National data show that being underinsured is nearly as bad as being uninsured. More than a quarter of insured Americans have medical bill problems or medical debt. Hardly deadbeats, a third of them used up all of their savings to pay their medical bills and many did not get needed care because of the cost. If the purpose of health insurance is to allow people to get the care they need without suffering overwhelming financial loss, the data indicate high rates of product failure. Read more…

Associated Industries of Massachusetts has been conducting briefings across the state in conjunction with the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority to inform employers about their new responsibilities under the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law. We have completed seven briefings so far and will be traveling to Pittsfield and Cape Cod in the next few weeks.

Complying with all of the requirements of the new law is definitely a challenge for employers, particularly those with a significant number of non-traditional employees, e.g., seasonal, part-time and temporary workers. Read more…

(in Haiku format)

Health reform is hard.
Such a broken system.
We can’t fix it all.

Progress. Much to do.
Will we keep together
Or bring out old scripts?

Large deductibles.
A curb on demand. Or just
more debt to pay off.

Health plans with no drugs,
Wisely judged to be
Not creditable. Read more…

Health Reform Winners and Losers

A year into health reform, its starting to become clear who the winners and losers will be. Read more…

Just as the development and enactment of health reform legislation was a priority for me in my first two years as Speaker, so is its successful implementation over the next two years. We in Massachusetts should never lose sight of what we, together, accomplished and how it was that we, together, got it done. Not only is our work critically important for the people of Massachusetts – it is important to the nation that is watching our every move. Read more…

Massachusetts hospitals are the frontline of health reform implementation. Along with health centers, most of the people enrolling in MassHealth and Commonwealth Care are signing up where they get their health care. As it should be. Read more…

Massachusetts’ government, business, labor and health care leadership is faced with the awesome challenge of implementing health insurance coverage for all of Massachusetts’ citizens under CHAPTER 58, AN ACT PROVIDING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE, QUALITY, ACCOUNTABLE HEALTH CARE. Approaching the year one anniversary of Massachusetts “health reform”, by all accounts, including the expert contributors to this blog, we are doing an exemplary job. However the questions of costs to individuals and small business, the amount of deductibles and co-pays, the proposals for the benefits package, and the debate of whether to cover prescription drugs or not, is all about affordability! And that’s what it has been about since the beginning of my career in the 70’s in the days of comprehensive health planning and every effort at reform since then. The real challenge for the Connector is how to use this opportunity and their authority to get improved quality and increased accountability in health care? Read more…

For the past six months, local attention on the Massachusetts health reform law has focused – appropriately – on the complex and difficult decisions faced by the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority as we attempt to make coverage available to the half million state residents without health insurance. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts – an original and vocal supporter of the reform movement – has participated actively in this public debate and will offer an array of new, innovative products to individuals and small businesses seeking coverage under the new law.

But the public focus on the Connector has obscured what should – over time – become an equally influential public body – the state’s new Quality and Cost Council. Read more…

Health care has become a jewel in the Commonwealth’s Crown. Our excellent medical schools educate dedicated, capable physicians. Our hospitals provide state-of-the-art, world-renowned care. Health care has even become our state’s number one industry, our primary economic engine for the future. It is fitting then that our state has been the first to take the step toward universal care. Massachusetts physicians, long supporters of universal care, are particularly gratified to see such progress.

But a nagging, critical question remains: Can we fulfill the promise behind the law if our healthcare workforce remains under increasing stress? Read more…

Many of us working on the implementation of health insurance expansion know that several things must happen for this law to result in universal participation. Read more…