Entries by Editorial Staff

Hospital leaders see little impact in Mass. from high-court ruling

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http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_20971016/hospital-leaders-see-little-impact-mass-from-high While much of the country held its breath as the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Barack Obama’s health-care law was handed down Thursday, hospital leaders in Massachusetts said the ruling would have little impact here. Massachusetts Democrats praised the decision, while Republicans criticized it. The heart of the law — an individual insurance mandate requiring nearly all residents to have insurance or face tax penalties — already exists in Massachusetts due to the state’s 2006 health care initiative. Massachusetts is currently the only state with an individual mandate. HealthAlliance Hospital President and CEO Patrick Muldoon said he was not surprised the law was upheld, although he thought the ruling on the individual mandate could have gone either […]

Court decision may not disrupt implementation – High political stakes for SCOTUS ruling – ACA advocates on tenterhooks – Senate GOP won’t party if law is tossed

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http://www.politico.com/politicopulse/0612/politicopulse775.html IT’S HERE – Today is THE day. No more waiting, no more “what ifs?” to ponder. Two years, three months and five days after the first lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act were filed — the same day it became law — the Supreme Court will meet at 10 a.m. today to render its verdict on President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. –The justices still have two more cases to decide in addition to the ACA. Those will likely go first. And the ACA decision could come in multiple parts, so patience could be an especially important virtue this morning. But it should all be over by around 10:30 a.m. And then let the spinning begin. Happy Thursday and […]

Previous rulings stir skepticism of Supreme Court’s ability to resolve major issues

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http://www.salemnews.com/opinion/x1058723505/Previous-rulings-stir-skepticism-of-Supreme-Courts-ability-to-resolve-major-issues I’d try to make an intelligent guess about what the Supreme Court will do about Obamacare, if not for the court’s 2005 Kelo decision. In a nutshell (literally): In Kelo v. City of New London, five nutty justices ruled that government can take property from private owners who resist selling their homes and small businesses, and give it to private developers as part of a redevelopment plan that would achieve higher property tax revenues for the city. New London, Conn., paid some compensation to the owners, took the property, couldn’t get financing for the project and abandoned it. The stolen land is now a dump. Three of those nutty judges — Kennedy, Ginsburg and Breyer — are still on […]

Supreme Court ruling also seen as win for Mass.

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http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-06-28/supreme-court-ruling-also-seen-as-win-for-mass-dot BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, including the individual insurance requirement at the heart of the law, is being hailed as a vindication for Massachusetts. Massachusetts laid the groundwork for the 2010 federal health law with its 2006 health care initiative and is currently the only state with an “individual mandate,” requiring that nearly all residents have insurance or face tax penalties. Gov. Deval Patrick hailed the court’s ruling as a victory for the role of government in helping people help themselves. He said the law gives families more security while holding insurers accountable. The Democratic governor also praised former Gov. Mitt Romney for signing the state law while […]

The Supreme Court Ruling on Obamacare: 16 Experts Weigh in

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2900718/posts It’s the end of liberty! It’s the beginning of freedom! Either way you slice it, the court’s ruling on Thursday was momentous. I Knew It! Donna Shalala: Health and Human Services Secretary (1993-2001) ?and University of Miami president “I expected it. I actually told my students at the end of the semester that I thought the Supreme Court would uphold the individual mandate and the rest of the provisions because it was carefully drafted in consultation with constitutional lawyers. I also had some confidence that Chief Justice John Roberts would not play politics on this one. I think we’ll be able to say to Americans, the president will be able to say, this helps you, if you have insurance […]

Obamacare’s Fate Lies In Anthony Kennedy’s Hands: System Failure

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/06/27/obamacares-fate-lies-in-anthony-kennedys-hands-system-failure/ The fate of the federal health care law currently before the Supreme Court is likely in the hands of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has already cast the swing vote in a number of contentious cases over the past decade.  True to form, his questions during oral arguments gave both proponents and opponents of the federal law reason for hope. Those who believe that it’s unconstitutional to force individuals to purchase health insurance and that the law should accordingly be struck down point to Kennedy’s statement that “the law changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in a very fundamental way.” Supporters of the law point to his comment that young people who forego insurance (“sitting home […]

