LAST SEPTEMBER, Pioneer observed that Massachusetts had dodged a federal bullet when the US Senate failed by one vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Had they succeeded, the Commonwealth […]
Medicaid
Posted inHealth Care
Medicaid dental coverage is failing the poor
WE ARE LOSING a lot of really good teeth. “We” is our community of lower-income adults and children who depend on a broken Medicaid dental care system that short-changes their […]
Posted inOpinion
Public health emergency rings hollow
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT that the opioid epidemic is a public health emergency certainly drew attention to the problem, but in reality it is an empty declaration that, at least as […]
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 inHealth Care, Opinion
Getting to yes on MassHealth
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A unique culture when it comes to health care. Over the last quarter century, we have seen the business, provider, payer, consumer, and academic sectors come together to […]
Posted inHealth Care, The Download
Baker faces Medicaid conundrum
Is half a loaf better than none at all? Usually the answer is yes. But Gov. Charlie Baker doesn’t seem so sure when it comes to his proposal to deal […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Baker won’t commit to health care assessments
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said Monday he has not yet decided whether he will sign off on $200 million in new employer fees he has linked to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Red states dodge a Medicaid bullet
REPUBLICANS IN WASHINGTON couldn’t cobble together enough votes in March from their own party to repeal and replace Obamacare. President Trump learned that health care is more complicated than he […]
Posted inHealth Care
Bending the Medicaid cost curve
IN A WILDLY uncertain national health care environment, something new, audacious, and risky is happening in MassHealth, the Medicaid program that provides health coverage to 1.9 million people who are […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Voices from Ohio on Medicaid expansion
OHIO IS ONE of 31 states that expanded Medicaid as permitted by the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare for nearly all low-income citizens. The state’s Republican governor, former presidential candidate John Kasich, […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
State gains approval for big Medicaid overhaul
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT today approved a huge infusion of money to Massachusetts and big restructuring of the state’s Medicaid program, known as MassHealth. The five-year $52.4 billion waiver is major […]
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 […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Baker’s big health care move
FOR THE THIRD time since 1996, the Massachusetts Medicaid program, called MassHealth, is preparing for transformation. After submitting a final proposal in July, state officials are anxiously awaiting a decision […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Sounds of health-care silence in GOP debate
I HAD ONE mission last night watching the Republican debate among the party’s top 10 presidential contenders: What, if anything, could we learn about the state of play regarding the […]
