Like many consumer-driven organizations, we do market research periodically to be sure we’re listening to consumers in a way that produces reliable and actionable information. But a recent consumer survey done by Fallon Community Health Plan provides some data that might help inform ongoing policy deliberations about the implementation of health care reform.

The bottom line: Consumers believe in choice.

They want the ability to choose in making health insurance decisions. They want lifestyle choices to be factored into health insurance costs. And they want more information so they can make informed choices.

The scientific survey, done by RKM Research and Communications, polled 605 consumers between the ages of 18 and 64 across FCHP’s Massachusetts service area from April 24 to May 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

Here are some highlights: Read more…

A number of consumer groups that think employers in Massachusetts can and should pay more to help cover the uninsured have been eagerly awaiting a state report released today. It says that the Commonwealth spent $637 million dollars on free or subsidized health coverage for employees of companies with 50 or more workers in the last fiscal year. Since we are almost at the end of FY08, the current number may be noticably higher. Most of these 254,000 workers were not eligible for their employer’s health plan because they were part-time, temporary or new (and in a waiting period). When you include spouses and dependents, the total number of individuals covered is 474,000.

In the next few days, we’ll hear calls to charge employers whose workers are in state health care plans or for stiffer fines on companies that don’t offer insurance to more of their employees. Read more…

The recent report that a debt reduction program aimed at recruiting clinicians to community health centers in Eastern Massachusetts exceeded expectations was good news indeed. Launched in 2007 with funds from Bank of America, the program placed 35 physicians and 12 nurse practitioners at 23 health centers that serve many low-income residents.

State officials were euphoric, and everyone in the medical community should take heart that this kind of program is having solid results.

I would urge, however, that while we keep our enthusiasm over this development, we must temper it as well. Read more…

Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, his GBIO colleagues and a university gymnasium filled with 1700 of their leaders reminded us all last night of the shared responsibility that it took to achieve the gains in health coverage that we have shared so far, over a mere two-year period.

I was invited there by GBIO to affirm my commitment to sustainable health reform, and to repeat the promise that I made, back in December 2005, to a similar GBIO-assembled crowd, that I would stand firm until consensus was reached to achieve comprehensive health reform. I made that promise, and I’ve kept that promise.

I continue to work with my colleagues in the House of Representatives, Senate President Murray, and Governor Patrick to secure and strengthen the hard work that we began over three years ago with the essential partnership of the GBIO, along with a coalition of leaders from business, insurance, and health care.

The spirit of the event last night left no room for retreating from that work or from the commitment that carried it across the line to enactment. Read more…

If you screamed, NO WAY, read on. There are reasons to at least consider uploading your medical files. If you said, WHY NOT, we have some cautions. There is a growing number of online options including Microsoft, Google and Web MD. We’ll walk through “Google Health” to explore the risks and benefits of creating a medical record online.

JOHN HALAMKA: So the way we start is you log into Google Health. You’ll see as you look at the screen, there’s a big ICON that says Import Your Medical Records. So why don’t we start with that.

BEBINGER: Dr. John Halamka is the Chief Information Officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an unpaid member of the advisory board for Google Health. He sits in front of a computer screen with Jerilyn Heinold, a patient at Beth Israel, who wants to see how uploading her electronic medical record to Google, works. Read more…

This evening, Tuesday May 27, GBIO will convene its membership at Boston University’s Chase Gymnasium for a conversation with Governor Deval Patrick, House Speaker Sal DiMasi, Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and Jack Connors representing the larger corporate community of our state (former chairman/CEO of Hill Holiday) at GBIO’s “Shared Power, Shared Responsibility & Shared Sacrifice” Assembly.

These key leaders will be joined by a wide array of members from both State Legislative Houses, City Counselors, Corporate, Philanthropic, Healthcare, and Insurance industry leaders. Surrounding these will be the largest gathering of Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Commonwealth since 9/11. This seminal event will also commemorate the organization’s 10th year anniversary, and will focus on two commitments from elected officials, as well as our Corporate and Health Care allies. First, GBIO wants a commitment to sustained long term financing for health care reform. As we all know, the Massachusetts initiative was born out of an unprecedented partnership and has become an unprecedented success: 340,000 previously uninsured residents now have health insurance in the private market. However, because most of these families are the working poor, the required state subsidies could be in excess of $200 million more than the administration originally budgeted. Read more…

One of the basic tenets of the Massachusetts health care reform law was “shared responsibility” among individuals, employers and government. Our law placed several new requirements on employers such as: setting up Section 125 plans for all employees to enable them to purchase health insurance on a pre-tax basis, expanding dependent coverage up to the age of 26, and the imposition of a $295 annual assessment on employers who fail to make a “fair and reasonable” contribution to their employees’ health insurance. In the past few months, some policy makers have called for additional financial contributions from the business community, particularly in light of a potential funding shortfall next fiscal year if the number of people enrolling in state subsidized health insurance (Commonwealth Care) continues to rise above expectations.

Two months ago, the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans released a survey of its members which more fairly documented the true financial commitment by employers in health reform. Read more…

Since the state’s budget for Commonwealth Care has been getting a lot of attention lately, I thought it would be helpful to hit on a few key points about how all the money gets spent. At Network Health, more than 94 percent of the Commonwealth Care premium is spent on paying for medical costs. For some Commonwealth Care members, like those in Plan Types III and IV, the percent of total member premium spent on medical costs is more than 160 percent.

The good news is that Commonwealth Care members are using services they have long needed and appear to be making up for years without consistent access to health care and preventive services. For example, Commonwealth Care members are utilizing surgery services at almost twice the rate of MassHealth members. Similarly, we see Commonwealth Care members use extensive office visits, outpatient specialty services, and pharmaceuticals.

I had hoped that this phenomenon of pent-up demand would lead to a regression to the mean after members gained some health plan tenure. Read more…

The Massachusetts Medical Society is suing the state’s Group Insurance Commission and two insurers over a physician rating system the society says is misleading and unfair. The GIC rates physicians based on the quality and cost of their care. Patients are charged higher co-pays if they see physicians who are not in the top tier. The complaint seeks to stop the program or force the GIC to make major changes. Medical Society spokesman Frank Fortin says there are many mistakes in the state’s data on doctors.

These have resulted in physicians assigned to incorrect tiers and these are tiers that the GIC says are signs of a good doctor and a bad doctor and we’re saying they represent nothing of the sort.

GIC director Dolores Mitchell calls the suit regrettable. Read more…

Today, the federal government launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness among consumers about just how easy it is to view information about how hospitals perform in certain clinical and patient satisfaction measures. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) purchased ads in 55 newspapers across the nation (including The Boston Globe) displaying how local hospitals performed in two measurement sets (how often antibiotics were administered before surgery and how often call bells were answered promptly).

Hospitals across Massachusetts applaud this move toward transparency and have spent a tremendous amount of time and energy leading these types of efforts on a local level. Today’s publicity push by CMS offers an important opportunity to consider two points. Read more…