From today's paper: Massachusetts is the first state to invest in an ambitious contact-tracing program, budgeting $44 million to hire 1,000 people ... The program represents a bet on the part of Gov. Charlie Baker that the state will be able to identify pockets of infection as they emerge, and prevent infected people from spreading … Continue reading NYTimes: Army of COVID-19 contact tracers takes shape in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Globe: Will court ruling on the #AffordableCareAct impact #Massachusetts?
This morning's Globe quotes Donald Berwick, MD, on the potential impact of last week's court ruling declaring the ACA unconstitutional in Massachusetts. Readers not yet eligible for Medicare take note. ...Massachusetts relies on billions of dollars in federal funding every year to provide coverage to lower-income residents, and the state’s health care system is deeply … Continue reading Globe: Will court ruling on the #AffordableCareAct impact #Massachusetts?
In 2017, 96.3 percent of #Massachusetts residents had #healthinsurance. Here’s how they got it.
From the Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis: Enrollment Trends monitors health insurance coverage in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where coverage is defined by unique Massachusetts residents with primary medical membership in the 13 largest commercial payers, MassHealth (Medicaid), or Medicare. The August 2018 edition of Enrollment Trends offers insights into changes in health … Continue reading In 2017, 96.3 percent of #Massachusetts residents had #healthinsurance. Here’s how they got it.
Why does Partners cost more than other #Massachusetts #hospitals? Price variation revealed in new report.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts tracks not only what it spends on Medicaid, but total health care spending. Modern Healthcare reports on the variation in care spending recently identified by the in Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. The highest-cost providers in Massachusetts spent nearly a third more per patient than their lowest-cost peers, mirroring the widespread cost variation … Continue reading Why does Partners cost more than other #Massachusetts #hospitals? Price variation revealed in new report.
#Internet-based data can help track the #flu when official data lags
A new paper from a team led but Mauricio Santillana, a mathematician, and member of the computational health informatics team at Boston Children’s Hospital, offers this in a new paper: We show that information from Internet-based data sources, when combined using an informed, robust methodology, can be effectively used as early indicators of influenza activity … Continue reading #Internet-based data can help track the #flu when official data lags
KHN: Now that the Massachusetts Medical Society has”rescinded its longstanding opposition to physician-assisted suicide,” others may follow
As Doctors Drop Opposition, Aid-In-Dying Advocates Target Next Battleground States Melissa Bailey, Kaiser Health News When the end draws near, Dr. Roger Kligler, a retired physician with incurable, metastatic prostate cancer, wants the option to use a lethal prescription to die peacefully in his sleep. As he fights for the legal right to do that, … Continue reading KHN: Now that the Massachusetts Medical Society has”rescinded its longstanding opposition to physician-assisted suicide,” others may follow
Will a legislative study put Massachusetts on the path to single-payer? Supporters head to Beacon Hill to push for it.
Tucked inside the health care bill passed by the state Senate is a provision to study the possibility of a single-payer health care system. The bill's cost control measures are getting all the attention. From the Globe: The 100-page bill attempts to help struggling community hospitals by setting a floor for the reimbursements they receive from … Continue reading Will a legislative study put Massachusetts on the path to single-payer? Supporters head to Beacon Hill to push for it.
BHN reports: Push for single-payer lives on in Massachusetts
With the ACA under constant fire, it’s easy to think that single payer is off the table. Try getting that through Congress. Still, seems, here in Massachusetts, single payer supporters are not ready to give up. On Wednesday night, Mass-Care invited former CMS director and gubernatorial candidate Don Berwick to a meeting on “What can … Continue reading BHN reports: Push for single-payer lives on in Massachusetts
Compare Massachusetts doctors via quality reports and patient feedback
Searching for health care services on the Internet can be like searching info about food, hotels or pets. You have to sort through a lot of low quality or scraped sites that don't offer much. Healthcare Compass looks like a good destination for Bay Staters. On this website, there are two different ways to compare … Continue reading Compare Massachusetts doctors via quality reports and patient feedback
#Medicare boss Berwick for Massachusetts governor? Changing what makes sense #hcr #mapoli
Sure sounds like it from the Globe story. Berwick, a Newton pediatrician and longtime Harvard faculty ...has been contemplating a run for the past two or three months, meeting with 40 or 50 people, including political veterans and consultants. ...“I’m strongly considering it,” said Berwick, whose interest in the office was first reported by State … Continue reading #Medicare boss Berwick for Massachusetts governor? Changing what makes sense #hcr #mapoli
Boston Health News 