Health care reform bill offers many hidden changes
May 7, 2010
The new health care reform law doesn’t just provide for universal health care - it also includes various other provisions relevant to physicians and hospitals. Read more
Physician practices scramble to comply with new privacy reg
May 7, 2010
Physicians in many small practices are still struggling to comply with Massachusetts’ sweeping new data privacy regulation that went into effect on March 1 – and many doctors aren’t even aware of the changes. Read more
Massachusetts joins lawsuit against J&J
April 30, 2010
Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office has joined a federal lawsuit that contends that Johnson & Johnson paid tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks to get its drugs, especially the powerful antipsychotic Risperdal, prescribed in nursing homes, according to The Boston Globe.
The action was taken as Coakley’s office disclosed that it is also scrutinizing companies that market antipsychotics to Massachusetts nursing homes. These drugs are widely used in some homes to treat residents suffering from dementia.
Antipsychotics are approved to treat people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, but it is legal for physicians to prescribe them “off label” to treat people with dementia. Pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing or promoting off-label uses of their products.
Doctor offers reform ideas to lawmakers
April 30, 2010
State policy makers should consider setting rates for medical services to counteract the dominance of certain hospitals, a prominent doctor told state policymakers at a hearing organized by the Patrick administration and Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office. Read more
Health insurers sue state over rate caps
April 30, 2010
The Patrick administration and the state’s leading health insurers are facing off in court over an attempt to cap small business premium growth.
Six leading companies sued the Division of Insurance, alleging that its decision to reject the bulk of premium increases that were to have taken effect April 1 was arbitrary and will affect their bottom line.
The administration says the insurers did not justify increases ranging from 8 to 32 percent. Gov. Deval L. Patrick says the hikes are keeping small businessmen from adding jobs critical to the state’s economic recovery.
The insurers contend that capping their rates without any change in the charges made by doctors and other medical providers could cause them to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Stephen E. Neel denied an injunction sought by the insurers in early April, upholding the state’s rejection of 235 proposed rate hikes; however, the insurers’ suit against Insurance Commissioner Joseph G. Murphy will go forward.
Neel agreed with the state that the insurers should appeal Murphy’s decision within the insurance division before bringing their fight to the courts.
All six of the insurers who saw rates rejected received letters threatening them with fines if they failed to revise their premium rates by April 16. At press time, two of those insurers, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Fallon Community Health Plan, reportedly had yet to comply.
Health care reform bill offers many hidden changes
April 30, 2010
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The new health care reform law doesn’t just provide for universal health care - it also includes various other provisions relevant to physicians and hospitals. Read more
Obama plan shows gap in children’s coverage
April 30, 2010
President Barack Obama’s top health care official has put health insurers on notice that the new health overhaul law requires them to cover children with medical problems, trying to dispel uncertainty over a much-publicized benefit. Read more
FDA announces tobacco restrictions
April 30, 2010
The Food and Drug Administration has announced regulations that ban the sale and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to individuals younger than 18. Read more
Drug makers to report payments to doctors
April 30, 2010
Disclosure of financial ties between doctors and drug companies will be universally mandated in the physician payment provisions passed as part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform measure. Read more
Law ends restrictions to mental health care
April 30, 2010
A federal law designed to guarantee parity in mental health insurance coverage has sparked a heated debate between business leaders and mental health advocates. Read more
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