Entries by Editorial Staff

Moving the Needle on Healthcare Cost Containment & Reform

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Today, Pioneer Institute submitted recommendations to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Special Senate Committee on Health Care Cost Containment and Reform. Pioneer applauds provisions of the proposed legislation that would reduce emergency room use and re-admissions, expand scope of practice, and embrace telemedicine. The Committee should also be commended for looking to other states’ accomplishments in this area. But the current bill raises some concerns. In some instances, we believe it diminishes the potential for greater cost savings by adding unnecessary regulatory burdens. The projected savings relative to 2020 spending are quite modest, at less than 0.2 percent. The Medicaid buy-in program as it is presented is a radical change from the existing program structure – it will require more elaboration […]

Join us 11/13: “Witnessing Hope: Cristo Rey Schools & Catholic Education”

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As the country is engaged in a national discussion about equality of educational opportunity, school choice, and religious freedom, join us at a public forum featuring nationally recognized experts on Catholic leadership and schooling, that will highlight a successful model of Catholic high school education. Date: November 13, 2017 Time: 8:30 am – 11:00 am Location: Omni Parker House Hotel, 60 School Street, Boston, MA Register Now  

Study: Proposition 80 Would Give MA 2nd Highest Combined State & Federal Capital Gains Tax Rate in U.S.

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Read coverage of this report in the Boston Herald: “Study: ‘Millionaire’s tax’ would hurt state” and the Boston Business Journal: “‘Millionaires’ tax’ would make Mass. an outlier in capital gains tax, says group” Unlike federal government, gains could move taxpayers into higher state bracket  BOSTON – If voters approve Proposition 80, scheduled to appear on the statewide ballot next year, Massachusetts’ top capital gains tax rate would go from 30th highest in the nation to fourth and the commonwealth’s highest combined state and federal rate would move from 25th to second, according to a new Policy Brief published by Pioneer Institute. “Proposition 80 would have an outsized impact on capital gains,” said Greg Sullivan, the author of “Back to Taxachusetts […]

Is it time to expand water transportation in Greater Boston?

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A recent Pioneer Institute report explored the benefits of increased investment in the MBTA’s water-based public transportation service to meet the growing demand among commuters in Massachusetts’ coastal communities. In the brief video clip below, Pioneer Institute Research & Policy Associate Matt Blackbourn shares key findings from this report, which he co-authored with Pioneer Research Director Greg Sullivan, regarding ferry service performance and costs compared to other MBTA transit modes and peer agencies across the country. Click the button below to read the report, and the video player below that to watch the clip. Recent media coverage: This report received extensive media attention, including radio coverage on WGBH and WBUR. Click on the links below: The Boston Herald: “Study suggests […]

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Arguments in Janus v. AFSCME

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Pioneer Institute Signed onto Amicus Brief Urging Court to Accept Case BOSTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in Janus v. AFSCME, a case involving an Illinois public employee who sued the defendant claiming that being compelled to pay an agency fee violates his First Amendment right to freely express dissent. Pioneer Institute, through its public interest law initiative PioneerLegal, signed onto an amicus brief at the invitation of the Pacific Legal Foundation that supported Janus’s petition asking the Supreme Court to hear his agency fee case. “We recognized that many observers believed the time was right for the Supreme Court to accept the case as its key issues – particularly those based on First Amendment […]

Don’t Stop the Momentum on T Reform

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Today, Pioneer Institute submits testimony in support of MBTA bus maintenance and management reform at a hearing of the Massachusetts State Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight. The MBTA is proposing to outsource bus maintenance at 3 of its 9 garages, a practice which has been successful at regional transit authorities across the state. The proposal would have minimal impact on the agency’s mechanics, who would remain in the Machinists’ union; but would free the T to make needed management improvements currently prohibited by contracts that limit the duties of Supervisors. Modernization of business practices as a result of the proposal could save taxpayers $11 million per year. Studies have found opportunities for improvement in the operation’s software system, […]

Press Release: Pioneer Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Plaintiffs in Boston Charter School Case

