Today’s QCC meeting consisted mostly of a discussion about the $700,000 cut to the QCC’s budget and a proposal for continuing the QCC’s work with the reduced budget. Read Secretary Bigby’s memo to the Council outlining the proposed changes. The proposal was approved today by the Council (with Charlie Baker and Greg Sullivan voting against the proposal) and will go into effect immediately. All current QCC staff will be laid off, with core staff maintained through the launch of the cost and quality website. A Council Coordinator will be hired through the Department of Healthcare Finance and Policy to coordinate the work of the Council and its committees, interact with the public around the Council’s work, etc. Otherwise, existing staff at DHCFP and DPH will staff the work of the Council, with DHCFP taking the lead on the website and the development and implementation of the roadmap to cost containment and DPH taking the lead with the committees (Patient Safety, End of Life, and Chronic Care).
There was much discussion about the proposal and what it means for the QCC and its independence. Charlie Baker suggested that the QCC be disbanded because he believes it will no longer be an independent entity if it is transferred to an agency of the Secretariat. Dolores Mitchell responded by saying that they should give it some time and see whether or not the new structure works well. A number of QCC members expressed their disappointment in the large budget cut and were concerned about the impact of relying on already stretched employees at DHCFP and DPH to carry out the QCC’s plans to work on cost containment and quality improvement, while others felt that perhaps the work on cost containment will now begin under DHCFP since the bulk of the work thus far has been focused on the website. We hope that the latter is true and that the new structure will enable the QCC to take its work on cost and quality to a new level.
The QCC is holding a public hearing this Monday to gather comments on its website reporting plan. Members of the public are invited to testify in person on Monday and/or submit written testimony. Read more about the hearing and the reporting plan on the QCC’s website.
Deborah W. Wachenheim
Health Quality Manager
