This is the 13th conversation between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul Hattis, a retired associate professor at the Tufts University Medical School who participates in CommonWealth’s Health or Consequences Codcast. The first 12 conversations took place during the […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care
Overturning Affordable Care Act could cost Massachusetts billions
THE US SUPREME COURT heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could overturn the Affordable Care Act – with major economic and health insurance implications for Massachusetts. Two key justices – Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh – sent signals that they were not inclined to throw out the entire law, but uncertainty over what the court will […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge rejects pretrial restrictions on Walsh
THE FORMER SUPERINTENDENT and medical director of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home pleaded not guilty Thursday and were released on their own personal recognizance without a series of restrictions sought by Attorney General Maura Healey’s office. Assistant Attorney General Kaushal Rana did not seek bail for Bennett Walsh and Dr. David Clinton, but he did ask […]
Posted inOpinion
Failing algorithms in the throes of a pandemic
FOR YEARS I worked within health systems that perpetuated the idea that I was non-essential. My simple presence in the various medical spaces where I practiced as an emergency physician would require a sense of judgment and agility to figure out how to adjust my presence at work and my place in the community — […]
Posted inEducation
Role of school rapid testing debated
IT WAS THE end of March when the state’s Department of Public Health began reporting more than 1,000 new cases of coronavirus daily. Schools were shuttered, students were home, and infrastructure to gauge and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 did not exist. The phrases “rapid testing” and “contact tracing” were unknown by the American public. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Nursing homes lacked PPE in Aug., report says
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW REPORT measuring personal protective equipment shortages at nursing homes nationwide found that 8 percent were without one or more types of PPE in August. The report, a US PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group analysis of data submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from May through […]
Posted inHealth Care
Holyoke Soldiers’ Home staffers tell their stories
A UNION OFFICIAL who represents nurses at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home on Tuesday described a continuing culture of fear among employees, which has resulted in an unwillingness to speak out about the serious problems at the home. “Many people told me they’re not coming today (because) they’re afraid. They don’t want retaliation,” Andrea Fox, associate […]
Posted inOpinion
Reading between the lines at cost trend hearing
WHAT PERHAPS was the most surprising thing about this year’s Health Policy Commission cost trends hearing was how there was essentially no discussion of health care costs. Had panelist Andrew Dreyfus, the CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, not added a very brief comment noting worries of health care affordability challenges resulting from […]
Posted inHealth Care
Problems are persisting at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home
THIS PAST Sunday, Erin Schadel got a call from the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where she planned to visit her father, cancelling the visit. Her father, Frances Hennessy, had a mild fever and had been tested for COVID-19. His initial test came back negative, and the staffer promised to call her when a confirmatory test came […]
Posted inHealth Care
Sudders warns of future nursing home closures
MASSACHUSETTS’ TOP health official is warning that nursing home closures could accelerate due to the pandemic – but she said those that survive may be the better ones. “I’d expect we’d see more consolidations of facilities going forward, but you will see a higher quality,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders told the […]