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Joins with Black Alliance for Educational Options and Cheryl Brown Henderson to argue that case should be allowed to proceed to discovery BOSTON — Through its public interest law initiative PioneerLegal, Pioneer Institute has filed an amicus brief in an important case about public education that will be argued today before Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). In 2015, five Boston Public School students who did not win lotteries for admission to charter public schools and were relegated to failing district schools brought suit, asserting that they were denied equal protection and the right to an adequate public education as guaranteed by the Massachusetts Constitution.  The trial court dismissed the suit, and the appeal is before the state’s highest court. Pioneer […]

The Dignity of Liberty

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Click the button below to download (may take extra time), or below that, scroll through the report in the Scribd viewer on this page. The Dignity of Liberty: Pioneer Institute’s 2016 Annual Report by Pioneer Institute on Scribd Our fiscal year ends on Saturday! Please make a tax-deductible contribution below. [wpdevart_countdown text_for_day=”Days” text_for_hour=”Hours” text_for_minut=”Minutes” text_for_second=”Seconds” countdown_end_type=”date” end_date=”30-09-2017 23:59″ start_time=”1505850604″ end_time=”0,1,1″ action_end_time=”show_text” content_position=”center” top_ditance=”10″ bottom_distance=”10″ countdown_type=”button” font_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color=”#888888″ circle_size=”130″ circle_border=”5″ border_radius=”8″ font_size=”30″ countdown_font_famaly=”monospace” animation_type=”none” ]Thank you for helping us meet our end-of-year deadline with your generous contribution![/wpdevart_countdown]

Study: Ferry Service Could Provide Opportunity for MBTA Expansion without Huge Upfront Costs

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Read press coverage of this report in the Boston Herald: Study suggests MBTA float ferry service expansion and Editorial: “Ferrying off to work“; The Boston Globe: “Look to the harbor to ease Boston’s transportation woes,” “Steady stream of studies fuel transportation debates,” and here; The Boston Business Journal: “Seaport ferry, funded by business, would be open to public“; and State House News Service: “SENATE REPORT ASSERTS PUBLIC DISSATISFIED WITH MASS. TRANSPORTATION“; The Lynn Daily Item: “LYNN FERRY’S FUTURE BUOYED BY REPORT”; and The Salem News: “Our view: Ferry expansion can help ease traffic woes” Service has low capital costs, is cost effective by a number of measures, and could be an inexpensive channel to address critical transit needs in the region BOSTON – A comprehensive study […]

10 Days, 10 Reasons to Give

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[wpdevart_countdown text_for_day=”Days” text_for_hour=”Hours” text_for_minut=”Minutes” text_for_second=”Seconds” countdown_end_type=”date” end_date=”30-09-2017 23:59″ start_time=”1505850604″ end_time=”0,1,1″ action_end_time=”show_text” content_position=”center” top_ditance=”10″ bottom_distance=”10″ countdown_type=”button” font_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color=”#1e73be” circle_size=”130″ circle_border=”5″ border_radius=”8″ font_size=”30″ countdown_font_famaly=”monospace” animation_type=”none” ]Thank you for helping us meet our end-of-year deadline with your generous contribution![/wpdevart_countdown] There are 10 days remaining before our fiscal year ends.  Here are 10 reasons why a contribution to Pioneer Institute is worth your investment: 1. Our documentary film exploring legal barriers to school choice will be released this fall and reach half a million viewers nationwide.  2. The state invested $50 million in vocational-technical school facilities due to Pioneer’s work.   3. The Institute will release nationwide a new book highlighting policies that have made Massachusetts’ charter schools the best in the country. 4. […]

Op-ed: Education focus, testing on history, civics critical to well-informed citizenry

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By Tom Birmingham Read this op-ed as published in WGBH News, The Springfield Republican, The Berkshire Eagle, The Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, The Lowell Sun, and The New Bedford Standard Times. BOSTON — Sunday marked the 230th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which is being celebrated today. Sadly, this is one of the many facts of which students in our public schools are largely unaware. It’s long past time for that to change. In recent years, much effort has rightfully been devoted to improving math and science education, while U.S. history education has been marginalized. Consequently, American students score better in math and science than they do in civics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. When Horace […]