The Toughest State Government Job You’ll Ever Love

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http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2012/06/25/wonks-wanted/ Interested in public policy?  And I mean real public policy, not the Twitter-Blogosphere-Message war of campaigns, but the nuts and bolts of how government provides services, allocates resources, and implements changes (or at least tries to). If so, I’d point you in the direction of the Fiscal Policy Analyst positions now open at the state’s budget office (the Executive Office of Administration and Finance for those proper name sticklers). These positions, although not hugely compensated, put you in the catbird seat for overseeing how state spending (a complex and multifaceted thing) is done at specific state agencies.  You get exposure to various state agencies and programs, developing a pretty deep understanding in a short time and (one hopes) becoming […]

Indiana Common Core Adoption Facing Stiff Opposition

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http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/indiana-common-core-adoption-facing-stiff-opposition/ The fight over the implementation of Common Core Standards is getting particularly brutal in Indiana, since it will be replacing a set of state standards that is considered some of the best in the country. The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation said that the state’s language standards are superior to those offered by the Common Core, while Sandra Stotsky, a nationally-known education reformer and authority, said that Indiana “was trading a silk purse for the sow’s ear” in getting rid of its math curriculum. The opposition to Common Core even puts Republicans against their own party members, with some saying that the condition that makes the adoption of the standards a requirement in order to qualify for the Federal Race […]

Right-leaning? The states as laboratories of democracy?

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http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2012/06/right-leaning-states-as-laboratories-of.html I laughed a bit when I heard a local radio reporter refer to the “right-leaning” Pioneer Institute in her story about suggestions the organization made to the Massachusetts legislature during the current debate between the Senate and the House on their dueling bills.  I laughed because that same station never refers to liberal advocacy groups as “left-leaning.”  Only in the “people’s republic of Massachusetts” could one get away with applying an exclusive modifier like that and believe it to be journalistically correct. As I mentioned before, the Pioneer Institute offers excellent analytical work in this arena and, indeed, is one of few places to employ sufficient rigor that, even if you disagree with them, you are left respecting how […]

What Romney should do on health care

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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 eclipsed in importance only by the debate over jobs and the economy. President Obama may cite Romney’s Massachusetts reform as an inspiration for his own efforts, but there are profound differences between the laws — the size and reach, financing, the underlying philosophy. Romney sought an open marketplace for […]

New questions surround ‘common core’

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http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20120622/OPINION/306220009/New-questions-surround-common-core-?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1 A battle is brewing on the education reform front over Indiana’s embrace of Common Core – a set of math and English standards being implemented across the country to govern what is taught and tested from kindergarten to Grade 12. The debate is half policy, half politics. On both counts Indiana officials’ defense of the Core is perplexing. Leading policy experts on standards and curriculum have questioned why Indiana would abandon its previous standards, which were ranked among the best in the country. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a champion of Common Core, has called Indiana’s English and Language Arts standards “clearly superior” and our math standards of comparable quality. Nationally known reform expert Sandra Stotsky says Indiana traded […]

Tribe and tribulation for Indian gaming

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http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/The-Download/239-Tribe-and-tribulation-for-Indian-gaming.aspx Since Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law authorizing casino gambling last year, a giant contradiction has been hanging over the race for the state’s three casino licenses. The law carves out a license for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in the state’s southeastern region, provided the Legislature and the state gaming commission are confident in the ability of the Mashpee to enter the federal regime governing tribal gaming. But thanks to a 2009 Supreme Court ruling, the federal government has no power to take title to land for a Mashpee gaming reservation. So even as the Mashpee proceed with plans to construct a casino complex in Taunton, absent an act of Congress, they’re heading toward a federal dead end. An […]

