Massachusetts should not have to choose between expanding primary care and protecting affordability.
Paul Hattis
Posted inOpinion
The Health Policy Commission is concerned about health care costs — but powerless to do much about it
It was created in 2012 as part of legislation aimed at containing health care costs, but not vested with much authority.
Posted inOpinion
Behind closed doors, big decisions loom on health care affordability
The rationale for closed-door talks is that it allows participants to take real risks. Without that courage, privacy becomes insulation rather than incubation.
Posted inOpinion
Can Healey’s health care affordability push actually move the needle?
For now, the announcement of the new working group offers promise, not proof. Whether it delivers real affordability will depend less on process and far more on what happens if meaingful recommendations hit the Legislature.
Posted inOpinion
Understanding the Massachusetts health care crisis, with help from Muhammad Ali
While there was general consensus at the hearing that it can’t be business as usual, the ideas offered up for what to do about it were piecemeal. There was no coherent roadmap, no shared strategy, and certainly nothing resembling a statewide plan.
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts health care is in trouble
A confluence of challenges points to very hard times ahead for the Massachusetts health care system.
Posted inOpinion
‘Persistently high volumes’: The view from inside a hospital
“I wish I could say that stress and burnout has started to decline, but burnout continues to be high among doctors, nurses, and allied health staff working in all of our clinical settings, ranging from emergency departments and ICUs to our outpatient clinics and services. I am hopeful that one of the silver linings of COVID is an increasing focus on the mental health of health care workers.”
Posted inOpinion
Follow the money: Is the CVS-MGB primary care deal good for Mass.?
The plan must be considered in the context of the state’s primary care task force and its emerging vision for a reformed primary care system.
Posted inOpinion
Dana-Farber plan merits tough scrutiny from state officials
While research scientists and clinicians focus their war on cancer, this has become a war for cancer dollars.
Posted inOpinion
Healey must go big in tackling health care costs
As representatives of employers and consumers, we don’t see eye to eye on every health care issue, but we are joining together to urge the governor to follow through on her promise to meaningfully address the unsustainable trajectory of health care costs in the state.
Posted inOpinion
Not all Mass. hospitals are in terrible financial shape
STEVE WALSH, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, struck a nerve with his recent commentary suggesting the state’s hospital industry is teetering on the brink […]
Posted inOpinion
Steward aftermath isn’t the state’s only health care challenge
Massachusetts is now the state with the second-highest family health insurance premiums in the country, behind only New Jersey. We were fourth or fifth highest a few years ago, so we’re going in the wrong direction.
Posted inOpinion
Overall, we think the Steward outcome is pretty good
The faster Apollo is out the door the better. Though Apollo will certainly contest the Commonwealth’s $4.5 million fair market valuation for St. Elizabeth’s, state officials seem determined that any fight over money will not interrupt plans for an immediate seizure of the Brighton land and buildings.
Posted inOpinion
My hopes for the upcoming busy week in health care
The state should focus on transforming the closed hospital sites into community centers providing some health care but also housing, education, and employment training.
Posted inOpinion
House health care bill needs some work
A health care reform bill headed for a debate and vote in the House next week has some very good elements, but it also has some worrisome provisions, in particular the well-intended but flawed effort to raise commercial prices paid to the lowest-paid hospitals.
Posted inHealth Care
Steward has its doctors over a barrel in Optum deal
If the Optum purchase moves forward, Steward will directly transfer the previous provider agreements to Optum without an opportunity for physicians to negotiate a new deal, despite an entirely new corporate change-over.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how HPC should be reviewing the Steward-Optum deal
Some of the issues arise because of who the seller is and some are tied to worries about this particular buyer.
Posted inOpinion
The state’s options with Steward on the brink
State government needs to re-engage in statewide health system planning. We need functioning markets in health and medical care, and we need intelligent and thoughtful statewide planning that is more proactive and less reactive.
Posted inOpinion
Some thoughts on how to deal with the Steward situation
STEWARD HEALTH CARE appears to be in serious financial trouble. In some ways, it’s surprising the for-profit health care system — with 33 hospitals, including eight in Massachusetts, plus a physicians […]
Posted inOpinion
Panelists who impressed at health cost trends hearing
The Health Policy Commission’s annual cost trends hearing didn’t attract much media coverage this year, so I thought I’d summarize what I thought was most interesting.
Posted inOpinion
SJC case raises interesting questions about tenure
Can Tufts Medical School cut the pay of tenured professors who fail to reach targets for outside fundraising? The Supreme Judicial Court will decide.
Posted inOpinion
Could Dana-Farber deal reduce health care spending?
EVERYONE IS TALKING about the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s decision to abandon its long-term affiliation with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and partner instead with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is […]
Posted inHealth Care
A game plan for turning Tufts Medicine around
Second of two parts. Read the first part here. IF TUFTS MEDICINE is going to turn around financially, clearly there are short-term issues for management focus, but there are also […]
Posted inOpinion
Tufts Medicine facing existential challenges
First of two parts. Read part two here. I’M WORRIED about Tufts Medicine. The latest news, that its current financial woes could trigger violations of bond covenants by late September, raises the […]
