THE PIONEER BLOG

Joshua Archambault

Mass and Feds Cut a Deal on Medicaid Waiver

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This afternoon the Patrick Administration announced a new deal with Federal HHS on the Medicaid waiver that serves as the backbone of our reform law. The last waiver expired in June of 2011. It is a 3-yr $26.75 billion deal. I need some more details before I can figured out how exactly this waiver will mesh with the Governor’s payment reform bill. But until then, some early thoughts: The Patrick administration looks like they withdrew a number of requests to get this deal done. The Massachusetts waiver deal raises some interesting questions for the future of the national health reform law. [Even if I think the lessons to be learned from Massachusetts are somewhat limited to the national plan.] A […]

Joshua Archambault

What will 2012 Look Like for Health Care?

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I was recently asked by a reporter for some trends that I expect to see in 2012. I thought I would share my bullet points on the Pioneer blog: In no particular order. Continued provider consolidation, both locally and nationally. Greater cost-shifting from Medicare and Medicaid, as both federal and state government continue to cut reimbursement levels. On a related side note, I think over the next few years you will see cash-based pre-paid practices opening in Boston. Gains in the use of high-deductible and health savings account plans nationally. The question for 2012 is whether Massachusetts will break out of its status quo and catch up. The story I will be watching for in 2012: The interaction between cost saving […]

Jim Stergios

The wrong strategy to fix Lawrence public schools

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With a wondrous display of British understatement, the state’s education commissioner recently announced his “concern” about Lawrence schools. Commissioner Mitch Chester noticed that the Lawrence Public Schools might have “a potential leadership gap” and that “[o]verall, the district is not yet where we expect it to be and want it to be.” Noted “for his work in accountability and assessment,” one could complain (and I have) that the Commissioner should not have waited 3 ½ years to come to that conclusion. Especially with the financial and political missteps made by the previous superintendent. So applause for the Commissioner’s decision to put into receivership city schools where, as I noted in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune, 10 percent of [the students] drop […]

Michael Morisy

Massachusetts raced other states to win over doomed Evergreen Solar

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In my last post, I took a look at how surprisingly credulous state executives were of Evergreen Solar’s business. Rarely, if ever, were concerns raised about whether Evergreen Solar was a good investment for the state to make, nor whether the solar industry in general was fundamentally sound. That green jobs had a bright future was, documents indicate, an article of faith. It’s easy now, as much of the predicted “Green Boom” has gone bust, to second guess the decisions made. A question that should be answered, however, is why those decisions were made. The Patrick administration hasn’t been eager to answer that question. When quizzed about the bankruptcy, the governor insisted the company’s CEO was “out of the loop” while […]

Steve Poftak

Tim Tebow, the Read Option and Our Patriots

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(What? I have to do policy wonk stuff all the time?) Tim Tebow is all the rage right now, both for his spectacular late game comebacks and his very public professions of his faith. We’ll leave the latter alone and focus on his actions on the field. His team, the Denver Broncos, turned to Tebow after a 1-4 start running a conventional offense under Kyle Orton. Over time, the Broncos have implemented a modified read-option offense that is built around the running and decision-making skills of Tebow. For the uninitiated, the read-option is based around the counter-intuitive notion of not blocking at least one defender. That unblocked defender is then ‘read’ by the quarterback/ballcarrier, if the unblocked defender commits to […]

Steve Poftak

Boston’s Struggle With 3rd Grade Reading

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Achieving reading proficiency by 3rd Grade is a vital skill, closely correlated with important measures of academic achievement later. As one major study found: – One in six children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do notgraduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that for proficient readers… – For children who were poor for at least a year and were not reading proficiently in third grade, the proportion that don’t finish school rose to 26 percent. That’s more than six times the rate for all proficient readers… – Graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students who were not proficient readers in third grade lagged far behind those for White students with the same […]

Michael Morisy

Why did Evergreen Solar backers miss the Chinese threat?

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In reviewing hundreds of pages of documents related to Massachusetts’ incentives for Evergreen Solar, decision makers made clear the risks of not investing: Passing on the proposal would lead to, officials stated, a loss of potential manufacturing jobs to other states or other countries while giving up a competitive position in an emerging manufacturing market that could set the Commonwealth back for years to come. What is much less clear, however, is what concerns about Evergreen Solar’s viability were considered. For example, there is almost no mention made of rival Chinese solar manufacturers despite the fact that less than four years later the downward pressure these manufacturers placed on solar pricing would ultimately help push Evergreen Solar towards bankruptcy. Reading […]

