Cost Containment Is Next Fight In Health Care, Patrick Says
During a tour of Milford Regional Medical Center on Tuesday, Gov. Deval Patrick said his next priority in health care reform is to control costs, but he offered few details on how he hopes to accomplish the goal.
"There is no one solution," Patrick said.
The governor made three stops in Milford, touring life sciences company Ipsen Biomeasure, then traveling to the medical center to tour that facility. Later in the evening Patrick held a question-and-answer forum with Milford residents.
Patrick recently filed legislation to contain health care costs. While Patrick did not want to discuss details of his plan yesterday, he said one goal is to move away from a fee-for-service model of payment and toward alternative options. Under fee for service, doctors and hospitals are paid based on how many services they provide. Alternative methods, such as global payment systems, give doctors an annual budget to provide care to a patient. Read about the legislation here.
The goal of the legislation is to establish a framework, Patrick said, which would allow doctors and physician groups to accomplish their own goals as well.
Also on the tour was State Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, who is chairman of the health care finance committee on Beacon Hill. Moore said there are duplications in the health care system that could be removed to create efficiencies. New technologies, like increased use of electronic medical records, could also help save money.
Moore said he expects to sponsor the legislation when it is discussed in earnest this fall.
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