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

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

Limits enacted on drug firm gifts. Scott Allen, Boston Globe, August 11, 2008 Governor Deval Patrick yesterday signed into law one of the nation's strictest limits on gifts given to medical professionals by drug salespeople, the most contentious measure contained in a broad package intended to improve healthcare safety and curb skyrocketing costs. The new law also provides $25 million to promote electronic medical record-keeping in doctors' offices, requires the state university to graduate more primary care doctors, and gives regulators the power to hold hearings when health insurers want to raise premiums. ... Leaders

Karen Davis, President, The Commonwealth Fund, CommonHealth, August 11, 2008 As the country prepares for a new administration that will have a unique opportunity to improve access to health care for all Americans, it’s important for the nation to look closely at the effects of the historic Massachusetts health reform law. It’s clear that the law has already had a major impact, halving the uninsured rate among working-age adults in the state in its first year. ... Applying

US balks at hike proposed in yearly Medicaid funding. Kay Lazar, Boston Globe, August 9, 2008 Federal regulators are balking at the state's proposal to increase Medicaid spending by up to $1 billion a year over the next three years, and this and other sticking points prompted Massachusetts yesterday to request another two-week extension of its healthcare funding package. The federal payments, which are crucial for keeping the state's landmark health insurance law afloat, were set to expire June 30, but the state has received three extensions, and a fourth would postpone the deadline for reaching an agreement until August 25. ... Fourth

Some balk at giving care, call subsidized rates too low. Kay Lazar, Boston Globe, August 7, 2008 Two years into the state's bold healthcare experiment, its early success in expanding dental coverage may be threatened by a shortage of dentists willing to treat newly insured patients. Since getting free or subsidized dental coverage in 2006, more than 200,000 low-income adults have climbed into Massachusetts dentists' chairs for work on their long-neglected teeth. But increasing numbers of patients are expected to seek care, and advocates fear the wait for appointments, now three months at community health center clinics, will grow. ... Dental