Our View: Schools need to tighten, not ease oversight

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http://www.gloucestertimes.com/opinion/x138781233/Our-View-Schools-need-to-tighten-not-ease-oversight Too often, education policy makers get so carried away with what’s new that they forget what works. Thankfully, new polling shows that parents, teachers and legislators are a lot better at keeping their eyes on the ball. A few years ago, Massachusetts education officials pushed to substitute “21st century skills,” such as “global awareness” and “cultural competence” for academic content. Next, they ditched Massachusetts’ best-in-the-nation K-12 academic standards for dumbed-down national standards that cut classic literature by more than 60 percent. In 2005, Massachusetts became the first state ever to finish first in every category tested on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. It has repeated the feat every time that the test has been administered. Results from the […]

With ‘process-lite,’ is a full-time Legislature even necessary?

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http://www.heraldnews.com/opinions/x465804200/GUEST-OPINION-With-process-lite-is-a-full-time-Legislature-even-necessary The Legislature’s new “process-lite” operating style reached new heights with  the recent health care cost containment bill. This legislation — which  restructures 18 percent of the state’s economy, impacts every citizen, promises  over $100 billion (yep, billion) in savings, and changes the rules in an  industry that is one of the commonwealth’s largest employers — passed the House  almost unanimously (a mere 7 “no” votes). What’s even more amazing is that it passed without being debated. Sure,  legislators debated a number of amendments, but the language in the underlying  188-page, 51,731-word bill that came out of committee was oddly unworthy of  discussion. The good news is that there are things we can do about it. In the old days, […]

Massachusetts releases details on tax credit recipients

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/ashland/news/x465800201/Massachusetts-releases-details-on-tax-credit-recipients?zc_p=1#axzz2NcNYjWOG The state for the first time has released details on who benefited from eight  major tax credits worth $171.2 million last year. State agencies previously kept recipients of some of these tax breaks  confidential, but now must report them annually under a new requirement  lawmakers adopted in 2010. The report shows Massachusetts awarded or issued about $51 million in tax  credits to people and companies for fixing up historic sites, $47 million for  redeveloping polluted land and $39 million for filming movies, shows or  commercials. Another $21 million went to life science companies expected to create  jobs. Other beneficiaries ranged from low-income housing developers to dairy  farmers to people who conserved land. Government observers praised the state for making […]

The MBTA’s Smart New Program

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http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2012/06/15/mbtas-smart-program/ Rather than big dollar expansion projects, the MBTA’s Key Bus Routes program stands as an example of modest incremental investments that can yield improved service (and potentially increased ridership). The program released its initial design for improvements to the 39 bus route on Tuesday, and the results are promising.  They are eliminating a handful of stops, moving some bus stops, marking them more prominently, and lengthening several of them. The goal is to lower the number of stops and create stops that are clear of illegal parkers and can be more easily used by drivers (as opposed to having them stop in the flow of traffic). The presentation also makes non-specific commitments to improved traffic signal coordination and technology-driven […]

Navigating the health care maze

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http://www.telegram.com/article/20120613/NEWS/120619803/1052/newsrewind Even a self-described data nerd like Peter Kim was nearly undone by his hunt for health insurance. Kim left the corporate world in 2005 to become an independent consultant, losing employer-sponsored insurance for his family of four. But researching individual health plans proved astoundingly complicated, he said. And most were too expensive, to boot. ”It was impossible to compare plans,” said Kim, 42, who lives in Cambridge. “I ultimately gave up trying.” He and his wife resorted to catastrophic coverage, paying out of pocket for routine medical care — until they discovered the health insurance exchange that Massachusetts set up in 2006. A linchpin of the state law passed under Mitt Romney as governor, which requires most residents to […]

Why Does Healthcare Require So Much Paperwork?