Creating Space for Healthcare Innovators in the Marketplace

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Pioneer Institute’s initiatives in healthcare focus on three goals.  We promote price transparency, essential in containing costs and increasing access to care. We aim to put state programs like Medicaid on a more sustainable path and create flexibility so the programs provide higher-quality care and access to care, which too often outside greater Boston is not the case. Pioneer’s third goal is to ensure that the market continues to benefit from innovation, whether in the delivery of healthcare services or in the development of new cures. Today, the Institute is pleased to submit testimony to the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health in support of expanded access to oral care. The testimony focuses on why allowing dental therapists to […]

Op-ed: Mass. has tools to lead in online learning — but doesn’t

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By Julie Young For two years running, Bloomberg’s State Innovation Index has hailed Massachusetts as the country’s most innovative state economy. Looking at such metrics as R&D; concentration of science, technology, engineering, and math employment; and numbers of science degrees, it’s no wonder that the commonwealth placed first. But it’s not just postsecondary education that makes Massachusetts a leader in innovation. Its K-12 public schools also boast some of the most dynamic and thoughtful approaches to brick-and-mortar education, providing a model for the rest of the country. Despite these successes, Massachusetts struggles to keep pace with innovative online educational offerings that have helped students thrive throughout the nation. The commonwealth is home to digital learning experts Paul Peterson, Clayton Christensen, […]

METCO’s 50th Anniversary Focuses Attention on Pioneer’s Call to Expand & Improve the Program

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The recent 50th anniversary of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) has drawn attention to the program, which gives about 3,300 Boston and Springfield students the chance to attend high-performing suburban schools, and to findings from two Pioneer Institute studies about METCO. One of the Pioneer studies was cited in a lengthy feature on The 74, an education news site, and a July 31 Boston Globe editorial echoed Pioneer’s recommendations. These include that the state commission a gold-standard study to compare the performance of METCO students to those who remain on the waitlist and reform the program to make processes, like the one used to move children off the 9,000-student waitlist, more transparent and accountable. Both publications noted that […]

PioneerLegal Signs onto Amicus Briefs Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Two Cases with Local Impact

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Petitions would affect group of local educators challenging compulsory union payments BOSTON – Pioneer Institute, through its public interest law initiative PioneerLegal, has signed onto amicus briefs at the invitation of the Pacific Legal Foundation that support petitions for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear two cases that would have a direct impact on Massachusetts. It is settled law that public employees who choose not to belong to the union that represents them can’t be required to pay fees to the union that would fund political activity. However, in 1977 the Supreme Court ruled in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that employees who are not union members can be required to pay an “agency fee” that covers union contract […]

Public Statement: Pioneer Applauds MBTA Control Board For Seeking To Modernize Bus Maintenance

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Pioneer applauds the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board’s long-overdue action to use a competitive bidding process to modernize bus maintenance services.  Seeking competitive bids on bus maintenance will likely produce cost savings and service improvement, as it has for the T’s money room and warehousing and logistics. The Institute further recognizes that there will be vocal and politically motivated opposition to this action, but believes that the Control Board’s central concern must be representing the interests of MBTA customers.  It is extremely important for the T to take all reasonable actions to address its cost centers, especially in areas where costs are far more expensive than in comparable U.S. transit systems. (See Pioneer’s 2013 report,  The MBTA’s Out-of-Control Bus Maintenance […]

Study: Telemedicine Can Reduce Healthcare Costs, Improve Outcomes & Patient Satisfaction

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Calls on Massachusetts to adopt telemedicine through the Group Insurance Commission, MassHealth and other state-run health programs BOSTON – Massachusetts should more aggressively embrace telemedicine, which can reduce healthcare costs, increase patient satisfaction, and is more convenient for both patients and physicians, according to “Dialing up Telemedicine,” a new study published by Pioneer Institute. “Until now, Massachusetts has been tentative when it comes to reimbursing for telemedicine as part of Medicaid and other programs,” said Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios.  “There’s more we can do to capture the lower costs and higher quality outcomes it can provide.” The most common form of telemedicine is live interactive appointments via videoconference that closely simulate in-person meetings between a patient and his […]

Extended Summer Enrichment Programs Most Effective, Cost-Efficient

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Part III of Pioneer Institute study series cites three approaches BOSTON – Massachusetts schools establishing summer enrichment programs to close the achievement gap between lower-income and higher-income students can have a greater impact by eventually expanding the program across multiple summers or for a full year, according to the last of a three-part series by Pioneer Institute on summer learning. The final paper, Expanding Educational Opportunities: Three Models for Extended Summer Enrichment Programs in Massachusetts, introduces three types of extended summer enrichment models: 12-month programs, multi-year summer-only programs, and multi-year, year-round programs. Many of the top schools interviewed as part of the project found it beneficial to extend their relationship with students into the school year utilizing one of those […]

