Massachusetts’ House and Senate yesterday passed a health care cost control bill that will limit the state’s spending on healthcare to grow only has fast as the state’s overall economy, reports the Associated Press.
The bill would save $200 billion over the next 15 years for the state and would help in establishing “accountable care organizations,” (ACOs) that take more efficient approaches to medicine, medical records and health testing, according to AP. Grants tallying $135 million are also included in the bill to aid in the implementation of electronic health record systems.
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick considers health care in the home a viable implication of changes the bill is expected to create, according to a Boston Globe article. “But if those changes mean we get lower-cost and higher-quality care because care is being delivered in different settings—in homes, for example, in neighborhoods, in communities, rather than in hospitals—then I think that’s something we all ought to strive for and will strive for,” said Deval.
Deval does not foresee the bill, if implemented, to create any job layoffs or hospital closures in the healthcare industry, according to the Boston Globe article.
Read the full Associated Press article here.
Read the full Boston Globe article here.
Written by Erin Hegarty
