Outpatient care at expensive Massachusetts hospitals fuels hike. Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, February 13, 2010 In just three years, medical spending on privately insured Massachusetts residents grew more than 15 percent, fueled in large part by outpatient care in expensive hospitals, according to three reports released yesterday examining the state’s climbing health care costs. The findings by Massachusetts regulators bolster Governor Deval Patrick’s proposal this week to give the state the power to cap health care price increases. The reports also provide a preview of state hearings scheduled to begin March 16 ... Spending