“A Source of Wonderful Ideas and Terrific Innovation”

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“…yet another idea that came out of the Better Government Competition, in real-time, delivered by Pioneer Institute to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts…This organization, this event, for years and years and years has been a source of wonderful ideas and terrific innovation, and I want to, on behalf of the Commonwealth, thank you for your leadership and your work in so many different spaces…” – Governor Charlie Baker (view Governor Baker’s remarks in their entirety by clicking on the image above!) The Tall Ships weren’t the only attraction drawing a crowd to Rowes Wharf on Monday evening. Now in its 26th year, Pioneer’s Better Government Competition (BGC) Awards Dinner welcomed Governor Charlie Baker, MIT’s Dr. Joseph Coughlin, and BGC winner Kim […]

Study: States Should Provide Parents With More Information About Homeschooling Options

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Practice is growing rapidly; practitioners are becoming more diverse BOSTON – States should do more to acknowledge the viability of homeschooling as an educational option, and provide direction and information for parents seeking non-traditional schooling, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute. “While homeschooling may not be the best choice for most families, the assumption that public school is the best option for all students is equally flawed,” said William Heuer, co-author of “Homeschooling: The Ultimate School Choice.” In 1980, an estimated 10,000 American families homeschooled.  By 2012, 1.8 million, or 3.4 percent of all K-12 students, were homeschooled.  That number likely topped two million last year, meaning more American students are now homeschooled than enrolled in parochial […]

Aging, Technology Take Center Stage at 2017 Better Government Awards Gala

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Last night, on an inspiring evening, against the backdrop of the beautiful Sail Boston parade of tall ships, Pioneer Institute held its annual Better Government Awards Gala. Longtime supporters and new friends gathered at the Boston Harbor Hotel to celebrate the country’s most innovative ideas to improve care for the aging, and leverage their skills in new ways. The audience heard from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who discussed his administration’s initiatives on transportation, healthcare, and his new council to address healthy aging. Kim Brooks, the Chief Operating Officer of Senior Living at Hebrew Senior Life, accepted the top prize for her Better Government Competition entry, “The Right Care, Right Place, Right Time: Effectively Integrating Senior Care and Housing.”  And MIT AgeLab’s Joseph Coughlin, […]

Pioneer Institute Announces Winner of 26th Annual Better Government Competition

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MIT AgeLab Founder, Massachusetts Governor to Headline Awards Gala BOSTON – Pioneer Institute is pleased to announce that Boston-based Hebrew SeniorLife is the winner of the 26th annual Better Government Competition. The contest received nearly 100 entries from agencies and organizations across the U.S. on the topic, “Aging in America.” The winner, together with five runners-up and three special recognition recipients, will be honored at the Institute’s awards gala on June 19th at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston. The Keynote Speaker at the awards gala is Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D., Founder and Director of the MIT AgeLab, a research program that works with business, government, and non-profits to improve the quality of life of older people. Coughlin is a […]

Study Explores Potential for Medical Voc-Tech Education in Catholic Schools

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Programs could help stem enrollment declines, provide opportunity to disadvantaged students BOSTON – A new Pioneer Institute study explores whether medical vocational-technical education could be a tool to help area Catholic schools address declining enrollment and also provide economically disadvantaged students with the knowledge and skills that are in high demand among employers. “Some fear that vocational-technical education would tarnish Catholic schools’ brand as a runway to college,” said Alison L. Fraser, co-author of “The Healing Hand: Modeling Catholic Medical Vocational-Technical Schooling.”  “But it could also help stem the tide of declining enrollment while providing needy kids with an express lane to the middle class.” Recent history demonstrates that college-prep and vocational-technical education can be combined successfully.  After the commonwealth’s […]

Q & A on the Status of Senate Amendment 1031 (the Keenan/Pacheco Amendment)

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On Thursday May 25, 2017, the Massachusetts Senate adopted an amendment to the FY2018 state budget that would undermine the MBTA’s three-year exemption from the Pacheco Law, the MBTA’s one-of-a-kind anti-privatization law imposed by the legislature in 1993. The Senate amendment was filed at the behest of MBTA unions in an attempt to put the brakes on the MBTA’s plans to seek competitive bids on approximately one-third of its bus maintenance services, which cost more per hour of bus operation than at all other major transit agencies in the U.S.  The MBTA estimates that it could save up to 50 percent of its costs per hour of bus operation by doing so. This Q & A provides information about the status of the amendment.

