Healthcare In Crisis: Bill to control Mass. health-care costs OK’d

Friday, August 1, 2008

Bill to control Mass. health-care costs OK’d

State legislators arrived at a compromise bill late yesterday designed to curb spiraling health-care costs in Massachusetts.

The measure creates a special commission to consider overhauling the current medical care payment system, and it provides economic incentives for more efficient care.

The bill does not include a controversial ban on pharmaceutical companies giving free gifts to doctors and their families. But gifts over $50 would have to be reported.

Still, Senate President Therese Murray, a Plymouth Democrat and one of the measure’s architects, praised the compromise bill.

“I think we have a lot to be proud of,” she said. “I can’t wait to get it on the books.”

Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to sign the bill into law within the week.

The bill also calls for a public hearing each year on health-care costs, and creates a loan forgiveness program and other incentives to entice doctors and nurses to practice in underserved areas.

The bill requires that hospitals and health centers adopt computerized physician entry systems by 2015, and aims to educate health-care providers on the use of generic drugs and other low-cost pharmaceutical alternatives.

The measure would also authorize MassHealth to promote primary care because it costs less to keep people healthier than it does to treat then when they get sick.

Other provisions include a statewide standard for billing and coding among health-care providers and insurance companies; expanded enrollment at UMass Medical School and incentives for students to go into primary-care specialties.

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Statistics Collection

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