In an effort to achieve greater transparency, I decided to pull the requirements listed in the new healthcare law in Massachusetts that promises to save the Commonwealth billions. I have blogged about my skepticism numerous times before. It is important to keep in mind that these are the explicit implementation requirements or permissions granted to existing or new agencies in 2013. Many other implementation actions were intentionally left vague or were not assigned a start date, but can commenc[...]

http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/21/what-romney-should-do-on-health-care/ Americans believe in second chances. Mitt Romney will get his if the Supreme Court rules to throw out part, or all, of the president’s federal health insurance law. Should Romney propose replacing it with a federal version of the Massachusetts health law or a federal mega-bill that mandates a one-size-fits-all free-market solution? The question is now central to the election — the high court has made that certain — and eclip[...]

http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/04/mass-taxpayers-foundation-critics A new Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) study finds that in fiscal 2011, the state’s share of spending attributable to the 2006 health reform law was $453 million, or 1.4% of the $32 billion budget. And, when you look at the first five years of state spending for health reform, the annual increase, year-to-year, averaged about $91 million. In short, health reform hasn’t been a “budget-buster” as some critics have claim[...]

Pioneer's 2012 Hewitt Health Care Lecture enjoyed record attendance, and featured a presentation by Dr. Don Berwick, formerly the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Berwick was followed by James Capretta, Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. [...]

The summer has led to little news from the Legislature and Governor Patrick on the health policy front. Which, on the first day of September, left me to wonder whatever happened to the temporarily extended Massachusetts MassHealth 1115 waiver? Simply put, this waiver from the federal government allowed the 2006 health reform to become a reality. The waiver was last renegotiated by the Patrick Administration in 2008, and was extended until June 30, 2011. Quietly this summer, that deadline was pus[...]

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts held a forum in Boston recently on Vermont’s efforts to move towards single payer. A few takeaways. 1) Using the data and criteria cited at the forum,  every state should be moving towards a single payer system. Of course some on the left nod their head in agreement, to the rest of us, the logic seems flawed at best. For example, how does 7% uninsured in Vermont justify single payer? The national average is close to 17%. In addition, t[...]

A Washington Post article today is sure to influence the debate in the beltway on reforming our health delivery system towards accountable care organizations (ACOs), one can only hope it will reach the leaders of the Commonwealth before they pass the Governor’s “phase II” payment reform legislation. ACOs are the skeleton that Governor Patrick is attempting to fuse his alternative payment methods with. ACOs are the hot concept in health policy circles, as the Obama Administration is rolling out n[...]

Two of the most prominent “safety net” hospitals in Massachusetts are facing sizable budget gaps again this year, and are turning to the feds to bail them out. Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) have long received, in part because of their emphasis on the under- and uninsured, greater political assistance in propping up their balance sheets. The desired Medicaid waiver amendment would be worth $86 million this year for CHA and $90 million for BMC. These institutions [...]

An “Incomplete” Grade on Creating an Informed Marketplace: Health Care Reform Has Done Little to Provide Cost-Effective Quality Contact Samantha Levine at 617-723-2277 ext. 211 or slevine@pioneerinstitute.org BOSTON – A new report from Pioneer Institute finds that there is little evidence that the 2006 Massachusetts Health Care Reform has done much to meet two core objectives set for the reform, namely, greater transparency of provider quality and cost data, and improvement in the quality of car[...]

Massachusetts Health Care Reform Gets a “B” for Administrative Efficiency: Concerns about Competition and Costs Remain Contact Samantha Levine at 617-723-2277 ext. 211, or slevine@pioneerinstitute.org BOSTON – Massachusetts health care reform receives a ?B? for administrative efficiency from the third part of Pioneer’s Interim Report Card. The report finds that premium rates for individuals were reduced dramatically post-reform through the market merger, but there is only weak evidence that the [...]