepristone through the mail after telehealth visits until Thursday, giving justices more time to consider the case. (CNN)
⛽️ President Trump told CBS News yesterday that he supports suspending the federal 18.4-cent gas tax as gas prices soar during the war with Iran. (Axios)
- What we're watching: Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve called on Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers to suspend the state's gas tax.
Alvin Campbell Jr., Attorney General Andrea Campbell's older brother, stands trial this week on a series of rape, kidnapping and assault charges involving nine women between 2017 and 2019. (Boston.com)
- His attorneys didn't respond to Boston.com's request for comment.
4. 🍽️ Restaurant roundup
A handful of restaurants are opening in the Seaport District.
Daily Provisions, the neighborhood cafe led by Danny Meyer, opens its long-anticipated Seaport location tomorrow.
- It'll be open 7am-9pm daily on Commonwealth Pier.
Down the street, Chicago-based steakhouse Maple & Ash opened its doors on April 30, weeks after the Italian restaurant and cocktail bar Bambola and the Girl Next Door debuted.
What's next: Life Alive Organic Cafe will join Daily Provisions on Commonwealth Pier this summer.
Meanwhile, Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group plans to open another Daily Provisions cafe in the former site of a Pret A Manger in the Back Bay, per Boston Restaurant Talk.
5. ❤️ 1 message of kindness to go

👋🏼 Steph here. I stopped by Lovepop's Harvard Square store, which is building a "kindness wall" until July.
- Does it seem kind of sappy? Yeah. It is a publicity stunt? Probably.
- But couldn't we all use a little more kindness in our lives these days?
If you go: Let me know what you write.
Deehan is impressed by this stunning example of double parking.
Steph wants to know if you've encountered "ghost networks" in the last few years.
This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.
Sign up for Axios Boston






