MCC PUBLIC HEARING SET FOR SEPTEMBER 9TH AT GARDNER AUDITORIUM at 10:00 a.m.
The Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (DHCFP) had reported to the Legislature this past July, a Comprehensive Review of Mandated Benefits in Massachusetts, addressing concerns that regular reviews of mandates would help reduce unnecessary costs while maintaing medical efficacy and a high standard of care. This position would also be in line with the Senate President's Health Care Cost Control bill (S-2863). Registration for speakers is set for 9:30 a.m. on September 9, 2008.

MENTAL HEALTH PARITY BILL ON GOVERNOR'S DESK (S 2840)
MassAHU's lobbying efforts, as part of the Coalition for Affordable Health Care, resulted in the Senate adopting a compromise version of the House bill that addressed mental health parity.  Instead of the House version, that would have required unlimited coverage for all mental health conditions such as religious or spiritual problems, caffeine induced sleep disorder and disorders of written expression, the Senate's bill added the following:

• Autism
• eating disorders
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• substance abuse
  

These additional diagnoses were added to the current list of serious mental health illnesses that receive unlimited coverage under the current Mental Health Parity Law.  The House concurred with the Senate's version of the bill.   This was a major victory in light of the potential impact that the original bill could have had on the cost of health care in the Commonwealth.

HEALTH CARE COST CONTROL ON GOVERNOR'S DESK (S 2863)
Senate President Therese Murray’s health care cost containment bill was among the few bills that received House and Senate final approval. This legislation creates:

• A special commission to look at a possible future overhaul of the current payment system to provide incentives for more efficient care
• Creates a loan forgiveness program and other incentives to entice doctors and nurses to practice in underserved areas and requires public hearings each year on cost drivers
• Contains disclosure requirements on gifts provided to doctors by the pharmaceutical industry, a compromise between a tough gift ban advocated for in the Senate and the lack of a gift ban in the House version.
• Encourage doctors to go into primary care, helping to treat patients more effectively before they end up in the emergency room for expensive procedures.
• Requires doctors to implement electronic medical record keeping, described by lawmakers as a move to curtail medical errors and improve efficiency.