ML Strategies Alert
June 7‚ 2012
MA House Passes Health Care Cost Containment Bill
By George K. Atanasov and Julie Cox
The Massachusetts House overwhelmingly
approved its version of legislation designed to cut the cost
of medical care, passing the measure 148-7 after a full day of
debate on June 5th. After it initially released a bill on May
4th (see our prior alert), House leadership,
including the original author, Representative Steven Walsh,
accepted feedback and recommendations from various
stakeholders. A minimally revised bill emerged from the House
Ways & Means Committee on May 30th and House legislators
then offered 275 amendments to that updated version.
One noteworthy provision included in the House
Ways & Means Committee redraft bill would double the
number of patients who can join an accountable care
organization to 800,000, a change that would provide some
relief for large networks. The redraft also places the
independent authority that would set guidelines and monitor
compliance envisioned in the original legislation under the
Executive Office of Health and Human Services. House leaders
say the bill will save our state health care system $160
billion over the next 15 years.
This week the House disposed of all 275
amendments in one day of debate but did not make significant
changes to the provisions proposed in the original bill.
- Rejection of an amendment that would have eliminated the
mandate in the bill that capped medical spending at a rate
below the gross state product;
- Rejection of amendments that would have expanded the
excise tax on cigarettes to other tobacco products, and
eliminated the sales tax exemption on soda;
- Adoption of an amendment that would require accountable
care organizations to serve children with specialty care
needs;
- Rejection of amendments that would have eliminated the
so-called luxury tax and the surcharge on providers and
insurers;
- Adoption of an amendment that would have allowed small
businesses to reduce their fair share assessments by
excluding employees who have qualifying coverage from a
spouse, parent, veteransf plan, Medicare or Medicaid;
- Adoption of an amendment that includes accountable care
organization in the listed entities, as it pertains to
unfair methods of competition;
- Rejection of an amendment that would have required
health plans to offer a basic health plan devoid of coverage
mandates; and
- Rejection of an amendment that would have created a task
force to review health care executivesf compensation and
bonuses.
The House and Senate bills (see our previous House and Senate alert)
contain key differences, most notably over how much discretion
and control the health care industry itself may have to
contain costs. The House favors more oversight, albeit with a
limited number of appointed boards, whereas the Senate
approach allows for more leeway in the development of
solutions to reduce and control costs but arguably creates
more bureaucracy to monitor it. Senate President Therese
Murray has also been clear that she will not support a luxury
tax on hospitals.
The House and Senate will appoint a six member
conference committee in the coming days to negotiate these
legislative differences. Ultimately, the House and Senate must
give an up-or-down vote on the conference committeefs report
and deliver that final product to Governor Patrick prior to
the conclusion of the current legislative session on July
31st.
ML Strategies will monitor the work of the
conference committee and provide updates as the legislation
progresses.
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Please click on the links below to see copies
of the House and Senate bills.
Copyright © 2012 ML Strategies.