Mass-Care, February 4, 2010

David S. Samuels, DDS, President Massachusetts Dental Society, Southborough, Boston Globe, February 4, 2010 To dentists and many of the patients we serve, Governor Deval Patrick’s $28.2 billion budget seems to be sending a disturbing mixed message. On the one hand, the governor should be commended for wanting to repeal the tax exemption on candy and soda, which should go a long way in helping to reduce tooth decay, and for seeking higher taxes on smokeless tobacco and cigars, leading causes of oral cancer. But by eliminating all restorative treatment for adults under the MassHealth dental program, the Patrick administration ... State

Boston Globe Editorial, January 29, 2010 In his budget, Governor Patrick proposed to avoid cuts in state aid to cities and towns - an accommodation that, in practice, means dipping deeper into the state’s rainy day fund or refinancing more debt. This may be inevitable; in an election year, nobody on Beacon Hill wants to push further pain onto municipal governments. Yet lawmakers shouldn’t just take local governments’ budgets as a given. The 351 cities and towns could make do with less aid if they could bring down the costs of their employees’ pensions and health care without cutting benefits. ... To

State’s insurers pay twice as much to some providers. Liz Kowalczyk & Scott Allen, Boston Globe, January 29, 2010 Massachusetts insurance companies pay some hospitals and doctors twice as much money as others for essentially the same patient care, according to a preliminary report by Attorney General Martha Coakley. It points to the market clout of the best-paid providers as a main driver of the state’s spiraling health care costs. The yearlong investigation, set to be released today, found no evidence that the higher pay was a reward for better quality work or for treating sicker patients. In fact, eight of the 10 best-paid hospitals ... AG

Tom Gallagher, Demockracy, January 28, 2010 There’s sure been enough harsh talk around the health care bills coming out of the House and Senate – and I mean from people who support universal health insurance – forget the Tea Baggers and the Rush Limbaugh audience for the moment. On the one hand, you’ve got people calling for unseating Representative John Conyers because he voted for the final House bill – and he was the prime sponsor of the single payer bill! On the other, there’s people dismissing any objections to the bills’ shortcomings as the cavalier nitpickings of a privileged group that already has health insurance and doesn’t really care much about anyone else who doesn’t. ... Oh

Increase would offer coverage for more immigrants. Kay Lazar, Boston Globe, January 28, 2010 Despite last year’s battle with state lawmakers over health insurance for legal immigrants, Governor Deval Patrick is calling for a 25 percent funding increase for the program, a total of $75 million, in his new budget proposal. Patrick, who has been a staunch advocate for the funding, said he is committed to the initiative for the group of 26,000 “hardworking, taxpaying’’ residents. Massachusetts does not receive federal reimbursement for the immigrants’ coverage, as it does for other health care programs. ... $75m

Boston Medical Center posts first loss in 5 years. Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, January 27, 2010 A leading credit rating agency yesterday lowered the debt rating on Boston Medical Center as the financially troubled hospital posted an operating loss of $24.5 million for the 12 months ending September 30, its first in five years. Rating agency Standard & Poor’s cited the Massachusetts state government’s reduced support for Boston Medical Center in a statement accompanying the downgrade, and warned that a further cut in the debt rating was a possibility. Reductions in state and federal aid were also cited ... Cuts

Our new health care system has not been a Massachusetts miracle. Timothy P Cahill, CommonWealth, January 26, 2010 One of the hallmarks of a successful and compassionate society is its ability to provide care for its citizens. I believe that every individual and family in the Commonwealth should have access to quality, affordable health care. However, it’s equally important to take affirmative steps to ensure the stability of the Massachusetts economy, and not place unnecessary fiscal burdens on our taxpayers. As we review the performance of our state’s health care system since the passage of reform in 2006, it is imperative that we balance these objectives. ... The

Partners has strict rules on drug-firm honoraria. Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, January 23, 2010 Boston physician Lawrence M. DuBuske was given a choice: Either stop moonlighting as a paid speaker for pharmaceutical companies or quit his job at a top Harvard teaching hospital. To the surprise of some, DuBuske, an allergy and asthma specialist and a Harvard Medical School instructor, will resign from Brigham and Women’s Hospital at the end of the month, the hospital said. DuBuske is no ordinary speaker. Out of thousands of US doctors hired by drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline to talk about its products, he was the highest paid during a three-month period last year ... Doctor

Abbybwood, Crooks and Liars, January 22, 2010

Well, Kennedy is not alive and the Democrats did what the Democrats do: they ran a DLCer who said she was for "the public option" (after it was killed) and hob-knobbed with the very corporate insurance lobbyists in DC that people in Massachusetts are sick of. I lived in Massachusetts the better part of last year when all this was going on. I was driving on the freeway away from Logan International in the summer after Kennedy died looking at all the signs lit up on the road paying their respects to Kennedy.

Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press, January 22, 2010 Boston - When Mary Foote cast her ballot in this week's special Senate election, she was thinking about how the national health care bill strayed too far from the Massachusetts model and would force her to shoulder the financial burden of expanding health care in the other 49 states. ''I think we're paying enough for the health issue in Massachusetts without paying for the rest of the nation,'' said the 50-year-old cafeteria manager from Fitchburg, Massachusetts. ... Massachusetts

Senator Richard T. Moore, Commonhealth, January 12, 2010 With the new year upon us, there is widespread concern about recently announced dramatic increases in health insurance premiums by most carriers. Despite near universal interest in health care cost containment, health insurance costs continue to spiral upward. Small businesses, in particular, are reporting that their premiums are increasing as much as thirty and forty percent over the previous year. Increases of this magnitude appear to be out of line with national trends in health care spending. Clearly, an explanation from providers and insurers of the factors causing dramatic increases in premiums is required! ... Shining

Jim O'Sullivan, State House News Service, February 5, 2010

This week in state government and public affairs: a hotel full of Democrats – a non-union hotel full of Democrats – who had busted their humps to elect a Democratic governor three years ago decided Wednesday, February 3, to picket said governor the next afternoon, politically wounding him and, in all likelihood, their own most fervently held causes (sic).

Jim O’Sullivan, State House News Service, February 5, 2010

Boston - Governor Deval Patrick has picked up another challenge from his left flank, this time in the Democratic primary, from Grace Ross. Following Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein into the still-burgeoning gubernatorial campaign field, leftist activist Grace Ross told labor unions Thursday she would test Patrick in the Democratic primary. “I wasn’t planning to run again, but things got worse," Ross said. “Things got worse for regular people.”

Alexander Burns, Politico, February 5, 2010 Massachusetts activist Grace Ross, who ran against Gov. Deval Patrick as a third-party candidate in 2006, announced this week that she will challenge the governor again in this year's Democratic primary. Ross, who drew just under 2 percent of the vote in her bid on the Green-Rainbow Party ticket four years ago, informed the Democratic State Committee on Thursday that she was declaring a campaign for statewide office, the Boston Globe reported. ... Ross