"A Handshake That Made Health Care History"--A Boston Globe Expose: A "Quiet Deal" Between Mass Blue Cross and Boston's Most Powerful Hospitals

In a lengthy expose entitled, "A Hand Shake That Made Health Care History," the Boston Globe details what it called a "gentleman's agreement that accelerated a health care cost crisis" in Massachusetts. The reported deal was between Partners Health Care, the state's biggest health care provider, and Massachusetts Blue Cross, the largest state insurer.The article charges that the agreement all but

Likely Health Care Reform Will Not Reform the American Health Care System

Remember those Archway "Windmill Cookies?" They were a favorite when I was growing up.Robert Pear's article in the New York Times this weekend reminded me of that treat my mother used to buy for us kids. His article also illustrated the crisis many families are facing in what looks like it will be the worst recession of our lifetimes.Archway was a great American company--it was in business for 72

Insurance Industry Reform Proposal––Little Ado About Nothing

This week the health insurance industry trade association announced that its board had approved a new policy position. The industry has agreed to guarantee the insurability of everyone if the nation passes a health insurance plan that requires everyone is covered.That’s a no-brainer for the industry to offer and not much of a deal.If everyone is in the insurance pool—sick and healthy alike—there

High Costs for the Massachusetts Health Law--Sustainability is Now the Question

The Center for Studying Health System Change has just released a study examining the state of the important health reform law in Massachusetts.As one of the co-author's put it, "Improving access to heath care coverage has been a clear emphasis of the reform, but little has been done to address rapidly rising health care costs, raising questions about the longer-term viability of the reform."I can

The Cost of the Massachusetts Health Insurance Law is "Less Than Expected"

That was the conclusion in a recent New York Times editorial, not to mention the growing spin coming out of Massachusetts, regarding the state's new health plan.As I have said before on this blog:Massachusetts finally took a first big step in health care reform--something no one else has been able to do in Washington, DC or elsewhere and that is to be commended.The Massachusetts Health Insurance

Comprehensive Health Care Reform and Massachusetts--Are We On Our Way To a Very Different Debate?

The Massachusetts health care reform law appears on its way to:Covering two-thirds of those who did not have health insurance on the day it was enacted--about 400,000 people by the end of 2009.Covering most of those who were uninsured in households with incomes below 300% of the federal poverty level--below which the plan pays all or most health insurance premiums.Offering health insurance plans

First Year Results in Massachusetts' Health Care Reform Undercut Barack Obama's Health Care Reform Strategy

The Massachusetts health care reform plan is coming up on its first anniversary.Its costs are now officially out of control.Those of you who regularly read this blog know that I have been particularly critical lately of what I see as a lack of sophistication in McCain's market-based health insurance proposals.But with this news, Obama will have some big health care policy questions of his own to

People Who Say Insurance Regulation Creates More Uninsured Are Missing the Forest for the Trees

The health insurance trade association, AHIP, just released a new study on the impact of state health insurance reforms on the market and argues that the "unintended consequences" of these reforms hasn't been good.Here is an excerpt from their release:“This report offers important lessons. It demonstrates that insurance reforms without universal access drives up health care costs for consumers

A Comprehensive and Independent Progress Report on the Massachusetts Health Plan

The Center for Studying Health System Change has issued a comprehensive report on the progress of the Massachusetts health reform plan.Anyone interested in the plan's progress will find this must reading.From their overview:As Massachusetts' landmark effort to reach nearly universal health coverage continues, affordability of coverage remains a key concern for individuals and small

Massachusetts Expected to Further Backpedal on its Individual Mandate

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Massachusetts legislature "will probably make changes" to the new health care law that could well include capping what a person has to pay for health insurance at 10% before the individual mandate law can be enforced.Presumably, this would mean a family with a household income of $50,000 per year would have to pay no more than $5,000. I fear that is still

"Government Subsidies That halve Premiums Would Cut Number of Uninsured by 3%"--No Surprise There But it Was the Wrong Question

That's the headline on a story regarding a Rand study that says giving people subsidies won't do much to decrease the number of those uninsured.But here's the problem with that study: Paying for half the cost of health insurance that averages more than $11,000 for a family in the U.S. still makes health insurance prohibitively expensive for all but the well off.As I posted yesterday, voluntary

New Tool Kit: Massachusetts Health Reform

Ed Howard and his team at the non-partisan Alliance for Health Reform here in Washington have done another of their great jobs in putting together a resource for anyone interested in the Massachusetts health reform plan.From their overview:"Starting July 1, every adult in Massachusetts is required to have health coverage (except for 60,000 people exempted by the state). To help you understand the

Why Does Health Insurance Cost So Much in New England?

I guess the easy answer is because health care itself costs so much in New England.As I travel around the country, I continue to hear that plan sponsors and insurers are all frustrated by the comparatively high health care (and insurance) costs in New England. For example, according to CMS, health care spending for Massachusetts residents exceed the national average by more than $1,500, or 33% in

The Massachusetts Health Plan--Even the Uninsured Deserve Choices

The publisher of Health Market Survey returns with comments on what he believes is the fatal flaw in the new Massachusetts health plan:The Danger In The Massachusetts Health Planby Bill BoylesReputable and well-meaning people continue to applaud the Massachusetts health plan as a flawed but solid first start on covering the uninsured. A guest New York Times columnist last week fell into the trap

Another Victory Declared in Massachusetts--The Connector Exempts 20% of Uninsured State Residents From the Requirement to Buy a Health Plan

The only place there are more victories being declared than in Iraq these days is in Massachusetts.The Massachusetts Health Plan regulator, "The Commonwealth Connector," has issued new rules that will exempt an estimated 20% of the uninsured from a state legal requirement to purchase health insurance.Since the health plan bids came in last month, it has been clear the prices would not make it

The Massachusets Health Plan's Inability to Offer Affordable Health Insurance Premiums Will Stall-Out Other State's Efforts in Health Reform

Now that we know Massachusetts is not going to be able to offer affordable health insurance to the middle class, we can expect to see other similar state health reform efforts stall-out.Both California and Pennsylvania have already started down the Massachusetts health care reform road. But when state legislators find that families making $50,000 or $60,000 a year would be mandated under state

The Massachusetts Health Plan Will Turn Out to Be Little More Than a Fancy Expansion of Medicaid--Bids Come In At $250 Per Person Per Month

For weeks we have been warning that the Massachusetts health reform plan is at a critical point. The second round of health plan bids came out no better than the first. That did nothing to alleviate concerns that Massachusetts will not be able to mandate that its citizens buy the costly coverage.The first health plan bids averaged $380 per person per month. A family of three would have to pay

Deja Vu in Massachusetts--We've Been Down this Road Before--The Massachusetts Health Care Plan and Health Care Costs

The good news is that the health policy world is full of new and exciting health care reform proposals.The bad news is that while these plans focus on the all important access problems (the uninsured) they almost ignore the underlying problem that makes so many people uninsured in the first place--health care costs.With the federal government (The National Health Statistics Group at CMS)