- Health Reform Suffers As Non-Profits Shut Down
Monday, January 04, 2010
One of the great strengths of the Massachusetts health reform effort has been recognition by the state and the health policy community that maximizing insurance coverage requires more than just expanding eligibility for public programs. Effective reform requires ongoing financial support for outreach and enrollment, ongoing assessment of health care disparities, and an eye toward the consumer experience on the ground to assure that high quality coverage and care are available to all.
- Welcome to Our New Website
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Welcome to the news website of the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute. Our goal in redesigning MassMedicaid.org was to make it easier for you to find information related to Medicaid policy in Massachusetts. Since 2003, MMPI has been producing independent and nonpartisan policy and research analysis related to Medicaid services and finances.
- Commonsense Solutions to the ER Problem
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The persistent use of emergency departments (ED) for non-emergency conditions is rooted in complex factors at the patient, provider, and organizational levels. Yet some of the solutions are elegant in their simplicity: evening hours at health clinics, making better use of physician extenders, and basic patient education. This is yet another lesson from the Bay State’s experience with near-universal health insurance coverage.
- Gubernatorial Doubts About Health Care Reform: Paranoia or Rational Thinking?
Monday, July 27, 2009
We are starting to see fractures in the national health reform coalition. Among the defectors are the nation’s governors, who weighed in on the plan last week during their annual summer meeting. It seems support for reform among this group is at best tepid. This is a shame. Health care reform, if done right, should appeal to most states’ top politicians. Meanwhile, backing from the nation’s governors is critical for the successful implementation of any reform plan that comes from Washington.
- The Long and the Short of the Long-Term Care Financing Crisis
Friday, January 30, 2009
In Massachusetts, just 32 percent of enrollees in MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, are elders and people with disabilities, yet these groups account for 63 percent of state Medicaid expenditures. The disproportionate share of costs is due, in part, to the expensive and labor-intensive long-term care needs required by many in both demographics. This includes assistance with Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. The former includes help with bathing, dressing, and getting in and out of bed, while the latter also includes help with preparing meals, paying bills, and managing medication. MMPI Executive Director Anya Rader Wallack authored this piece with Jean McGuire, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Disability Policy and Programs of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
- Next Up: Cost Control and Delivery System Reform
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Commonwealth is at a crossroads. In order to sustain the rising cost of health reform, we can pursue one of two strategies. The first would be “every payer for itself,” with Medicare, Medicaid, the Connector, and the private sector doing their bit to control spending for their chunk of the pie. The second would be the development of a more comprehensive and thoughtful approach that controls costs with an eye toward transforming our delivery system.
- Reaching the Outer Limits of Medicaid Demonstration Waivers
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Much good has come from the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law, and there have been a number of calls of late to use the Massachusetts plan as a model for national reform. The praise is well-deserved. That said, if Massachusetts is used as a model for national reform, there is one element we want very clearly to change – the requirement that coverage expansions be budget neutral under the terms of a Medicaid waiver.