Stuart Altman, Connie Horgan and Michael Doonan from Brandeis came to the state house this week to hold an informal discussion about health care cost control with legislators and staff.
Author Archives: Will Brownsberger
State financial outlook for 2012 and beyond
State revenues have dropped down to a new, lower trend line. We cannot expect to return to pre-recession spending levels.
Beyond probation
Reformers should be seeking to clean up arrangements that make weak agencies directly beholden to the legislature. The Turnpike Authority was one example. We’ve abolished it, but there are others that come to mind.
Recommending people for jobs
The question we will face over the next few months is: would the public be better served if legislators did not engage in job recommendations at all or did so only subject to limitations?
Why haven’t we achieved energy independence (and controlled climate change)?
Jon Stewart’s framing of this question is as powerful as it is amusing, although his answer is only more humor.
Next Steps in Health Care Reform
It isn’t clear that major state legislation is needed to advance experimentation with new health care cost-control models in Massachusetts. It may be primarily within the proper role of the executive branch to collaborate with federal Medicare and Medicaid administrators and move forward.