BBA RELIEF
In mid-September, Partners President and CEO, Samuel Thier, MD, and Partners trustee Edward Lawrence participated in the AAMC’s trustee advocacy day in Washington. They met with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Pete Domenici’s (R-NM) chief of staff, White House health advisor Chris Jennings and OMB Director Jack Lew. There is a strong consensus for BBA relief this year, although there is concern that only one year of help will be proposed. The difference between a one-year and a two-year inflation update is significant. According to AHA, that second year is worth almost $100 million to Massachusetts hospitals over five years. Another problem that may be holding up action on the BBA relief package is a dispute between the two House committees that share jurisdiction over the Medicare program and have different ideas about how to spend the relief money.
HCFA DELAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVIDER-BASED REGULATIONS
In September, HCFA announced a three-month delay in the effective date and a phased implementation of the regulations that limit the circumstances under which a physician practice may be reimbursed using a hospital’s outpatient department rates. Additional education sessions, including a “town hall” meeting and answers to frequently asked questions are planned in the interim.
IN MASSACHUSETTS
• Health Data Available Via the Internet
Attorney General Tom Reilly, Governor Paul Cellucci and University of Massachusetts President William Bulger have announced the creation of the health benchmarks project, a cooperative effort to offer a wide range of online information about hospitals, HMO's, and nursing homes to the public and to health care experts. The initiative is a partnership of the Attorney General's Office, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the McCormack Institute at UMass Boston. It will identify and regularly publish “agreed upon facts” measuring the condition of the state's health care system, identifying critical indicators, and tracking trends in six categories including financial condition, system capacity, demand and access, public health, consumer information, public attitudes and demography. Although it is not yet clear what information will be included, it will begin to be available to the public in January by clicking “Rx” on the state's web site.
• Opposition to State Ballot Questions 4 and 6
On September 28th, the MHA joined other health care provider groups at a press conference announcing its opposition to ballot questions that would reduce state tax revenues and thereby diminish the resources available for solving the state’s health care problems. If approved, the ballot questions would cut the income tax and offer toll and excise tax rebates, reducing state revenues by $1.7 billion over three years.
• Medicare HMO Action Plan Unveiled
The Cellucci administration is touting a new action plan to respond to thousands of senior citizens that are coping with sudden rate increases and the withdrawal of their HMOs from the Medicare program. The plan involves expanded counseling, 44 HMO “withdrawal forums” statewide and a required open enrollment period for Medicare supplemental insurers that will run from October 1 to December 15.
• Worth noting
At a forum sponsored by HFMA and the MHA, Attorney General Reilly previewed the new health care data base the state is developing, praised the MHA and the hospital industry for its cooperation throughout the Harvard Pilgrim merger discussions and pledged to play a positive role in resolving problems facing hospitals, including diminished Medicare funding and Medicaid reimbursements at below cost. Partners COO Tom Glynn also participated, serving on a panel assessing the success of integrated delivery systems.