With the number of people covered by public insurance growing – MassHealth covers about 2 million people, or 30 percent of the Massachusetts population – so too have the cross-subsidies borne by employers, employees, and taxpayers. Given our aging population and the shrinkage of our small group health insurance market, these cross subsidies by the private market will likely grow larger without intervention. Higher Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers could alleviate this cost-shift burden.
Jon Hurst
Posted inOpinion
State needs to get tougher with hospitals, pharma
With over 30 state reports that identify consistently that provider prices and drug costs drive health care spending, the Center for Health Information and Analysis findings make it clear that hospitals and pharmaceutical companies must do their part to rein in their costs and must have accountability like the regulations on health plans.
Posted inOpinion
Mass. residents deserve inflation relief
A FEW OF US are old enough to remember the last severe bout with inflation four decades ago. My first mortgage right out of college was a whopping 12 5/8 percent. Gas and food prices were through the roof, and families fell further and further behind despite rising wages. In many ways the picture is […]
Posted inOpinion
Unemployment insurance bill doesn’t go far enough
A BEACON HILL deal has been made to prevent an enormous, unprecedented tax bill in April for Massachusetts employers. Some businesses were aware it was coming while most had no idea. But the Legislature is now acting to provide temporary relief for those first quarter unemployment insurance (UI) tax bills, which otherwise would have resulted in […]
Posted inOpinion
Telehealth needs to deliver care at a lower cost
WITH MANDATED CLOSURES, significant loss of revenue, and uncertainty impacting Main Street’s bottom line, the COVID-19 pandemic has already imposed unforeseen costs on small businesses struggling to survive. But even as employers grapple with these challenges, they are working hard to make sure their employees have continued access to high-quality and affordable health care. For […]
Posted inOpinion
Why sales tax revenues are soaring
FOR OVER TWO DECADES no retail organization across the country has been more engaged in Main Street taxation fairness than the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. In fact, in 1997, the association was the first state or national retail association in the country to openly advocate for remote sales tax collections from internet sellers. Our concerns […]