Catalyst for Payment Reform

Massachusetts Slams the Breaks on Mass General’s Expansion Plans: Insights into the Value of State Health Policy Commissions

The State of Massachusetts made headlines when its Health Policy Commission (HPC) launched what the press called “a double-barreled attack” on Mass General Brigham’s expansion plans. In the first of its one-two punches, the HPC concluded that Mass General’s $2.3B plan was “not consistent with the Commonwealth’s goals for cost containment.” 

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Reference-based pricing: 3 models that cut health care cost inflation at its roots

Employers and consumers are eager for solutions that attack health care cost inflation at its root cause. One prominent strategy is using reference-based pricing (RBP) models that anchor commercial rates to Medicare, or some other rationalized external benchmark.  Like so many health care innovations, reference-based frameworks encompass multiple branching models, and as such the term “RBP” has come to mean different things to different stakeholders. 

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