CARING FOR AN OLDER ADULT in your life is a complicated matter—at once daunting and rewarding. In the old days (and still today in certain cultures), it was less complicated. […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Partners hospitals decry ‘legislative attack’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Plans to tackle hospital pricing are emerging as a flashpoint in the Senate’s health care reform bill, with the head of Massachusetts General Hospital decrying an […]
Posted inOpinion
Alzheimer’s a growing public health crisis
STATE SEN. BARBARA L’ITALIEN’s mother, Claire, lived with her and her family for 20 years near the end of her life. Claire helped raise Barbara’s four children, enabled Barbara to […]
Posted inOpinion
Humira, a money-making machine, rolls on
IT IS WELL ESTABLISHED that US healthcare expenditures are dramatically higher than any other developed country by all measures. The total amount spent, the per capita cost, and the percentage […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senators stress health care in cost-effective settings
A WORKING GROUP of the Massachusetts Senate unveiled health care legislation on Tuesday that promotes the treatment of patients in more cost-effective settings while laying the groundwork for tougher regulatory […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
5 takeaways from health cost trends hearings
HAVING ATTENDED the Health Policy Commission’s annual cost trend hearings earlier this month, I came away thinking about five interesting moments, which I present in the chronological order in which […]
Posted inOpinion
Colleges can’t be bystanders on opioids
THE OPIOID CRISIS, rooted in the overprescribing of painkillers, has seized the attention of public officials from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill. So, too, has the inadequacy of mental health […]
Posted inOpinion
Drugs are best treatment for opioid abuse
THE OPIOID ADDICTION crisis in the United States has prompted leaders at the state and federal level to promise more money, new laws, and greater focus on the problem. That […]
Posted inHealth Care
Nurses, hospitals tangle over staffing levels
MARK BRODEUR, a nurse at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, says his unit, which serves patients recovering from anesthesia post-surgery, is usually staffed pretty well. But not long ago he […]
Posted inHealth Care
Commission hears worries on health cost trends
STUART ALTMAN, the chair of the Health Policy Commission, summed up two days of hearings on cost trends in the state’s health care market by highlighting what was and what […]
Posted inHealth Care
DeLeo, Rosenberg on same health care page
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO signaled on Tuesday that he and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg are on the same page when it comes to passing health care reform legislation. Rosenberg told […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate to unveil Medicaid legislation
THE SENATE IS PREPARING to unveil legislation designed to pare back the cost of health care and MassHealth by cobbling together ideas put forth by Gov. Charlie Baker, a commission […]
Posted inHealth Care
Graham-Cassidy would be devastating for Mass.
CHUCK IS A 58-YEAR-OLD MALE with multiple chronic physical and mental health conditions, including diabetes, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, and depression. On top of his urgent medical needs – […]
Posted inThe Download
For Mass., high stakes in health debate
Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act gained some momentum this week as Republicans put forward legislation that would put the brakes on federal health care spending in a way […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker’s health care advice to Congress
The following is a transcript of Gov. Charlie Baker’s prepared testimony on Thursday before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY to […]
Posted inThe Download
Smart money in Massachusetts
Back in 1990, during his run for governor, John Silber made the somewhat controversial observation that not everyone is college material and those folks would be better off focusing on […]
Posted inThe Download
How many white supremacists at rally?
An estimated 40,000 people turned out on Saturday to say no to hate, racism, and neo-Nazis, but it remains unclear how many of the 50 people at the free speech […]
Posted inOpinion
Biking for cancer research is uphill climb
I RODE FOR THE FIRST TIME in the Pan Mass Challenge fundraiser for cancer research this year. The weather was perfect, and it was a glorious experience. Thousands lined the […]
Posted inThe Download
McCain goes maverick-y
In the end, John McCain, whose career has been marked by periods of both swashbuckling independence and fall-in-line toeing-the-Republican party line, chose the former for what may go down as […]
Posted inHealth Care
Lawmakers reject Baker’s MassHealth cuts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE AND SENATE DEMOCRATS, insisting they needed more time to consider strategies to control cost growth in MassHealth and the broader health care system, turned aside […]
Posted inThe Download
Baker facing resistance to MassHealth cuts
In Washington, the fight over the nation’s health care future is full of drama. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is dealing with brain cancer, vowed to return to Capitol […]
Posted inHealth Care
Time to get MassHealth house in order
ELEVEN YEARS AGO, Chapter 58—also known as RomneyCare—was signed into law. The landmark law was passed on the premise that there was a shared responsibility among all of us to be […]
Posted inHealth Care
Defending MassHealth reforms
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A LONG TRADITION of bipartisan health care reform. Our outside-of-the-box thinking, willingness to be nimble as Washington dynamics shift, and resolve to embrace change are critical components in honoring our collective commitment to near universal […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker trying to have it both ways
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has publicly criticized Republican efforts in Washington, DC, to roll back health coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act. He rightly argues that such changes will have […]