Monthly Archives: December 2009

Legislature Hears Dental Bill

Posted on December 16, 2009 by

Today the Joint Committee on Financial Services held a hearing for An Act to Include Fluoride Varnish Service in All Health Insurance Coverage in the Commonwealth (H. 1032 / S. 463). MassHealth began offering a fluoride varnish benefit through medical … Continue reading →

Posted in Oral Health | 3 Comments

QCC To Meet Wednesday

Posted on December 14, 2009 by

The Health Care Quality and Cost Council will be meeting on Wednesday, December 16, from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at 21st Floor, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston. The agenda includes: – Committee reports and discussion on A. Quality and Safety … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care Quality | Leave a comment

E.R. Policy Leads to Innovations for Reducing Wait Times

Posted on December 14, 2009 by

According to a Boston Globe article, wait times in emergency rooms have not increased as a result of a new Massachusetts policy that took effect earlier this year requiring hospitals to accept all ambulances rather than diverting them to other … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care Quality | Leave a comment

Suicide, Kids, and Mental Health

Posted on December 14, 2009 by

For the past two years, the Children’s Mental Health Campaign has held 19 forums on mental health needs of kids across the Commonwealth.  While each forum has been different, one statistic universally resonates with all audiences and brings home the … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Health, Children's Mental Health | 2 Comments

Data Mining Ban in National Health Reform?

Posted on December 14, 2009 by

Senators Kohl and Durbin introduced an amendment to the Senate health reform bill that would ban pharmaceutical data mining for marketing. (For a refresher, see this blog explaining data mining) As reported in the Associated Press, the sponsors of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Prescription Drug Reform | Leave a comment

More Reports, More Learning

Posted on December 13, 2009 by

Last week, the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy released two more reports. The FY 2009 Health Safety Net Annual Report (ppt) summarizes the activities of the HSN program (formerly the Uncompensated Care Pool) from October 2008-September 2009. The … Continue reading →

Posted in MA Health Reform | Leave a comment

Boston Public Health Commission’s Dr. Barbara Ferrer Speaks on Health Inequities

Posted on December 12, 2009 by

On Friday, Boston Public Health Commission Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer addressed the Health Law and Policy Forum sponsored by Health Law Advocates. In her presentation, “Taking Action to Eliminate Health Inequities,” Dr. Ferrer discussed the impact of racism on health … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Disparities | Leave a comment

Who is an Oral Health Hero? Find Out on Feb 25

Posted on December 11, 2009 by

The fifth annual Oral Health Heroes event (pdf) has been set for Thursday, February 25th! Please join us for a celebration in honor of legislators and community leaders committed to improving the state of oral health in Massachusetts. This year, … Continue reading →

Posted in Oral Health | Leave a comment

Keeping Coverage For the Unemployed

Posted on December 11, 2009 by

Michael Widmer of the Mass Taxpayers Foundation posted this week on WBUR’s Commonhealth calling for immediately moving unemployed people in the Medical Security Program (MSP) to Commonwealth Care, the Connector’s subsidized coverage program. He also called for ending the assessment … Continue reading →

Posted in MA Health Reform | 1 Comment

Connector Board Talks MCC, Small Group Market, and MCO Operations

Posted on December 11, 2009 by

The Connector Board met yesterday to discuss revised MCC regulations, an opportunity for the Connector to become more involved in the small group market, and an operational review of the CommCare MCOs. Materials from the meeting can be found here. … Continue reading →

Posted in MA Health Reform | 1 Comment