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http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2012/06/08/paperwork-blizzard-high-deductible-insurance/ At Pioneer, we’re advocates for greater usage of high deductible healthcare plans.  Putting a high deductible in an insurance plan prompts a change in behavior, in aggregate, that results in lower utilization of healthcare and lower costs.  The change is so dramatic that, in most cases, even when the employer funds a portion or all of the deductible, the cost savings on premiums is enough to result in savings. But a sound philosophical and empirical basis doesn’t always mean that the implementation is going to be smooth.  As a practical matter, my foray into actually using a plan has shown some substantial room for improvement by providers and insurers. For someone like me, with a family and a handful […]

A big test at Madison Park Vocational

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http://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/06/a_big_test_at_madison_park_voc.html In fact, it is arguable that the 2010 legislation provides even less flexibility than the enabling Horace Mann charter statute (1997).  The 2010 law takes dozens of pages to describe the meaning flexibility available to (and the laundry list of processes and signoffs needed to move ahead with) an innovation school. While I am always an optimist, I have always feared that innovation schools would simply deviate efforts from proven models.  There is nothing wrong with principals, teachers, parents and district-level folks to come together and try and innovate.  In fact, that’s what they should be doing.  To the extent that innovation schools promote that, it’s a wonderful opportunity for great conversations.  But the problem with in-district reform is […]

Public Pension Math: The State Police Version

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http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2012/06/06/public-pension-math-state-police-version/ The recent announcement that State Police Superintendent Marian McGovern is going to retire prompted me to look into her compensation and her choices.  (Note: I don’t know the superintendent and don’t question her commitment to public service.  The point here is simply to look at the economic incentives provided by the current public pension system.) My first question: Why did she wait so long?  The State Police are “Group 3? employees and the only Commonwealth employees who do not have a retirement age factor in their pension calculation (only years of service).  That contributes to relatively early retirements — the average State Police retiree in 2009 was 53.7 years old while the average Group 1 retiree (the majority of […]

House approves health care cost containment bill

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/hingham/newsnow/x426171700/State-House-News-House-approves-health-care-cost-containment-bill-148-7?zc_p=2#axzz2NReSO0VO The Legislature moved a step closer to a dramatic overhaul of the state’s  health care system on Tuesday when the House approved a bill aimed at reining in  health care costs by altering the system to reward quality over quantity of  care. The House voted 148-7 Tuesday night to approve a bill Democratic leaders say  will trim $160 million from health care costs over the next 15 years by setting  a cost growth target and encouraging providers and insurers to adopt alternative  payment and care delivery models. The seven votes against the bill all came from freshman Republicans,  including Reps. Paul Adams, Richard Bastien, Ryan Fattman, Kevin Kuros, Steven  Levy, Marc Lombardo and Jim Lyons. If resolved before the […]

Three of 12 Ventures Funded by Romney-Created Energy Fund Failed

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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-06/three-of-12-ventures-funded-by-romney-created-energy-fund-failed A $17 million, state-backed green-energy fund created during Mitt Romney’s tenure as governor of Massachusetts invested in a dozen companies, three of which have since closed, according to the fund’s manager. It’s too soon to judge the overall success, though some projects have taken longer than expected to provide a return, William Osborn, a founding partner at the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund LP, said in an interview. The issue of government support for clean-energy companies has emerged as a campaign theme in the presidential race that has focused on the struggling economy. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, called Solyndra LLC’s collapse after winning a $535 million U.S. loan guarantee a symbol of President Barack Obama’s failed efforts at […]

What Goldilocks Can Tell Us About The Cost Of Implementing The Common Core

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http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2012/06/06/what-goldilocks-can-tell-us-about-the-cost-of-implementing-the-common-core/ It could cost as much as $278 million for Indiana to adopt new academic standards known as the Common Core. Or it could cost as little as $68 million. That’s the conclusion of a new study from The Fordham Institute that offers three different price tags for the cost of training teachers and purchasing classroom materials to teach to the new standards.The actual cost would depend on how much schools and districts lean on technology in implementing the standards. Some are calling the study the Goldilocks report for its endorsement of a middle-road approach that would cost Indiana about $117 million. Indiana is one of 45 states that have adopted the Common Core, which proponents say will create rigorous national academic standards and […]

