Patrick intensifies state's push to curb soaring health premiums [Mass.]

Boston Globe ^ | January 6, 2009 | Marcella Bombardieri

[Lorianne]

Governor Deval Patrick yesterday accelerated his administration's efforts to control spiraling statewide healthcare costs, warning that rising premiums threaten to crush families and businesses and doom Massachusetts' groundbreaking experiment with universal insurance.

Patrick said officials are considering using state insurance regulations to block excessive healthcare premiums. He is also summoning leaders of insurance and hospital companies for meetings as soon as this week to ask for their "vigorous cooperation."

In response to stories by the Globe's Spotlight Team about the role of Partners HealthCare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in driving up costs, Patrick convened a panel of senior administration figures yesterday to coordinate new and existing state cost containment efforts, which he said should produce action by summer. He also said he expects to file new legislation.

"The increases at this rate over time [are] just not sustainable, not for families, not to business, not for government," Patrick said at a news conference after the summit.

Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan also said he wants providers and insurers to delay signing new contracts until the administration has implemented new, as-yet-undetermined policies to limit premiums.

The Spotlight Team has reported, quoting officials directly involved in the negotiations, that the leaders of Partners and Blue Cross made a deal in 2000 in which Blue Cross significantly boosted its payments to Partners in exchange for Partners' insistence that all other insurers pay at least as much for the care of their members by Partners doctors. That prevented insurance companies from competing on price, and helped to drive up consumer prices statewide. Individual insurance premiums in Massachusetts have risen nearly 9 percent a year since 2000, twice the annual rate increase of the late 1990s.

[Lorianne]

Hey Boston Globe: Health Care __ Health Insurance ___ Not the same thing.

[EternalVigilance]

RomneyCare. The greatest thing since the bubonic plague!

[eclecticEel]

And still I’m sure Boston is full of idiotic voters that want national health care.

[Darkwolf377]

And still I’m sure Boston is full of idiotic voters that want national health care.

I live there. It is.

[goodnesswins]

GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF HEALTHCARE!!!! Then the costs will go down. Middlemen always have to take their cut.

[2CAVTrooper]

Well if they want to get healthcare costs under control they have to

1.) Stop all the BS lawsuits.

2.) Bill the home countries of the damn illegals that are bleeding our healthcare system dry if said illegals can’t pay for their own care.

[BAW]

Hint to Massachusetts: universal health care isn’t working.

[aquila48]

“Governor Deval Patrick yesterday accelerated his administration’s efforts to control spiraling statewide healthcare costs, warning that rising premiums threaten to crush families and businesses and doom Massachusetts’ groundbreaking experiment with universal insurance. “

That’s what happens when you flunk econ 101.

[FoxInSocks]

He is also summoning leaders of insurance and hospital companies for meetings as soon as this week to ask for their "vigorous cooperation."

Is that another way of reporting that the governor wants insurers and providers to work for free?

I hope people take notice of this debacle and keep this ridiculous idea off of the national stage. It's not like socialized medicine hasn't been tried before. These elitists always think that they can make it work -- one word: FAIL.

[taildragger]

So the Gov. is going to try to strong arm cost containment.....

Hmm my guess is next they will start stripping what is covered and will morph into the Canadian model.

They ought to just farm it out to the Canadians and be done with it, since both systems suck and are failures, they might as well suck a little less by outsourcing.

[citizen]

I’m sure Partners HealthCare owners are getting rich.

But everybody does it. My doctor seems intent on sending me to this or that specialist every couple of months or so, saying some enzyme or other thing is a “little off” following the bloodwork. The reason is usually along the lines of “Well, we just want to make sure.”

I’m really getting tired of these unncessary tests.

[Diogenesis]

RINO GOP-Backstabber Romney installing HillaryCARE=RomneyCARE
without a single citizen's vote (called the "Dictator Romney Way"):
Romney: "I have given you Dems both HillaryCARE and gay marriage.
Anything else you want -- without a vote, of course (wink, wink)?