THE PIONEER BLOG

Barbara Anthony

Statement on Governor Baker’s Proposed Healthcare Business Assessment

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In January, the Baker Administration introduced a number of healthcare market reform proposals in its fiscal 2018 budget. The public face of these proposals is found in a slide presentation on the website of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). There have also been news stories written about the proposals and certain stakeholder groups have been briefed. Beyond the EOHHS document, however, there is not much transparency or explanation about any of these proposals. Two of them are especially important as each has potentially far-reaching impacts: a new annual $2,000 penalty per employee on businesses who do not attain 80 percent enrollment in their employer-sponsored health plans and a proposal to limit what insurance companies may pay […]

Editorial Staff

Join Us Mar. 20: “A Fire You Can’t Put Out”: Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Civil Rights, & School Choices

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In the aftermath of a contentious electoral season, highlighted by debates about the nature of our democracy and equality of educational opportunity, Pioneer Institute is hosting a forum that celebrates the birthday and legacy of the late Birmingham, Alabama civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. The event will feature his widow, award-winning historians, and civil rights and school leaders discussing how best to make the promise of civil rights a reality through school choice options for underserved families. Please RSVP by Monday, March 13th to Lauren Corvese at 617-723-2277 ext. 202. Featured Speakers: Sephira Shuttlesworth is Regional Support Director, SABIS® Educational Systems. Previously, she was Director of the Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy, a SABIS® Network school located in Lansing, Michigan. Dr. […]

Editorial Staff

Celebrating Presidents’ Day & K-12 U.S. History Instruction

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As we celebrate Presidents’ Day, Pioneer Institute is pleased to share video highlights, research, and op-eds that we have produced in recent years marking the importance of key presidents in American history – and the vital importance of their inclusion in K-12 instruction. In recent years, Pioneer has actively promoted rigorous, content-based academic standards that include U.S. History and civics instruction. The Institute has published research and polling on the lack of understanding of U.S. History, which has largely been neglected in public schooling; sponsored a U.S. History essay contest for Massachusetts high school students; and hosted numerous events and papers featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. historians and internationally-recognized figures. Watch video clips of our many public forums, below. Watch our […]

Mary Connaughton

The Clock is Ticking…….

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The clock is ticking towards December 30, 2017.  As part of the 2016 public records reform legislation, An Act to Improve Public Records, a special legislative committee was established to “examine the accessibility of information concerning the legislative process of the general court and the expansion of the definition of public records.” The establishment of the committee is a win for government transparency advocates. The committee, made of members of the legislature, can solicit input from journalists, public policy research groups and other individuals interested in the process. One of the specific missions of the committee is to determine the constitutionality of subjecting the Governor’s Office, the legislature and the judiciary to public records laws.  The law, as presently written, […]

Barbara Anthony

State Leadership Needed on Healthcare Price Transparency

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Governor Baker’s recent healthcare proposals include provisions aimed at improving transparency in healthcare pricing. These policies imply that it is necessary to release more information in order to realize cost savings through healthcare price transparency measures, but current state laws already require the disclosure of price information upon request. Enforcing existing laws and creating incentives for carriers and providers to promote consumer friendly price transparency are necessary complements to the Governor’s proposals. The Governor’s proposal (found in a slide presentation on the EOHHS website) has two major components.  The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) is to: “Collect data from the health plans to develop a market-level report.” Create a list of healthcare pricing data across all providers for […]

Barbara Anthony

Achieving a Sustainable and Transparent Healthcare System

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As the Legislative Special Commission on Provider Price Variation wraps up its work (their potential report/recommendations are due in mid-March), PioneerHealth took this opportunity to provide our expertise and vision for moving towards a sustainable and transparent healthcare system. We envision a host of policy recommendations, enhanced enforcement of existing laws, and a statewide education campaign to help consumers learn to make value-conscious decisions. Following these steps will put the Commonwealth on a path towards healthcare cost containment.

Editorial Staff

Family Caregiving & the Promise of Technology

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Guest post by Ben Margolin When older Americans require around-the-clock care, yet want to remain in their homes, their families often end up as caregivers. There are significant financial barriers to ensuring that older adults adhere to their medication schedule and have access to the right doctors and specialists, all while feeling safe in their homes. This often presents a considerable burden to households. Consider, for instance, that the average caregiver in the U.S. will dedicate almost 20 hours a week in unpaid care to an elderly parent for a period of five years while holding some form of employment. Fortunately, recent advances in technology are bringing new hope to those facing this issue. Innovations in telemedicine, for example, are […]

MuckRock

Why do Massachusetts municipalities make meeting transparency harder than it has to be?