Viewpoints: Wis. Vote Cements Walker Plan To Raise State Workers’ Health Costs; Treating Addiction; Obama’s Silence On Insurance Mandate

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http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/June/06/wed-opinions.aspx Chicago Tribune: Wisconsin Speaks. Again. Many of those voters also expect that, going forward, the dividends for Wisconsin residents, their school districts and other governments will continue to grow. As old labor contracts expire, public officials will write into the new contracts the other Walker-inspired personnel provisions — such as higher (but still relatively inexpensive) employees’ contributions to their pension and health plans — that have lowered government expenses. New labor pacts, that is, should keep reducing government costs across Wisconsin (6/6). The New York Times: The D.S.M. Gets Addiction Right When we say that someone is “addicted” to a behavior like gambling or eating or playing video games, what does that mean? Are such compulsions really akin to […]

House begins health care bill debate

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http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2012/06/06/news/news06.txt As the Massachusetts House of Representatives debates a bill that some are  touting as a way to rein in health care costs, one conservative-leaning think tank has raised concerns over its projected savings. State  representatives began their debate Tuesday on a bill that House leaders have said will save the state’s economy more than $160 billion over the next 15 years. The bill is designed to even out disparities in the costs of  hospital services by requiring hospitals that charge more than 20 percent above  the state median price for a service to pay a 10 percent surcharge into a fund to help support hospitals serving the poor and most vulnerable. Among many things, it also would reduce premiums for […]

Tax the Rich (Doctors) and Lower the Cost of Healthcare

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http://insureblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/tax-richdoctors-to-lower-cost-of.html In the ongoing drum beat against the doctor in terms of income earned, Massachusetts lawmakers are trying to lower the cost of healthcare and have decided that doctors simply charge too much.  I spoke about this perception of the richdoctor previously as more of an attitude, but Massachusetts has taken it to a practical level with monetary penalties for the rich doctor. “Massachusetts House leaders released amajor proposal to curb health care costs Friday, calling for new limits on thefees charged by hospitals and doctors and for creation of an independent agencyto monitor medical spending….Providers that charge prices deemed excessive andthat they cannot prove are linked to above-average quality would pay a tax,similar to the luxury tax Major League […]

Transparency and reality

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/wayland/news/opinions/x1347550267/Morisy-Poftak-Transparency-and-reality?zc_p=1#axzz2NcNYjWOG Motherhood, apple pie and transparency seem to be things every politician  supports. But Massachusetts stretches the gulf between rhetoric and the reality.  The Commonwealth’s public records law looks great — public entities must respond  within 10 days, there’s an appeals process, and sanctions for violating the  law. But the reality is much different. Most state agencies routinely flout the  law in practice and utilize loopholes to defeat its spirit. Pioneer Institute and MuckRock have partnered to file a series of public  records requests during the past year to gain access to public documents around  critical issues like economic development policies and how the 2006 health care  reform is being implemented. Your tax dollars pay for these documents and, by  […]

What Would the Founders Say About Common Core?

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/what-would-the-founders-s_b_1562689.html Zachary Karabell, writing for Time magazine, claims “One of America’s favorite pastimes is to play the ‘what would the Founding Fathers say’ game. Just pick an issue du jour, and ask the question.” Most players tend to be on the political right, including the Federalist Society which frequently hosts “original intent” Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas at its soirees. Conservative author Larry Scheikart, a regular guest on Fox News, is a leading practitioner of the game. In his book What Would the Founders Say, A Patriot’s Answer to America’s Most Pressing Problems, Scheikart argues they really opposed separation of church and state, a federal role in education and health care, environmental protection, gun control, bank and […]