MORE ARTICLES
Vitamin Parents Part 2: Twin Moms Converting a Decent Traditional School Experience Into a “Wow” Homeschool OneSeptember 26, 2024 - 11:50 am
Edward Achorn on Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, & SlaverySeptember 25, 2024 - 11:45 am
Vitamin Parents Part 1: Twin Moms Converting a Decent Traditional School Experience Into a “Wow” Homeschool OneSeptember 19, 2024 - 12:21 pm
PRI’s Lance Izumi on The Great Classroom CollapseSeptember 18, 2024 - 7:20 am
Learning From California: Policy Lessons From Golden State ExodusSeptember 17, 2024 - 10:35 am
Is Massachusetts at a Turning Point – 10 Data Points That Give Me PauseSeptember 12, 2024 - 3:57 pm
From Stress to Success: How Daniella Transformed Her Son’s Learning with ESA FundsSeptember 12, 2024 - 11:46 am
AFC’s Denisha Allen on School Choice & Black Minds MatterSeptember 12, 2024 - 9:54 am
New England Short Circuit: Distorted Incentives Drive Energy Prices Up and Reliability DownSeptember 10, 2024 - 10:30 am
From Garden to Table: How Alicia Garcia Reshapes Home Ec with ESAsSeptember 5, 2024 - 11:59 am
Their Solution is Dilution
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Healthcare, News /by Taylor ArmerdingIf there was any confusion about what Massachusetts public employee union leaders mean when they keep saying they just want to be “part of the solution” to the struggles municipalities are having with health care costs, the budget just signed by Gov. Deval Patrick should remove it. To them, being part of the solution means to dilute it – to water it down. And Gov. Deval Patrick was happy to roll over for them and help with the dilution. The first attempt at reform – a bill approved by the House – actually offered a credible solution by eliminating the automatic veto power Patrick had granted to the unions if municipal leaders tried to move them into the less expensive […]
Outsourcing Helps Cities and Towns Provide Better Services for Less
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Economic Opportunity, Middle Cities/ Urban, Press Releases, Press Releases: Government /byNew Report Shows Municipalities across the Bay State Can Reduce Costs by 75% and
Increase Productivity by Contracting Services
Feds Crapping Away Health $ and Increasing Deficit
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Healthcare, Healthcare /byGAO (Government Accountability Office) will release a report today on the failings of the fraud and abuse system for Medicaid or Medicare. The study was requested by Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R) and Delaware Senator Thomas Carper (D). From the AP story this morning: The federal government’s systems for analyzing Medicare and Medicaid data for possible fraud are inadequate and underused, making it more difficult to detect the billions of dollars in fraudulent claims paid out each year, according to a report released Tuesday. The Government Accountability Office report said the systems don’t even include Medicaid data. Furthermore, 639 analysts were supposed to have been trained to use the system — yet only 41 have been so far, it said. […]
Vermont Single-Payer Plan Full of Holes
/3 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Healthcare, Healthcare, News /byThe Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts held a forum in Boston recently on Vermont’s efforts to move towards single payer. A few takeaways. 1) Using the data and criteria cited at the forum, every state should be moving towards a single payer system. Of course some on the left nod their head in agreement, to the rest of us, the logic seems flawed at best. For example, how does 7% uninsured in Vermont justify single payer? The national average is close to 17%. In addition, the architect of the plan Dr. Hsiao wrote recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. … Vermonters are also largely unwilling to reduce their level of benefits. Our analysis found that, on […]
Muni Health Leap of Faith?
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /by Steve PoftakThis space has written previously on the muni health portion of the budget, currently sitting on the Governor’s desk. I’ve heard from several folks that my assessment of the municipal review panel is too harsh and that their power is highly circumscribed in the budget. The key clause is this one (Line 786 of Conference Budget): (d) The municipal health insurance review panel shall approve the appropriate public authority’s immediate implementation of the proposed changes under section 22 or section 23; provided, however, that any increases to plan design features have been made in accordance with the provisions of section 22. If the panel does not approve implementation of changes made pursuant to section 22, the public authority may submit […]