/0 Comments/in , /by MuckRock

Executive session is where local governing boards interview police chiefs and school superintendents, negotiate with unions, discuss litigation, talk about misconduct by town employees, and conduct other delicate business that is kept temporarily private for legitimate reasons. Once the purpose of the meeting is resolved, the minutes are supposed to be reviewed by the town board or city council, and any minutes not exempt under the Public Records Law are supposed to be released. The goal of my project – the Closed Meeting Crash – is to make the inner workings of local government more visible by obtaining five years worth of executive session minutes from all 351 municipalities in Massachusetts. So far, I’ve requested Bristol, Plymouth, Middlesex, and Barnstable […]

Matt Blackbourn

Ensuring a secure financial future for older adults

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Every day, 10,000 Americans turn age 65. Adults over this age now make up more than 15 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau – by 2029, this number will surpass 20 percent. Our 2017 Better Government Competition is focused on ensuring a better future for older Americans – and some of the most valuable ideas in this discussion will concern the retirement security implications of this demographic shift. The fiscal reality today is that most Americans do not have adequate savings to live comfortably in retirement. Equally troubling, many retirement systems are woefully underfunded and unsustainable in their funding practices. Public pension systems are in particularly rough shape. Research from JPMorgan Chase, published last spring, found […]

Editorial Staff

Celebrating School Choice Week: Removing Know-Nothing/Blaine Barriers to School Choice

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On Day 5, the final day of National School Choice Week, we’re focusing on the need to overcome the Know-Nothing/Blaine legal obstacles that prevent largely poor and minority students from accessing equal educational opportunities. In nearly 40 states (see yellow states on map), the most severe barriers to school choice are antiquated, nativist constitutional amendments that block children from educational options that wealthy families can pursue through parochial and private schooling. Pioneer has held numerous forums and published research, op-eds, public opinion poll results, and videos showing the opportunities for greater school choice, which you can review below. Stay tuned! Pioneer Institute is busy filming an exciting new documentary that features the stories of families in states across America that […]

Barbara Anthony

Insurer Using Market Clout to Lower Healthcare Costs for Consumers

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There are rumblings among some in the hospital community voicing displeasure with the Group Insurance Commission’s (GIC) new plan to cap payments to providers at 160% the Medicare rate. The GIC says this move will help save the agency $50-100 million annually and meet the state’s cost growth benchmark. Over the years, the GIC has been a leader in healthcare cost containment, from tiered provider plans to a recently launched cash incentive program called Vitals SmartShopper designed to incentivize high-value healthcare decisions. In yet another innovative program from the state agency responsible for 436,000 state workers and their family members, the GIC has voted to limit payments to providers, some of the most prestigious of which have attacked the plan […]

Editorial Staff

Celebrating School Choice Week: Vocational-Technical Education

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On Day 4 of National School Choice Week, we’re shining the spotlight on career-vocational technical education in Massachusetts, which is delivering on the promise of preparing students for both college and career success. Along with charter public schools, no other category of schools in Massachusetts has delivered results as impressive as those at voc-techs. Over the last decade, voc-tech students’ MCAS performance has improved by 40%. Regional voc-techs enroll a higher percentage of special education students than traditional districts, while posting much lower dropout rates and much higher special education graduation rates. Voc-techs’ success has led to increased demand, with over 4,000 students on waitlists across the state. As Pioneer research has shown, it would cost the state less than […]

Alex Carlin

Auditing the New Transparency Law: Where are the Records Access Officers?

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With the advent of the Baker administration, Massachusetts transparency advocates were optimistic that the statute governing public records requests would be among the laws targeted for overhaul.  The optimism proved somewhat warranted as the legislature and Governor Baker were able to reach an agreement on a long-overdue update to procedures relating to the release of public records. Pioneer has long been a critic of Massachusetts’s records laws, highlighting exemptions and the poor records compliance of the MBTA – while continuing to recommend additional action. Reform was clearly needed, as Massachusetts has consistently ranked at the bottom of the list in government transparency. In the past, the commonwealth has treated the public records law as more of a suggestion, as demonstrated […]

Editorial Staff

Celebrating School Choice Week: Digital Learning

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On Day 3 of National School Choice Week, we explore opportunities to personalize educational options through Digital Learning. Pioneer believes that effective and accountable digital learning opportunities can benefit students across Massachusetts. Virtual schools challenge our traditional “one-size-fits-all” education model. They can often keep students engaged who may have physical disabilities or medical conditions, face bullying in traditional school settings, live in remote locations, or have caretaker responsibilities at home. Pioneer supported legislation passed in 2010 and 2013, which authorized digital learning in Massachusetts and allowed for up to 10 virtual schools to be established statewide by 2020. Unfortunately, Massachusetts has failed to keep pace with innovation elsewhere in the U.S. More than 2.7 million students across the nation participate […]

Editorial Staff

Celebrating School Choice Week: The METCO Program

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On Day 2 of National School Choice Week, we take a closer look at METCO, which provides over 3,300 children in Boston and Springfield with access to high-performing suburban schools. METCO, the nation’s longest-running voluntary school desegregation program, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. As our research has shown, test scores and graduation rates are higher for METCO students than their Boston and Springfield peers. METCO students have been making progress in closing the achievement gap in both 3rd grade reading and 6th grade math. Despite its proven track record, METCO receives inconsistent funding from the state and districts. The program has a waiting list of approximately 10,000 students, due in large part to its demonstrable academic success. We must expand and reform […]