BHN is not a fan of the overused term “tipping point.” But, it works here. 
Let’s connect the dots.
The Globe‘s reports on back room deals at Partners, the hospital giant that helps fuels the regions high health care costs high. The ever-looming high costs of care in Mass. The state’s – and now the public’s -- stake in high health costs. The insurance industry attempt to raise some rates for small businesses by, in some cases, more than 30 percent.
Tipping point?
The state says no to high rates. Insurers sue – and lose — but some start dropping high-cost hospitals. Partners — facing pressure for running thos high-costs hospitals – chips in $40 million for small businesses insurers. And the state has a plan to cut waste by rewarding docs for who cure patients, not those who order lots of tests.
BHN was going to put all these pieces together. But the New York Time did it in yesterday’s staff editorial.
When Massachusetts’s politicians designed their reform, they calculated that achieving near-universal coverage first would then give all participants in the health care system an incentive to help rein in costs. There are encouraging signs that that is starting to happen.
