House Passes Bill to Cut Health Care Costs

This week, I voted in support of comprehensive legislation addressing the growing cost of health care. The Massachusetts House of Representatives also adopted my amendment to the bill aimed at promoting women’s health by streamlining payments for routine physical examinations.

The House bill uses a multifaceted approach to reduce health care costs while still allowing the state’s world-renowned health care system to thrive.

As the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business, I have heard over and over again how the mounting health care costs are burdening our small businesses and stretching our families’ tight budgets. Massachusetts led the way in making sure every resident has access to affordable, comprehensive health coverage, and I am proud to be a part of our effort to lead the way on health care cost containment. The House bill presents a thoughtful approach to reducing costs while still maintaining high quality care.

The legislation provides patients with the tools they need to make informed health care decisions. Under the bill, consumers will gain access to detailed comparative price and quality information and will receive important information from providers about services and payment. This legislation provides further support to patients by allowing patients and providers to voluntarily join an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). It also ensures that the ACO providers help make decisions on their health care needs, including long-term care and supports like home care, nursing home care, and palliative care.

The House bill focuses on reducing costs through a number of measures, including promoting health information technology and the use of electronic health records. The bill reduces medical spending by setting a target for health care spending that will grow less rapidly than the state economy. It also requires high-cost providers to show quality or unique service in order to justify their higher prices and creates a one-time assessment on the payers and providers with more than $1 billion in reserves to protect our community hospitals through a Distressed Hospital Fund.

I successfully pushed for inclusion of an amendment promoting women’s health. Previously filed as a bill, the amendment requires that health insurers pay health care providers for certain routine preventive screenings for women, such as pap smears and breast exams, even if those screenings are provided on the same day as the patient’s annual physical or another medical appointment. This encourages preventative medicine and increases access to these critical exams. The House bill will now go to a conference committee where it will be reconciled with a version of the bill passed in the Massachusetts State Senate last month.