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August 20, 2013

Will ACA Cause Rate Shock in Massachusetts? It Appears So, Small Biz To See Premiums Rise Up to 97%

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) (Photo credit: Faith Ninivaggi/Washington Post) Conventional wisdom has held that the ACA impact on Massachusetts will be small. Some high profile academics have gone as far as to attack presidential candidates with colorful language if they suggest otherwise. Well,...
Healthcare
August 16, 2013

Do Insurer Rate Filings Tell Us About the ACA/Obamacare in Mass? Not really

This morning the state of Massachusetts released quarterly rate filings from insurers for Q4 2013, and Q1 2014. Some will interpret these as the first sign of the impact of the ACA on Massachusetts residents, but it is far from that. A...
Healthcare, Opportunity
July 17, 2013

Promising State "Duals" Pilot (One Care), Late and Losing Carriers

Pioneer has long advocated for reforming the way that healthcare is delivered to those on both Medicaid and Medicare. In fact the idea won the 2012 Better Government Competition. Winners of the 2012 Better Government Competition from Mike Dean on Vimeo. This...
Healthcare
June 19, 2013

10 Questions About ACA/Obamacare Implementation in Massachusetts That Need to be Answered

1.      Why is Massachusetts giving the federal government a free pass to overtake the states right to regulate our insurance marketplace? For an example, see the ongoing saga over rating factors changes, under which 60% of small companies will experience premium increases....
Healthcare
June 17, 2013

ACA Premium Roller Coaster for Small Business Coming to Massachusetts

A handful of owners of small companies in the Commonwealth have recently shared with me their deep sense of uncertainty and apprehension about what the ACA will mean for their health insurance premiums. They finally realized that local politicians were not telling...
Healthcare
May 22, 2013

Update and Public Statement on Continued Lack of Transparency on the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Massachusetts

The following is a statement from Pioneer Institute executive director Jim Stergios: “Massachusetts business owners need to be able to plan, and that means they need to have some idea about the future cost of their healthcare premiums. The fact is, state...
Healthcare
May 13, 2013

New "Grace Period" For ACA Implementation in Mass

These are strange days in healthcare. Even the Boston Globe is starting to push back on and question the one-size fits all approach of the ACA. See the editorial from Sunday’s paper below. First it was the problem of Massachusetts being forced...
Healthcare
May 7, 2013

Oregon Medicaid Results: Half Full or Missing the Point?

Much as been written this past week about the second year results of the Oregon Medicaid lottery experiment. (See Avik Roy’s post at Forbes for a clear and full background.) I believe the results from this study will drive many future decisions...
Healthcare
April 18, 2013

New Report: Medical Device Tax Will Cost MA Employers $422 Million+ Per Year

New Report Estimates Medical Device Tax Will Cost Massachusetts Employers Over $422 Million Per Year Controversial Provision of Federal Health Law Impacts Hundreds of Companies, Will Lead to Research and Development Cuts, Layoffs, Higher Prices BOSTON – As part of the financing for the...
Healthcare
April 16, 2013

ACA's Alice in Wonderland Twist: HHS Unilateral Delay of Regulations

Image Source: freecodesource.com A recent decision by HHS illustrates the arbitrary nature by which some implementation decisions are being made at CMS while highlighting the problem of a top-down approach in Obamacare. After months of small businesses anxiety in surrounding the impact...