ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I wrote about seven state governmental policy wishes for 2022 to help rein-in overall health care spendingand to work towards a more affordable health care system in our state. […]
Health Care
Posted inOpinion
Hospital pediatric beds in short supply
After a long hiatus, Dr. Jarone Lee, an emergency and ICU physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, resumes his conversation about frontline critical care […]
Posted inThe Download
Could Marylou Sudders be staying on?
Editor’s note: After The Codcast went live and this report on it was published, Sudders notified employees that she would be stepping down January 3. After eight years as secretary […]
Posted inHealth Care
Could Marylou Sudders be staying on?
Editor’s note: After The Codcast went live and this report on it was published, Sudders notified employees that she would be stepping down January 3. AFTER EIGHT YEARS as secretary […]
Posted inThe Download
Health care leaders identify problems, solutions for Healey
It’s that time of year again, when advocates gearing up for a shift in state administrations are laying out their policy goals. The latest report, released Thursday, comes from interviews […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health care leaders identify problems, solutions for Healey
IT’S THAT TIME of year again, when advocates gearing up for a shift in state administrations are laying out their policy goals. The latest report, released Thursday, comes from interviews […]
Posted inHealth Care
Hospitals criticized for ‘low-value’ procedures
THE LOWN INSTITUTE of Needham has long argued that hospitals perform way too many procedures it has identified as being low-value, meaning they offer little to no clinical benefit to […]
Posted inHealth, Opinion, Transportation
Mass. plagued by regional inequities
THIS PAST ELECTION DAY, Massachusetts celebrated several historic milestones with the shattering of glass ceilings that we have long sought to break through. As we look ahead to the new […]
Posted inThe Download
Dreyfus sounds alarm about health care costs
Andrew Dreyfus, who is winding up his 12 years as president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, says health care costs in the state are on the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Dreyfus sounds alarm about health care costs
ANDREW DREYFUS, who is winding up his 12 years as president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, says health care costs in the state are on the […]
Posted inOpinion
Are nursing homes really in tough shape?
THE HEADLINE for a recent story iminously noted, “Massachusetts nursing home job vacancies hold at historic highs.” That isn’t news to anyone in government, the nursing home industry, or the […]
Posted inOpinion
Health care homework for Gov.-elect Healey
AS THE GUBERNATORIAL transition begins, Gov.-elect Maura Healey and her team will need to start setting priorities, and health care should be one of them. As the Health Policy Commission’s […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker signs bill curbing step therapy
A PATIENT who is stable on a medication then switches insurance plans can no longer be kicked off that medication by their insurer, under a new law Gov. Charlie Baker […]
Posted inOpinion
Drug discount program vital to hospital care
TO IMPROVE health care for patients, hospitals tailor care delivery to the particular needs of their communities, often by extending services and support into the neighborhoods they serve. But some […]
Posted inOpinion
Question 4 is an investment in health
“WELL, I’M SCARED to drive to the appointment,” my patient Henry finally admitted over the phone. I heard him catch his breath and hold it. He hadn’t been in for […]
Posted inHealth, State Government, State House News Service
Baker backtracks a bit on vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION has offered jobs back to “a small number” of former state employees who had been among a narrow minority of executive branch workers […]
Posted inThe Download
Devaux says Health Policy Commission needs more power
For some time, the Health Policy Commission has been urging lawmakers to increase the powers of the agency so it can better rein in rising hospital costs. Deborah Devaux, the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Devaux says Health Policy Commission needs more power
FOR SOME TIME, the Health Policy Commission has been urging lawmakers to increase the powers of the agency so it can better rein in rising hospital costs. Deborah Devaux, the […]
Posted inOpinion
Drug pricing program spiraling out of control
MANY AMERICANS are unfamiliar with the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program, which has grown to become the second largest national drug program, behind only Medicare Part D. While 340B is […]
Posted inThe Download
Step therapy bill moving in informal sessions
For nearly eight years, patient advocate groups have been battling insurers to limit the use of step therapy, a policy requiring patients to try one treatment before accessing a different […]
Posted inHealth Care
Step therapy bill moving in informal sessions
FOR NEARLY EIGHT years, patient advocate groups have been battling insurers to limit the use of step therapy, a policy requiring patients to try one treatment before accessing a different […]
Posted inHealth Care
Early data finds telehealth is largely cost neutral
ONE Of THE BIGGEST shifts in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic was the sudden launch of telehealth. Before COVID, doctors and hospitals rarely offered video visits and very few […]
Posted inOpinion
Working at the intersection of nutrition and health
AS A PEDIATRICIAN focused on nutrition research, chronic disease prevention, and health equity, I spend much of my professional time—academically, clinically—thinking about the intersection of nutrition and health. I recently […]
Posted inOpinion
Give the Health Policy Commission greater leverage
“UNLESS THE Commonwealth’s health care cost containment approach is strengthened and expanded by policymakers, the result will be a health care system that is increasingly unaffordable for Massachusetts residents and […]