Massachusetts Legislature Approves Compromise Bill That Aims To Reduce State Health Care Spending

The Massachusetts Legislature on Thursday reached a compromise to approve sweeping health care legislation, the Boston Globe reports (Viser, Boston Globe, 8/1). Senate President Therese Murray (D), a key author of the bill, said the measure was designed to stem the rising health care costs that threaten the future of the state's health insurance law (LeBlanc, AP/Boston Globe, 8/1). The bill would:

• Establish a commission to develop uniform billing and coding standards for health care providers and insurers;
  
  
• Require pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to disclose to the state Department of Public Health all payments and subsidies worth more than $50 made to health care professionals. The information also would be published on a public Web site;
  
  
• Establish a statewide goal of adopting electronic health records by 2015 (Boston Globe, 8/1);
  
  
• Educate health care providers about the benefits of low-cost versions of brand-name drugs and other lower-cost medical alternatives;
  
  
• Authorize MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, to promote primary care;
  
  
• Expand enrollment at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and incentives for students to go into primary care specialties;
  
  
• Create a loan forgiveness program and other incentives for physicians and nurses to practice in underserved areas (McConville, Boston Herald, 8/1); and
  
  
• Require hospitals to report all types of hospital-acquired infections and prohibit hospitals from charging patients for so-called "never events" (AP/Boston Globe, 8/1).