The 600 registered nurses of Boston Medical Center’s East Newton Campus plan to conduct an information picket outside the entrance to the facility from 7 AM – 2 PM on Wednesday, August 20, 2008, as contract talks continue to stall over inadequate staffing, oppressive management practices and below market wages, issues the nurses believe compromise their ability to recruit and retain staff needed to safely care for patients. ... Boston

Growing losses reported in Clinton, Southbridge, Marlborough and MetroWest. Matthew L. Brown, Worcester Business Journal, August 18, 2008 Central Massachusetts hospital executives eager to keep operating budgets out of the red are ready to fight it out with employees to save money. It’s become so costly to run a hospital that hiring freezes, increased employee contributions to health insurance plans, union give-backs and smaller annual raises are all on the table, executives say. ... The University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester reported a second quarter operating surplus of $12.6 million, an improvement over the $5.4 million operating surplus reported for the first quarter. ... Hospitals

Charles P. Pierce,  Boston Globe Magazine, August 17, 2008 Healthcare, as the people of Hull will tell you, is not just about diagnoses, pills, and surgeries. It's about forms. And public transit. And gasoline. And long waits. And phone calls. And gentle hands and warm hearts. As Charles P. Pierce learns in Part 2 of his series on campaign issues, this South Shore town with high cancer rates among both men and women is a study in how the insured feel just as anxious today as the uninsured. ... Sick

2d-quarter results top Massachusetts insurers. Jeffrey Krasner, Boston Globe, August 16, 2008 Though Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care have many more members, Tufts Health Plan yesterday reported the strongest second-quarter results of any major Massachusetts health insurer. Tufts said it earned operating income on its health plan of $16.6 million, on revenue of $578 million. The company also earned investment income of $9.1 million, producing net income of nearly $25 million. By contrast, Blue Cross Blue Shield showed an operating loss of $3.2 million from its healthcare operations, on revenue of $1.7 billion. ... Tufts

Healthcare group increases salaries for key executives. Jeffrey Krasner, Boston Globe, August 15, 2008 Partners HealthCare System yesterday reported a third-quarter profit from its hospitals of $54 million, 25 percent more than in the same period last year, driven by wider margins, rate hikes, and an increase in high-paying, complex cases. But the healthcare giant's profits from nonoperating activities - principally investments - dropped significantly. During the third quarter last year, Partners' Massachusetts General Hospital received a onetime royalty payment of $206 million, pushing nonoperating profits to $250 million. ... Rate

Jacob Goldstein, Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2008 Massachusetts, looking for ways to pay for its universal health care plan, is pushing businesses to do more. Businesses are pushing back. A plan announced yesterday by the governor’s office would require most companies with more than 10 employees to pay at least 33% of full-time workers’ premiums within the first 90 days of employment and cover at least 25% of their full-time workers with an employer plan. The current rules require employers to do one or the other, but not both, the Boston Globe reports. ... Massachusetts

Trade group declares higher costs will lead to dropped coverage. Kay Lazar, Boston Globe, August 12, 2008 Businesses are balking at a proposed state regulation that, a leading retail group says, will force small companies to spend thousand of dollars more in health insurance for their workers, and could lead many employers to drop coverage altogether. Proposed rules, issued yesterday by Governor Deval Patrick's administration, are intended to help close a gap in funding the landmark healthcare law. The regulations, if adopted, would take effect October 1, and raise about $45 million this fiscal year, according to documents made public yesterday. ... Businesses

Physicians for a National Health Program, August 11, 2008 Citing the failure of seven state-based health reforms over the past two decades - initiatives that bear a strong resemblance to the Massachusetts health reform of 2006 - a group of Massachusetts-based researchers cautions that early declarations of the latter’s success may be premature. In an article titled “State Heath Reform Flatlines,” published in the most recent issue of the International Journal of Health Services, three researchers, two of whom teach at Harvard Medical School, examine the experiences of earlier reforms in Massachusetts, Oregon, Minnesota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington state and Maine. ... Copy

Cites her commitment to health care and nursing issues. Massachusetts Nurses Association, August 11, 2008 Canton - The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the state’s largest union of registered nurses and health care professionals, recently announced their endorsement of Julia Fahey for State Representative for the 29th Middlesex District. “The Massachusetts Nurses Association is proud to support Julia Fahey in her bid for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives,” said MNA President Beth Piknick. “Julia is a bright, creative and dedicated advocate for social justice who will stand up in the legislature for high quality, affordable patient care. We need more legislators like her.” ... Massachusetts

More patients, fewer doctors drawn to primary care offices. Primary care medicine buckling under patient loads, insurance regulations. John P. Kelly, Patriot Ledger, August 9, 2008 Braintree - Behind seven doors, seven patients waited for Dr. Robert Baratz, who paused in front of a hallway whiteboard in South Shore Health Center and shook his head. Seven more were in the front waiting room. It was 11:30 in the morning. In a basket near the reception desk, a stack of paperwork was building. The day before had been worse. ... The

Douglas W. Lawrence & Mark Leuchtenberger, Boston Globe, August 8, 2008 Amid much fanfare this summer, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that invests $1 billion over 10 years in the Bay State's life sciences community. Surrounded by legislators, industry representatives, doctors, and patients, the governor proclaimed that this initiative would secure the state's "rightful place as a global leader in the life sciences." Not two months later, excitement in the life science community has turned to disappointment ... New

Boston Globe Editorial, August 8, 2008 Since no one doubts that universal (sic) healthcare in this state will be in trouble if costs keep spiraling, the Legislature wisely passed a health cost containment bill last week. Its biggest potential brake on rising outlays is its push toward computerization of medical records. But the most controversial part of the bill would curb rising healthcare costs in another way: by forcing the pharmaceutical industry to limit and disclose the gifts and fees it provides to doctors. ... How

Measure will help trim costs by $16m. Jeffrey Krasner, Boston Globe, August 5, 2008 Cape Cod Healthcare yesterday said it will cut 169 jobs, or nearly 4 percent of its workforce, as part of a sweeping financial makeover intended to add as much as $40 million to the hospital system in the fiscal year starting October 1. Dr. Richard Salluzzo, the organization's new chief executive, said the plan includes cutting expenses by $16 million and raising between $15 million and $25 million in new revenues. ... Cape

Jonathan Bilyk, Kane County (IL) Chronicle, August 15, 2008 Geneva – State Representative Mary Flowers believes that insurance companies have a place in the market. She just doesn’t think those companies have any place in providing health care. Thursday night, Flowers, a Democratic state legislator from Chicago, hosted a special forum at the Kane County Government Center in Geneva to discuss legislation she introduced that would fundamentally alter the way in which health care is funded in Illinois. ... Single-payer

Phyllis Goldin, MD, River Falls, River Falls (WI) Journal, August 15, 2008 Having practiced medicine for more than 40 years, I have witnessed a world of change in the field. Sadly, despite some amazing technological advances, the concept of integrated care has largely been replaced by interventions, determined to be either necessary or not, by carriers or agencies that control revenue. I have seen costs rise exponentially, yet quality of care often suffers. And my profession is now grossly compromised in its ability to serve the 47 million uninsured in America. ... Health