Bay State lawmakers have announced a plan to control costs that includes, new ways to pay doctors and hospitals, a cap on health-care spending tethered to economic growth and a tax on the state’s most expensive hospitals if they can’t justify their prices.
A report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation finds the state has spent just $91 million more a year since 2006 to cover the uninsured, than it was spending before the law passed. The sum amounts to 1.4 percent of the state budget.
On the Republican campaign trail, the Massachusetts health reform law that many now call “Romneycare” is routinely trashed. But a recent poll finds that Massachusetts residents favor the law — with 62 percent supporting the law and only 33 percent opposing it.
On the campaign trail, GOP presidential candidates denounce the Massachusetts health reform law signed by then Gov. Romney as an “abject failure” but the state’s current governor calls it “a terrific success” — and popular support for the law is strong.
“The presumption is safety net providers are providers of last resort when you are desperate, but that is not what their patients perceive . . . They seem to like these places and do not feel the need to go elsewhere.”
After three years, no real progress has been made on rising costs. The program remains well over budget, with no end in sight.
Because of its health reform law, almost all Massachusetts residents have health coverage. Now the state has to tackle the more difficult challenge: cost. Article by KaiserHealthNews staff writer Jessica Marcy
By Julie Appleby July 10, 2009 Q. What is an exchange? A. Basically, it’s a marketplace where people can shop for health insurance. An exchange could be simply a detailed listing of all the insurance plans available in an area or a more regulated marketplace, where the exchange selects the insurers allowed to sell policies [...]
By Julie Appleby – Kaiser Health News July 10, 2009 When Michael Kovner decided to buy health insurance earlier this year, he logged onto his computer, entered his age and zip code on a special Web site and studied the nearly 20 different policies that popped up. Within a half-hour, Kovner, a 53-year-old technology consultant, picked [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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