Report Calls on FMCB to Seek Legislative Intervention on Projected 18-Year, $1.485 Billion T Pension Shortfall

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New evaluation commissioned by MBTA projects T contributions would increase by more than $1 billion under terms of current pension agreement BOSTON – With the current MBTA pension agreement set to expire in June 2018 and a new evaluation projecting a $1.485 billion increase in retirement costs over the next 18 years under terms of the current agreement, the T’s Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) should take immediate action to protect the authority’s precarious finances, according to a new Policy Brief published by Pioneer Institute. “To make matters worse, an evergreen provision means terms of the current pension agreement will continue to be enforced unless amendments are agreed to by both parties or imposed via final and binding arbitration,” […]

Op-ed: Marshall Plan brought U.S. to apex of power

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By Jamie Gass June 5, 2017 “The cost of war in human lives is constantly spread before me, written neatly in many ledgers whose columns are gravestones,” said American five-star General George C. Marshall. “I am deeply moved to find some means or method of avoiding another calamity of war.” June 5 marks the 70th anniversary of Gen. Marshall’s 1947 Harvard University post-commencement address, where he announced the Marshall Plan’s $13 billion offer ($130 billion in 2016 dollars) to help rebuild World War II-torn Europe. “(D)eath and atrocity seemed to be everywhere,” said “Savage Continent” author Keith Lowe. Europe witnessed 35-40 million people killed, including six million Jews exterminated in the Holocaust. Forty million people were displaced. Thirteen million children […]

Op-ed: Will district schools embrace charter-like reforms?

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This op-ed appeared in CommonWealth magazine. TOM BIRMINGHAM Jun 2, 2017 LONG BEFORE MORE than $40 million was spent last year making the cases for and against charter public school expansion, I was skeptical about using a statewide ballot initiative to decide the question. I believe ballot initiatives are best reserved for instances where the Legislature is flouting public opinion, and that wasn’t so with Massachusetts charters, which were created and then increased several times via legislation. But now that the voters have spoken, the Commonwealth must pursue ways to incorporate the reforms into traditional public schools that have made Massachusetts charters so successful. The rejection of more charter schools at the ballot box means it could be a decade […]

Pioneer Experts Offer Contrasting Prescriptions For MA Healthcare

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BOSTON – New policy briefs from Josh Archambault and Barbara Anthony, two senior fellows in healthcare at Pioneer Institute, offer differing prescriptions for how Massachusetts should navigate uncertainty in the healthcare market, as Congress debates the fate of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Public Statement On UMass Boston Finances

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According to a State House News Service story yesterday, Education Secretary Jim Peyser told the House Bonding Committee that “the state will use a new process to evaluate capital projects and allocate funds, starting with the fiscal 2019 capital budget. Under the framework, campuses will respond to a request for proposals and their plans will be reviewed by a committee that will make recommendations to the governor.” This is a welcome development — a win for good government, UMass and taxpayers alike. Peyser noted that “uneven and episodic” maintenance has resulted in an “enormous deferred maintenance backlog that is getting worse, not better,” even going so far as to say that “the capital investment challenge facing higher education is similar to that […]

Celebrating National Charter Public Schools Week

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Great charter public schools are about great leadership. Charters in Massachusetts are the best in the country at bridging achievement gaps for our neediest students. They were authorized through the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act, authored by Bay State leaders like Governor William Weld, Senate President Tom Birmingham, and Representative Mark Roosevelt. They believe that access to a quality education is a civil right, as education is the steppingstone to a better life. Education reformers often hearken back to the civil rights movement, drawing inspiration from the bold leadership that changed the nation, from the plaintiffs in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, the Little Rock Nine, and MLK’s March on Washington. Pioneer Institute recently hosted an […]