Julie Pinkham, RN, Massachusetts Nurse, February 15, 2010 No doubt that all of us have felt the impact of this recession, either directly or indirectly. Certainly, those in the public sector are hit the hardest from the fallout of this economic crisis. Health professionals in the commonwealth have provided health services to populations the private sector has little economic incentive to serve. But with state revenues down, slashed services are all that is available to many of the folks who are most in need. The majority of us have suffered hits that are more indirect. Major losses in your 403b have likely put your retirement plans on hold. Maybe you were once one of two wage earners in your household ... Holding

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

Insurer goes outside in naming chief of Worcester’s Fallon. Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, February 12, 2010 The board of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has reached outside the organization to tap the head of a rival health insurer to be its next chief executive. Eric H. Schultz, who has been the chief executive of Fallon Community Health Plan in Worcester for a decade, was elected to the top post at Harvard Pilgrim, the state’s second-largest health insurance carrier, in a unanimous vote of the company’s board Wednesday. The selection was disclosed yesterday. ... Harvard

Bill targets rates that rise too fast; aims to ease way for small business. Kay Lazar, Michael Levenson & Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, February 11, 2010 Governor Deval Patrick is seeking sweeping authority to review and reject rates charged by hospitals, physician groups, medical imaging centers, and insurers, in a broad new effort to make health care more affordable, particularly for smaller companies and their workers. A 40-page bill filed by the governor yesterday proposes to give the insurance commissioner the power to essentially cap health care price increases. Rates hospitals and other health providers charge insurers would be ... Patrick

Hospital hopes to improve bottom line with addition of geriatric center. Steve Adams, Patriot Ledger, February 11, 2010 Quincy - Quincy Medical Center hopes to become the go-to local hospital for geriatric care as part of a new strategy to stabilize its finances. The hospital will launch its new Center for Healthy Aging this summer and will promote it as a health care hub for local seniors. “The basic vision is that Quincy Medical Center becomes a center of excellence for patients 65-plus, building upon the expertise we already provide,” hospital spokeswoman Janice Sullivan said. A business plan for the effort is being developed ... Quincy

Don McCanne, MD, Physicians for a National Health Program, February 11, 2010 Many experts touting the Congressional reform proposals have singled out the insurance exchange concept as being one of the most important avenues of reforming the private health insurance market. MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber was involved in designing the Massachusetts exchange and has been an independent-expert-on-the-dole for the administration and Congress as they move forward with the concept of private insurance exchanges. ... Gruber

Katie Robbins, Healthcare-NOW! February 1, 2010 After a sobering loss for Democrats in the special election held to replace Senator Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, probing exit polls about health reform show that the win of Republican Scott Brown who pledged to cast the vote that would kill national health reform, didn’t come from people who thought the national legislation was going too far, but that it wasn’t going far enough. Among Brown voters, 36 percent thought it didn’t go far enough. Among voters who stayed home and opposed health care, a full 53 percent said they opposed the Senate bill because it didn’t go far enough. ... Let

Quincy Medical Center is eliminating 14 jobs and asking its 1,200 employees to take a 3 percent pay cut in an effort to cut expenses by $4.5 million by the end of the year. Steve Adams, Patriot Ledger, February 10, 2010 Quincy - Quincy Medical Center is eliminating 14 jobs and asking its 1,200 employees to take a 3 percent pay cut in an effort to cut expenses by $4.5 million by the end of the year. The cost-cutting measures are needed because inpatient volume has declined 5 percent compared with the same time a year ago, CEO Dr. Gary Gibbons said. ... Quincy

Michael H. Katz, MD, Norwell, Boston Globe, February 7, 2010 Re “Health care on their minds’’ (Letters, February 1): The writers who insist the president’s health care initiative must be enacted, and are critical of people who voted for Scott Brown, make the same error: They assume anyone who voted against Martha Coakley was against health care reform. I am a physician and I am quite aware of the time and effort it takes to receive prior authorizations, with the associated frustration ... Mistake

Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe, February 5, 2010 Put yourself in Eric Michelson’s position for a moment. He is co-owner of Michelson’s Shoes, which has one store in Lexington and another in Needham Center. The company insures 11 employees - and picks up 100 percent (!) of the premiums. In 2008, an HMO family plan for those employees cost $23,300 per family. Michelson is also on the appropriations committee for Lexington. In 2008, the town’s cost for a similar HMO family plan was $17,500. Since Lexington was considering joining the state’s Group Insurance Commission, which negotiates plans for state employees, the committee checked ... Health

Marshfield Mariner, February 4, 2010 Quincy Medical Center recently hosted an employee service awards ceremony to honor the commitment and service of its longstanding employees. In total, 93 Quincy Medical Center employees were recognized for reaching and surpassing service milestones of five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of employment in 2009. Seven employees celebrated their 40-year anniversaries with QMC. “The fact that we have so many long-time employees is a true testament to the commitment and dedication our employees possess,” said Dr. Gary Gibbons, president and CEO. Among those honored were Marshfield residents Janice Cahill and Jane Happeny (five years) and Lorraine Graziano (20 years).

Suit Filed by Hospitals Is an Intriguing Case of Civil Action. George O’Brien, Business West, February 1, 2010 Attorneys hired to represent six so-called ‘disproportionate-share hospitals’ in a civil action brought against the state for insufficient reimbursement to care for Medicaid patients are awaiting the state attorney general’s response to allegations in the complaint. That’s the next step in what could be a lengthy, complex suit that might have serious ramifications for the hospitals - and the Commonwealth. Bob Griffin calls them “hibernation periods.” ... State

Man accused of diverting money into personal account. Maureen Boyle, Brockton Enterprise, January 29, 2010 Plymouth - Federal authorities allege a Plymouth man stole nearly a quarter-million dollars from a South Shore Hospital program over two years. William S. Burke, 38, was charged in paperwork filed in US District Court this week with one count of mail fraud in connection with what authorities allege was a scheme to divert donations to the hospital’s Dare to CARE program into an account he set up. According to paperwork filed in federal court, Burke worked as outreach coordinator and fundraiser for the program ... South

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