STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Spending on health care in Massachusetts rose to $57.2 billion in 2015, growing more slowly than in 2014 but for the second straight year outpacing the benchmark set under a 2012 cost containment law, according to a new state report. The 3.9 percent growth in total health care spending, estimated in […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care
Baker pushes health care competition
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is showing signs that it wants to get more aggressive about encouraging greater competition between health care providers. Monica Bharel, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health, is sending the strongest signals. Her agency is preparing to issue new regulations next week that will spell out how the state will handle […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Children’s Hospital expansion won’t cut costs
IN 2008, A SEMINAL ARTICLE was published in Health Affairs by Donald M. Berwick, Thomas W. Noland, and John Whittington, entitled “The Triple Aim: Care, Health, And Cost.” Its conclusions are foundational to much of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and also to much of the work undertaken in recent years by many of […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Deal would avoid hospital pricing ballot fight
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DEAL BROKERED by Beacon Hill leaders between labor and the hospital industry to avert a contentious hospital pricing disparity ballot question this fall would reenergize a special commission examining health care costs and direct $120 million over five years in financial relief to hospitals across the state. The tentative agreement […]
Posted inHealth Care
Commission wraps up health pricing discussions
THE STATE’S HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION on Thursday wrapped up a series of discussions with industry stakeholders on what to do about hospital pricing disparities, but the group seemed to have no clear plan on what to do next. As members offered up their ideas at the end of a two-hour meeting, some talked about broadening […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Groups raise concern on hospital pricing talks
THE HEADS OF NINE BUSINESS AND INSURANCE GROUPS sent a letter to top Beacon Hill leaders on Tuesday raising concerns about some of the proposals being considered to forestall a ballot question that would regulate hospital prices. The letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo indicated some of […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Health care cost transparency no panacea
It has been an article of faith among many of those concerned about soaring health care costs, including Gov. Charlie Baker: Pull back the covers on the costs of health care procedures and services and the invisible hand of consumers making smart choices will drive sense and efficiency into a dysfunctional and costly market. That […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service, The Download
Partners at center of health care cost conundrums
On the one hand, countless studies suggest high-priced hospitals in Massachusetts offer care in most cases that is no different from what is available at a much lower cost at community hospitals. On the other hand, no one seems to believe it. The Boston Globe reported last week that Neighborhood Health Plan had signed a […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Opinion
Doing more for homeless people in Massachusetts
THE FOUNDING OF the Massachusetts Bay Colony was grounded in the social contract. In a sermon delivered in 1630, Gov. John Winthrop articulated the belief that, “[W]e must… make other’s conditions our own…as members of the same body.” For generations, vital services in Massachusetts have been a responsibility of our government. We’re rightly proud that […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Back Story
Bogus Health Connector website shut down
The Baker administration has shut down a shadowy commercial website masquerading as the official Massachusetts Health Connector and referring customers to health insurers while collecting a fee in the process. The real Connector is a state clearinghouse for health and dental insurance plans, helping individuals, families, and small businesses secure health and dental coverage. About 208,000 […]