Jim Stergios

Rise of the Zune Monopolists

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“Understand, I am not for monopoly when we can help it,” Louis Brandeis said in 1912. “We intend to restore competition. We intend to do away with the conditions that make for monopoly.” (Wikipedia) Brandeis had some inkling of what hare-brained schemes philanthropists could come up with. Remember the Simple Spelling Board Andrew Carnegie set up in 1906? The New York Times noted that Carnegie was convinced that “English might be made the world language of the future” and an influence leading to universal peace, but that this role was obstructed by its “contradictory and difficult spelling.” 105 years later, Sam Dillon of The New York Times produced a terrific piece of journalism in a May 2011 Sunday article on […]

Steve Poftak

Our Old Friend Film Tax Credits

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There’s a state commission that’s currently examining all the so-called “tax expenditures” that the state offers. The commission has said it wants to review the collection of tax expenditures and eliminate those that don’t make sense. Its also held out the possibility of a eliminating a number of targeted credits in exchange for a zero-sum cut to the overall tax rate (an outcome to be hoped for). May I nominate one expenditure to make? The Film Tax Credit. These credits have been controversial from the get-go. Proponents point to growth in employment due to the credits. Opponents counter that any industry receiving millions in tax credits would likely see some improvement. Its also a relatively small number of jobs (~5,000 […]

Jim Stergios

Some lessons for virtual learning

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There is so much energy in the virtual learning space right now, with a number of products that are maturing and others that are continuing to grow exponentially. The free Khan Academy has provided almost 100 million exercises, now boasts about 3.5 million discrete users, and is growing at a rate of about 300,000 users a month (with the pace of growth increasing). That opens up all kinds of possibilities in terms of partnerships, branding and funding. That product is going worldwide fast, and branching out into many new academic areas. Getting the promise of digital learning right is going to be a challenge on a number of fronts. One challenge is that the two tons of money going into […]

Joshua Archambault

Will Mass Set up a Basic Health Plan under ACA?

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The Connector held its annual retreat this past weekend, and since the omnipresent Health Care for All (HCFA) representatives were not in attendance to write up a summary, I thought I would provide an overview of what was discussed at the meeting, and outline some of the future challenges for the Connector. The agenda can be found here. Basic Health Plan The Connector is seriously thinking about offering a basic health plan, an option in the ACA, and is one of the few states in the nation to be doing so. (When the Connector posts the slides from Saturday, I will link to them for more detail on the different circumstances being modeled.) With a BHP the federal government would […]

Joshua Archambault

Will the ACA Bankrupt the Mass Connector?

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The Connector held its annual retreat this past weekend, and since the omnipresent Health Care for All (HCFA) representatives were not in attendance to write up a summary, I thought I would provide an overview of what was discussed at the meeting, and outline some of the future challenges for the Connector. The agenda can be found here. State Budget Considerations The Commonwealth will have to finance state mandates that are over and above the federally set essential health benefits (EHB). The Connector has identified at least 7 current mandates that are unlikely to be in EHB. The Legislature will need to reopen the discussion over mandates. 40,000 legal immigrants will be enrolled back into Commonwealth Care due to a […]

Joshua Archambault

Obamacare Means Big Changes for Romneycare

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The Connector held its annual retreat this past weekend, and since the omnipresent Health Care for All (HCFA) representatives were not in attendance to write up a summary, I thought I would provide an overview of what was discussed at the meeting, and outline some of the future challenges for the Connector. The agenda can be found here. The main theme of the retreat was the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) impact on the Massachusetts reform. Connector staff, confirmed what Pioneer’s research has shown, that the Connector we know today will look very different by 2014. Here are a few of the examples of the policy discussions ahead: The Connector will need to figure out changes to the individual mandate (MEC […]

Joshua Archambault

The Connector Supports President Obama’s Reelection?

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The Connector held its annual retreat this past weekend, and since the omnipresent Health Care for All (HCFA) representatives were not in attendance to write up a summary, I thought I would provide an overview of what was discussed at the meeting, and outline some of the future challenges for the Connector. The agenda can be found here. I must mention a moment that I found especially troubling. Politics at the Connector. Secretary Gonzalez made a statement during a conversation about protecting the reputation of the Connector and media coverage that struck me as odd. He said that the Connector needs to be seen positively as it means a great deal to the political future of the Governor and the […]

Taylor Armerding

Frank: One of a kind, but not in a good way

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Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank’s retirement announcement prompted this from President Obama. “This country has never had a congressman like Barney Frank, and the House of Representatives will not be the same without him.” I’m no fan of the president, but in this case, I think he nailed it. It is the kind of “compliment” that could just as easily be an insult. It calls to mind the famous scene from “Amadeus,” after Mozart has just suffered through a lumbering, turgid opera composed by his rival, Salieri. “I never knew music like that was possible.” Mozart tells him, followed by, “One hears such sounds and what can one say but … ‘Salieri.’” Indeed, Obama could say what he said about Barney […]