A confluence of challenges points to very hard times ahead for the Massachusetts health care system.Â
Health Policy Commission
Posted inOpinion
Dana-Farber plan merits tough scrutiny from state officials Â
While research scientists and clinicians focus their war on cancer, this has become a war for cancer dollars. Â
Posted inHealth Care
House votes to strengthen control of health system expansions
FIRING A SHOT across the bow of the state’s leading hospital networks, the House voted nearly unanimously on Wednesday to give a state health commission more authority to scrutinize expansion […]
Posted inHealth Care
Amid pandemic, health care visits still haven’t reboundedÂ
THE NUMBER OF people seeking health care in Massachusetts dropped dramatically when the coronavirus pandemic hit – and eight months later, it still hasn’t totally rebounded, according to new data from the Health […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. residents overburdened by health costs
EVEN AS OVERALL statewide spending on health care has remained just within the strictures of the state’s benchmark of 3.1 percent annual growth, for many families the costs have surged […]
Posted inThe Download
CHIA good source of data about Mass. health care
The Center for Health Information and Analysis produces reams of data for both Massachusetts policymakers and the public, providing a window into state health care expenditures and offering tools to […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. has hospital readmissions problem
THERE IS A great deal to celebrate in Massachusetts following the Health Policy Commission’s recent Cost Trends Hearing. The Commonwealth’s healthcare spending growth was well below the national average in […]
Posted inHealth Care
Nurse staffing study left union in the dark
THE CONTENTIOUS BALLOT QUESTION campaign over nurse staffing levels may be over, but bitter feelings remain over a study that played a pivotal role in the high-profile debate. In early […]
Posted inHealth Care
Nurse staffing measure soundly defeated
TOO MUCH DOUBT raised about its impact and too much division even among those who were supposed to be its bedrock backers. That double whammy proved deadly for the campaign […]
Posted inHealth Care
Why we support Question 1
IF YOU BELIEVE in climate change, then voting yes on Question 1, which addresses patient care, patient safety, and case overload for hospital nurses, should be obvious. The issues are […]
Posted inHealth Care
Clashing views on nurse staffing question
WOULD MANDATED NURSE staffing ratios improve patient outcomes in Massachusetts? And are there even enough nurses to fill new slots that such a requirement would create? It’s little wonder that […]
Posted inHealth Care
ER visits continue to impact health costs
DESPITE A GROWING number of free-standing retail clinics and urgent care centers in the state, there is still a heavy reliance on costly hospital emergency department visits, with more than […]
Posted inOpinion
A missed healthcare opportunity
MASSACHUSETTS MISSED AN opportunity to address some of the most crucial healthcare challenges facing the state when the Legislature failed to reach agreement on a sweeping reform bill this session. […]
Posted inEconomy
Health care watchdog: BI-Lahey merger will hike costs
A REPORT ON by the state’s health care industry watchdog analyzing the proposed merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health says the marriage won’t produce the kinds of […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: A devilish health care merger
Two of the state’s leading health care analysts say they aren’t sure whether creating a powerful alternative to Partners HealthCare will reduce health care costs in Massachusetts or increase them. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health Policy Commission pans Partners-Mass. Eye & Ear deal
THE STATE HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION is pouring lots of cold water on the proposed acquisition by Partners HealthCare of the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, saying the deal would increase […]
Posted inHealth Care
Improving health outcomes through social services
WHAT IF THE answer to ever-rising health care costs doesn’t lie in figuring out better ways to deliver medical care, but in things like ensuring access to good nutrition, adequate […]