Monthly Archives: December 2008

A Healthy Exception to the Bad Revenue News

Posted on December 30, 2008 by

Today Governor Patrick announced that continued revenue declines will mean more midyear budget cuts. As much as $1 billion in further cuts may be needed. “There’s a lot of pain, and it’s going to have to be spread around,” Patrick … Continue reading →

Posted in MA Health Reform, Public Health | 2 Comments

E-Health Success Story in Wisconsin

Posted on December 30, 2008 by

With a national focus on e-health as a piece of the national health reform puzzle, and President-elect Obama looking to spend $50 billion on the adoption of e-health technology, the New York Times Business section featured an article this past … Continue reading →

Posted in E-health | Leave a comment

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

Posted on December 30, 2008 by

The season of giving is almost over and there’s only one day left to donate to HCFA in 2008. We, like others in these difficult economic times, are struggling to meet our fundraising goals. In order to continue the important … Continue reading →

Posted in HCFA | 2 Comments

Marcia Angell: Call it Corruption

Posted on December 29, 2008 by

Former NEJM editor Marcia Angell lays out the whole range of pharma industry control over medicine in a review, Drug Companies & Doctors: A Story of Corruption in the New York Review of Books. Angell’s conclusions bear directly on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Prescription Drug Reform | 3 Comments

MAHP Falls Into The Trap: The Mandated Benefits Fallacy, Yet Again Again

Posted on December 24, 2008 by

We promised we would never let this false information go unanswered. Once again, someone has misused the DHCFP study on the cost of mandated health insurance benefits in Massachusetts to make the false claim that mandated benefits add up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare Cost Control | 3 Comments

DOR Uninsurance Data Shows (Again) Who’s Covered and Who’s Not

Posted on December 23, 2008 by

Yesterday afternoon, the Department of Revenue (DOR) released their draft penalty guidelines for the uninsured in 2009 as well as an updated report on insurance mandate compliance in 2007.  Click here for the press release, here for the draft penalties … Continue reading →

Posted in MA Health Reform | 2 Comments

Drug Industry Payment Disclosure Certified as Cost-Saving

Posted on December 23, 2008 by

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan gold standard in evaluating the economic impact of policy change, has determined that requiring disclosure of drug industry payments to physicians will lead to lower health costs. Throughout our long night of July … Continue reading →

Posted in Prescription Drug Reform | 3 Comments

Fourth Annual Oral Health Heroes Event

Posted on December 23, 2008 by

A celebration in honor of legislators and community leaders committed to improving the state of oral health in Massachusetts. Sponsored by Watch Your Mouth Massachusetts and the Legislative Oral Health Caucus. Contact Czarina Biton at biton@hcfma.org for more information or … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Feds Approve Massachusetts Medicaid Waiver

Posted on December 22, 2008 by

This is it – no more short term extensions. This morning federal CMS officials and the Commonwealth reached agreement on a 3-year MassHealth waiver. You can read the official documents here (big pdf). According to EOHHS, the agreement includes all … Continue reading →

Posted in MA Health Reform | 1 Comment

Health, Housing and Hunger: The Building Blocks of Childhood Success

Posted on December 22, 2008 by

In January, the Legislature will start a new session and will welcome 21 new members of the House and Senate. This moment offers a unique opportunity for many advocates to educate the new members, as well as some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Health | Leave a comment