Massachusetts is taking significant steps to lower healthcare costs, as announced by Governor Maura Healey. Key measures include:
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Investment in Primary Care: An executive order will increase MassHealth investment in primary care to 12% of total medical spending by 2028. Primary care currently constitutes 8.4% of MassHealth spending, emphasizing its importance in improving health outcomes and reducing emergency visits.
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Out-of-Network Services Standardization: The governor directed the commissioner of insurance to collaborate with insurers and providers to establish standard rates for out-of-network services, aiming to reduce costs passed on to patients.
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Addressing Patient Discharges: The administration plans to enhance care transitions for over 2,000 patients in hospitals waiting for discharge daily, including a standardized discharge form and updates to surrogate healthcare proxy laws.
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Ongoing Recommendations: The Health Care Affordability Working Group, commissioned earlier, will continue to explore other measures, including reducing prescription drug costs, targeting low-value care, improving data sharing, investing in the nursing workforce, and adjusting state employee health insurance.
The governor stressed the urgency of these initiatives in light of federal healthcare funding cuts, which complicate affordability efforts across the state.
