Mass. Advocates Want To Snuff Out Higher Premiums For Smokers
You’ve heard all the campaigns and statistics: Smoking Kills. It’s the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. And it’s expensive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says smoking costs the country $193 billion a year in lost productivity and health care spending. Add another $10 billion for secondhand smoking expenses. That’s why […]
Boston Couple Faces Amputation Rehab, Together
Only the most seriously injured of the 188 marathon bombing patients remain hospitalized. Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky Downes are among them. The couple was cheering runners near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when the explosions threw them apart. Patrick and Jessica each lost the lower part of their left legs. Friends are having […]
What’s The Price? Simple Question, Complicated Answer In Medicare
I wrote to Medicare a while back, asking for a price. I know nothing is simple in the world of health care costs, but I just needed one number, a number Medicare uses all the time, I supposed, to calculate payments to doctors and hospitals. Here’s what I wanted to know: How much does Medicare […]
Mass. Weighs Governor’s Plan To Tax Candy And Soda
Are candy and soda food? In Massachusetts, candy and soda are considered food and are exempt from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. But Gov. Deval Patrick wants to change that. He’s proposing that the legislature tax every bag of M&M’s and bottle of Pepsi bought in the state. “Half of the people in the […]
How Much For An MRI? $500? $5,000? A Reporter Struggles To Find Out
A health reporter tries to solve the mystery of her migraines with a doctor-recommended imaging test, but trying to find out the real cost of that test induces headaches of its own.
Stuart Altman’s Huge Challenge: Bring Down Mass. Health Costs
The health economist and former presidential adviser is leading a board overseeing the state’s cost-control law.
Massachusetts Passes Health Cost Control Bill
The Massachusetts Legislature passed the next phase of its ongoing attempt to reform the health care system: sweeping cost control legislation.
Mass. Aims To Set First-In-Nation Health Care Spending Target
Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make it the first state in the country to set a statewide target for health care spending by eventually tying costs to state economic growth.
Tax Or Penalty? Individual Mandate Haunts Romney
Updated 4:15 p.m. on July 4 The Massachusetts health care law, Mitt Romney’s signature achievement as governor, is adding more pressure to the expected GOP presidential nominee’s campaign. Romney’s support for the requirement that all residents have health insurance, known as the individual mandate, is at the heart of his predicament. The issue is whether […]
Mass. Senate Skirts End-Of-Life Counseling Controversy
Updated at 11:00 a.m. on May 24. With no debate, and a quick call of the ayes and nays, the Massachusetts Senate approved a requirement last week that all doctors and nurses talk to dying patients about their end-of-life options. The measure was included in a sweeping health care costs bill that the House expects […]
In Massachusetts, Hope For Higher Salaries If Health Care Inflation Slows
As Massachusetts’ state legislators put the finishing touches on a major health care cost-control bill, there is still one big question: How much could it save employers and fatten employee paychecks?
Report: Mass. Health Law No ‘Budget Buster’
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation finds that the state spends $91 million more per year, or 1.4 percent of the state budget, for near-universal health insurance coverage. “That’s a very tiny additional cost to taxpayers for huge benefits,” says MTF President Michael Widmer.
In Massachusetts, SCOTUS Case Is (Mostly) Irrelevant
The health care battle that began this morning at the Supreme Court is one of the most important of our lifetime. But the direct effect on Massachusetts, which created the framework for the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), is minimal, at best. “The real bottom line is that consequences for Massachusetts are not that great, […]
Groups Push For Tough Health Spending Targets In Massachusetts
The state’s largest employer group and a coalition of congregations are putting pressure on state legislators to curb spending dramatically.
Coming Soon To Massachusetts’ Dental Offices-Maybe
Could the mid-level dental care providers now at work in Minnesota solve the access problem in Massachusetts and other states?
Can Massachusetts Lead The Way On Controlling Health Costs?
As of April 1, base health insurance rates for small businesses will increase, on average, just 1.8 percent. Four prominent economists discuss why the state is having success keeping premium costs down.
Really, America, Most Mass. Residents Like Health Reform
Latest WBUR poll shows that 62 percent of residents support Massachusetts’ health reform law, despite the drubbing it’s taken during the Republican presidential primaries.
‘Tiered’ Insurance Confounds Consumers, Docs In Mass.
Tiered insurance is being offered by various companies in Massachusetts as a way to meet employers’ demands for cheaper insurance premiums.
Court: Massachusetts Must Cover Legal Immigrants
Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Thursday that the state must offer the same level of subsidized insurance to legal immigrants as to citizens. The decision affects roughly 40,000 residents and could cost the state at least $150 million per year.
Top Maternity Hospitals In Mass. Stop Early Elective Deliveries
A growing number of hospitals in Massachusetts are saying no to elective inductions and C-sections before 39 weeks. The change is happening quietly and some new mothers don’t like it.
