Gov. unveils health care payment reform plan

Thanks to the state’s sweeping health care reform in 2006, Massachusetts leads the nation in insured residents, with 98 percent of residents – and 99 percent of children – covered.

Now, Gov. Deval Patrick has filed legislation that would change the way patients are cared for and the way doctors and hospitals are paid for that care.

The governor’s plan would switch the health care payment system from the current fee-for-service model to a global payments system. Under the new model, doctors would be paid a set amount per patient and would be rewarded for healthy outcomes rather than the volume of care they provide.

To make global payments work, the governor’s plan calls for “accountable care organizations” – integrated teams of doctors working together to control costs for the patient.

The bill includes stronger regulatory authority for the Division of Insurance to review contracts between insurers and providers, and continued oversight authority for the attorney general’s office.

“All that we’re hearing about current trends in the health care industry underscores the need for urgent action to control skyrocketing costs,” Gov. Patrick said in a statement on July 27 after testifying at a hearing held by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy on cost containment efforts. “Our bill will make significant strides in helping to achieve needed relief for families and businesses paying far too much for health care. But we need action, and we need it now.”

Gov. Patrick’s bill is before the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, which has held hearings in Boston, Worcester, Salem, Pittsfield, and Sandwich. More work is expected in the Legislature this fall.