Gov. Patrick calls healthcare a 'central issue' in Massachusetts
Containing healthcare costs and improving the quality of care are among the state’s top priorities said Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick at the Massachusetts Medical Society’s State of the State’s Health Care 13th Annual Leadership Forum in Waltham, Mass. on Oct. 18.
“In my six years in office, healthcare has been a central issue,” said Patrick. “Given the significance of healthcare in every aspect of our lives, I think we are right to pay attention to healthcare.”
Patrick noted that 96 percent of adults and nearly 99 percent of children in Massachusetts have health insurance coverage, thanks in large part to the health reform legislation passed in the state in 2006 by then Gov. Mitt Romney.
“While the national trend was moving in the opposite direction, we increased (insurance) coverage by 400,000 people,” said Patrick.
“We started with the belief that healthcare is a public good … and built a coalition to come together to pass, or invent, this landmark (legislation),” added Patrick. “I am proud that it has served as a model for healthcare reform for the whole country.”
One challenge that was intentionally put off at the time that the 2006 health law was passed was the rising cost of care, said Patrick. Although he says it is now time to confront skyrocketing healthcare prices, he denies that the increase in cost is due to the law.
“Some of the conservative commentators I listen to want you to believe this (increase) is because of the reform, but this is not the case,” said Patrick. “Spending on healthcare makes up 18 percent of all spending in the U.S. … Working families are being squeezed by the cost of healthcare. The problem predates healthcare reform and is unrelated.”
To address the escalating cost of care, Patrick believes the state’s medical community and legislators need to focus on reducing the cost of defensive medicine, preventing medical errors and driving down administrative costs.
Patrick also advocates a move away from a fee-for-service payment model to one that rewards positive outcomes.
“The fee-for-service model creates financial incentives for quantity of care, not necessarily quality of care,” he said. “There is no financial incentive in the current system for good care, only for more care ... That has to change. It was and still is critical that the industry be accountable for reaching these goals.”
[See also: Massachusetts' physicians concerned with shortages, recruitment, working environment]
