The following is an open letter to the Department of Public Health after Mass General Brigham’s decision on Monday to seek a postponement until May 16 in filing a performance improvement plan required by the Health Policy Commission. THIS DECISION by Mass General Brigham is not a surprise. In fact, it’s likely a tactical move by […]
Paul Hattis
Posted inOpinion
Moment of truth for state’s health cost benchmark
A MOMENT OF TRUTH is now here for Mass General Brigham, as well as for the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, the Department of Public Health, and for health insurance premium payers across the state. The immediate issue coming to a head by March is whether DPH will allow Mass General Brigham to further expand its […]
Posted inNews Analysis
30-40% of COVID patients at MGH incidentally infected
This is another in a series of conversations between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul Hattis, a fellow at the Lown Institute who participates in CommonWealth’s Health or Consequences Codcast. PAUL HATTIS: How are Massachusetts General Hospital and the […]
Posted inOpinion
With health care spending rising, 7 policy wishes for 2022
AS THE YEAR draws to a close, with COVID still raging, the sad reality is that the next weeks to a few months could be quite challenging. The hope here is that those who become infected do not get seriously ill (whether fully vaccinated or not) and that our health care system, its workers, and first […]
Posted inOpinion
Mariano’s health care bill shows promise
HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano on Friday followed through on his pledge to put forward legislation that would subject expansion projects of major health care providers to more regulatory review. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Donato, more formally injects the Health Policy Commission and the attorney general’s office into the determination of need process administered by […]
Posted inOpinion
Why are hospital ICUs so full now?
This is another in a series of conversations between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul Hattis, a senior fellow at the Lown Institute, a former commissioner of the Health Policy Commission, and co-host of CommonWealth’s Health or Consequences Codcast. […]
Posted inOpinion
DPH needs to stop being a paper tiger
EVERY TIME a hospital spends capital dollars to add inpatient beds or ambulatory sites to its footprint, the Department of Public Health is tasked with conducting an analysis to determine whether new expenditures are actually needed, and whether the expenditure promotes competition. The goal is to keep the supply of hospital beds or clinic sites in […]
Posted inOpinion
My spin on Mass General Brigham’s financial spin
MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM’S recent press release on its quarterly financial results masterfully blends positive numbers to impress current and future bondholders while obscuring how well the hospital system is doing financially so that government policy makers do not make decisions which could thwart business imperatives. The press release starts with an opening paragraph saying “the […]
Posted inOpinion
Another wealthy hospital system expanding in the suburbs
HERE WE go again. First came Mass General Brigham and its $400 million plan to launch new ambulatory care centers in Westwood, Woburn, Westborough, and Salem, New Hampshire. And now comes Boston Children’s Hospital, which wants to spend $435 million to expand an existing site in Waltham, move physicians in Weymouth into a new office […]
Posted inOpinion
Potential Atrius sale evokes sadness, concerns
IN MARCH, Atrius Health announced it was going to be acquired by Optum, a division of the country’s largest for-profit health insurance company, UnitedHealth Group. The deal evokes sadness in me, but also some serious concerns. Atrius evolved out of the Harvard Community Health Plan, which was the state’s initial foray in the 1960s into […]