STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH CONSUMERS experiencing higher health care outlays and some putting off care because of it, a state commission on Wednesday stuck with the annual state health care cost growth benchmark, which is a target rather than a binding cap on price or spending escalation. The Health Policy Commission voted to keep […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth, Health Care, Opinion
Mass. can do a better job on sexual and relationship education
MASSACHUSETTS TEENS deserve to live healthy lives free from violence, but our public schools are failing them. As pediatricians, we see how the inadequacy of sex and relationship education in our schools puts children and teens at risk for sexual assault. We have cared for teens in our medical practices who have experienced sexual violence. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. moves to stockpile supplies of abortion pill
MASSACHUSETTS IS STOCKPILING the abortion drug mifepristone through the state university system and health care providers, shoring up access to the medication after a federal judge in Texas issued an order that could invalidate the drug’s 23-year-old authorization by the end of the week. At Gov. Maura Healey’s request, the University of Massachusetts Amherst last […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. nursing homes approaching capacity, association says
A NEW INDUSTRY survey indicates short- and long-term skilled nursing facilities across the state are approaching capacity because of a shortage of workers. The Massachusetts Senior Care Association said one of every five staff positions is currently vacant, a situation that has forced nursing homes to take 3,000 of the 40,000 licensed beds offline. With a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Cain Hayes vows to retain Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts brands
CAIN HAYES, the president and CEO of Point32Health, says the five-year integration of the Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts health insurers is moving forward well ahead of schedule, but integration doesn’t mean the two brands will disappear. “We have no intention of consolidating those brands into one brand,” he said on The Codcast with John McDonough […]
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To lower drug costs, report says let doctors dispense
IN MASSACHUSETTS, a doctor who diagnoses someone with pneumonia has to send the patient off to a pharmacy to fill a prescription for antibiotics. In most other states, the doctor can dispense the prescription right in the office, saving the patient time and money. “Part of the reason drugs cost so much is that middlemen […]
Posted inHealth Care, State Government
Jon Santiago: ‘Everyone is rooting for a veteran’
FOR A TIME, it seemed like Jon Santiago was juggling every job he could. The US Army reserve major worked as an emergency room doctor at Boston Medical Center during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic while serving as state representative. He even briefly mounted a run for mayor of Boston. Now, he’s taking on […]
Posted inHealth Care
Travel nurses fill a gap but also create problems
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN INCREASING RELIANCE on travel nurses is contributing to high turnover rates among nurses in Massachusetts, as health care remains strapped by labor shortages here and around the country, according to a Health Policy Commission report. Registered nurse vacancy rates in Massachusetts hospitals doubled from 6.4 percent in 2019 to 13.6 […]
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State braces for MassHealth dislocation
AS THE STATE prepares to drop hundreds of thousands of people from the MassHealth insurance program, government and community leaders are hoping for a smooth year-long process – but bracing for possible chaos. When the COVID-19 pandemic emergency hit, Massachusetts hit pause on the annual process of figuring out who continues to qualify for the […]
Posted inHealth Care
For Affordable Care Act at 13, reversals of fortune
TODAY MARKS THE Affordable Care Act’s 13th birthday since its signing by President Obama on March 23, 2020, a landmark moment that our current president famously noted at the time with colorful zeal. Massachusetts has particular reason to take note of today’s anniversary, as our 2006 universal health insurance law was among the ACA’s most important […]