Massachusetts has taken lots of steps to rein in runaway spending on healthcare, but one area has largely avoided state regulation: prescription drugs. “If we’re really going to have a […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care
Senate misfires with prescription drug bill
ON THURSDAY, the Massachusetts Senate passed another ill-considered piece of legislation, Senate Bill 2651, that would impose price controls on one of Massachusetts most important economic sectors, biopharmaceuticals. The bill […]
Posted inThe Download
Beacon Hill divided on soldiers’ home governance
The devastating toll COVID-19 took on the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home made headlines, and was even discussed at a congressional hearing. But attempts at reforming the home are coming down to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Beacon Hill divided on soldiers’ home governance
THE DEVASTATING toll COVID-19 took on the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home made headlines, and was even discussed at a congressional hearing. But attempts at reforming the home are coming down to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health Policy Commission mulls ‘bad scenario’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE DEADLINE looming for Mass General Brigham to file a plan to rein in its costs, a member of the Health Policy Commission raised concerns […]
Posted inHealth Care
COVID: Are we ready to learn to live with it?
THREE OF THE STATE’S leading health care executives said on Wednesday that COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are trending in a very positive downward direction, but they were divided on when […]
Posted inEducation
Massachusetts will lift school mask mandate Feb. 28
MASSACHUSETTS WILL LIFT its mask mandate for schools on February 28, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. “Given the extremely low risk to young people, the widespread availability and proven effectiveness […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Pervasive mold plagues state hospital for mentally ill detainees
PERVASIVE MOLD AND the potential for exposure to asbestos are endangering the health of individuals confined at Bridgewater State Hospital, according to a new report, leading to renewed calls to […]
Posted inBy The Numbers, Health Care
Survey: Widespread need for mental health care during pandemic
MORE THAN ONE-QUARTER of Massachusetts adults say they needed behavioral health care over the first year of the pandemic – but many of them never got it. They couldn’t get […]
Posted inOpinion
In these times, we must check in on loved ones
MY OLDER SISTER Liza died on October 25, 2020, when all her struggles came to a head; no single factor was to blame. She did not treat or really acknowledge […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate taking another shot at drug pricing legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A BILL TARGETING drug costs that the Senate plans to take up next week would cap the cost of insulin at $25 a month for consumers, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
COVID spending bill grows to $101m, passes within hours
A $55 MILLION COVID-related spending bill ballooned into a $101 million bill under an agreement reached between House and Senate negotiators, which lawmakers sent to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk just […]
Posted inEducation
Top Baker aides urge colleges to lead Mass. into endemic
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWO BAKER ADMINISTRATION Cabinet secretaries late last week urged college and university presidents to eschew strict campus-wide COVID-19 protocols and instead put their institutions at the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Vaccine mandate prompts exit of 1,013 state workers
MORE THAN 1,000 state employees have now left state government rather than comply with the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Massachusetts executive branch vaccine mandate went into effect October 17, […]
Posted inOpinion
Drug discount program padding hospital profits
IMPROVING VULNERABLE populations’ access to medicines is clearly important. But something is amiss when a program that is supposed to improve access to healthcare has turned into a cash cow […]
Posted inThe Download
Tracing the origins of the Mass General Brigham fight
Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute and John McDonough of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University trace the origins of the fight over Mass General Brigham’s […]
Posted inHealth Care
Tracing the origins of the Mass General Brigham fight
PAUL HATTIS of the Lown Institute and John McDonough of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University trace the origins of the fight over Mass General Brigham’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Telehealth works, don’t mess it up
COVID-19 HAS ALTERED all of our lives in devastating ways, and has fundamentally changed healthcare in the United States. One silver lining is a change that has dramatically improved healthcare […]
Posted inOpinion
Moment of truth for state’s health cost benchmark
A MOMENT OF TRUTH is now here for Mass General Brigham, as well as for the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, the Department of Public Health, and for health insurance premium […]
Posted inThe Download
The Mass General Brigham debate goes on
The Health Policy Commission’s double-barreled attack on Mass General Brigham dominated the headlines earlier this week, but the truth is the commission — as influential as it is — is […]
Posted inHealth Care
The Mass General Brigham debate goes on
THE HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION’S double-barreled attack on Mass General Brigham dominated the headlines earlier this week, but the truth is the commission — as influential as it is — is […]
Posted inHealth Care
Michelle Wu’s vax dilemma
MICHELLE WU is signaling that she won’t back down from a fight – but also would desperately like to avoid one. As she navigates the latest of the many big […]
Posted inHealth Care
HPC reins in Mass General Brigham
THE HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION took two decisive steps to rein in Mass General Brigham on Tuesday, ordering the largest and most prominent health care system in Massachusetts to develop a […]
Posted inOpinion
Why hospital ERs are filled beyond capacity
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, which has afflicted more than 68 million people and caused more than 850,000 deaths in the United States, continues to serve as a giant stress test for […]