State lawmakers are putting the finishing touches on legislation to rein in the cost of health care, but the private sector isn’t waiting. Hospitals, insurers, and care providers are already revamping the way they do business, and the impact is already being felt.
The Boston Herald reports that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is shutting down a floor at its Longwood hospital, less than a month after letting 20 workers go. The paper quotes a memo from Beth Israel CEO Kevin Tabb as saying: “We are seeing firsthand the initial results of health care reform, accountable care organizations, and global payments.”
Hospitals aren’t the only ones. Sue Beder of Stoughton, who WBUR’s Martha Bebinger describes as one of America’s most expensive patients, is going on a health care diet. Medicare and Medicaid, which have been spending $7,000 a month covering Beder’s medical bills, are giving a Cambridge health care provider a lump-sum monthly payment of $5,654 to handle Beder’s care. The provider, Senior Whole Health, is betting that it can provide quality care to Beder, cut her overall medical expenses by 20 percent, and pocket 11 percent of the lump sum for its fee. WBUR plans to follow Beder for a year to see if this global payment approach works.
Beder, a frail woman with multiple sclerosis, is described as one of the 5 percent of US patients whose medical expenses add up to half of the $2.6 trillion Americans spend every year on health care.
The chart accompanying Bebinger’s story shows where the money goes. Of the $7,000 monthly tab, $2,940, or 42 percent, went for home and community-based services; 22 percent, or $1,540, went for hospitals, ambulances, and rehab, and 18 percent, or $1,260, went for doctors and other medical professionals.
Senior Whole Health wants to change the mix and ratchet back expenses. It plans to spend $396 more a month on home and community-based services but $1,090 less on doctors and nothing on hospitals and ambulances. The goal is to care for Beder as much as possible at home and keep her away from expensive emergency rooms.
–BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
Choose your headline: “Suckers proliferate” or “Lottery revenue soars.” Meanwhile, House Speaker Robert DeLeo says there will be no casino revenue money built into the 2013 budget
The Herald rakes Convention Center chief Jim Rooney for allegedly using public drivers to drive him to private events.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Three Lawrence officials, with dozens of cartons of documents in tow, testify before a grand jury in Salem that is reportedly investigating the administration of Mayor William Lantigua, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
A candidate’s forum in Rochester before next week’s election lacked one thing: voters. No one showed up.
Stoughton officials say the town has reached the 10 percent benchmark in affordable housing mandated by the state that prevents developers from using Chapter 40B to bypass zoning and conservation bylaws.
A fire that raged across 52 acres is only the latest calamity to hit the town of Brimfield.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Detroit avoids bankruptcy and a state takeover, but Michigan officials put in an advisory board to monitor its finances.
The Connecticut Senate votes to abolish the death penalty, Governing reports
A judge orders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay the state of Michigan and a Michigan county the transaction taxes on each property they foreclosed on, Governing reports.
ELECTION 2012
The Republican and Democrat parties duke it out for the female vote. Not surprisingly, given recent events, the GOP appears to be going down for the count.
The once-destitute Republican National Committee is rolling in it. The Obama campaign’s super PAC, not so much.
The New York Times editorial page notes that Florida’s gun laws will have the streets of Tampa teeming with firearms when the RNC rolls into town.
Rick Santorum huddles up with a crowd of conservative supporters.
CHARITY
Online fundraising increased by 19 percent in 2011, according to a new report. Via Chronicle of Philanthropy.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
New Bedford officials are seeking a private developer to build a downtown dormitory for University of Massachusetts Dartmouth students to help revitalize the area.
EDUCATION
Secretary of Education Paul Reville meets with The Berkshire Eagle editorial board to talk about the Gateway Cities Education Agenda.
The Washington Post looks at Ivies and other schools that trumpet their low admissions rates and finds that there is really not much for them to brag about.
TRANSPORTATION
James Aloisi, the former secretary of transportation, offers solutions to the T’s funding crisis in a CommonWealth Voices piece.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Attorney General Martha Coakley and two Plymouth area activist groups have filed appeals in the Pilgrim nuclear plant’s license renewal, moves that could further delay issuing a new 20-year license with the current one set to expire June 8.
Harvard scientists say a commonly used pesticide is responsible for decimating honeybee colonies worldwide, something that began happening in 2006 and poses a huge threat to agricultural production.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation has received a $1.5 million grant from the state’s Seaport Advisory Council to replace a portion of the timber boardwalk along the Taunton River in Fall River.
Piping plovers return to the Cape early, which doesn’t bode well for them if there are any severe spring storms.
The lack of snow this winter means that cities all over the snowy northern tier of the US have saved millions.
COURTS/CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Raymond Dougan, a Boston judge who has been accused of pro-defendant bias, is asking the Supreme Judicial Court to block investigators from questioning him on how he reaches verdicts in individual cases.
MEDIA
Greater Boston gets a tour of the new Boston Herald office in Southie and publisher Pat Purcell lays out his plan to stay in the game.
The Orange County Register assigns 70 reporters to cover Opening Day for the Angels, the Nieman Journalism Lab reports.