Healthcare Financial, Inc. - Industry News and Updates

Senate Healthcare Access Bill

November 9, 2005

Senate President Robert E. Travaglini said Monday that Massachusetts "can't financially sustain the cost" of the House healthcare plan to cover 95% of the state's uninsured. In offering the Senate plan yesterday, Travaglini says the state should take incremental steps in expanding health insurance access. The Senate bill, offering health plans the flexibility to offer lower-cost insurance products, adds roughly 37,000 children to the Medicaid rolls and adds millions of dollars to boost Medicaid rates for hospitals, health centers and doctors.

As reported in the State House News, "Our intention was to cover less," said Sen. Richard Moore (D- Uxbridge), co-chairman of the Health Care Financing Committee. "This will take us to the next round . . . but we share the same goal of getting to universal coverage." Governor Romney called the payroll tax a "nonstarter."

The bill raises money by 1) assessing large employers who do not offer health insurance to their employees for the costs of any health care services used by their employees which are billed to the "free care" pool and 2) assessing employees who decline insurance coverage and then receive treatment paid for by the "free care" pool. Revenues from those assessments would be funneled into a reinsurance pool to cover catastrophic health care costs facing consumers enrolled in small group and non-group insurance plans, under the Senate bill.

Providers of Free Care services will be required to provide uninsured patients with a written notice of the criminal penalties for committing fraud in connection with the receipt of Free Care.

Other coverage expansions proposed:
* Raising the cap on the CommonHealth program by 1,600 for a maximum of 15,600
* Raising the cap on the Family Assistance HIV program by 250 for a maximum of 1,300
* Raising the cap on the Essential program by 16,000 to a maximum of 60,000

The cost of the bill is projected to be $114 million this fiscal year, and is funded by the state's rainy day fund. The plan would cost $48.5 million for fiscal 2007. In terms of the timing, "There was the impression that we were going to be concluded with our business by Nov. 16, and that just wasn't accurate," Travaglini said.

HFI expects that the process will move much slower than it has in the last few weeks and that a bill may not be on the governor's desk until 2006. Please feel free to e-mail any questions, comments or concerns. We will continue to update you as more information becomes available.

Back to Headlines

Senate Healthcare Access Bill

Questions or Comments?