All Publications

Benefits of Slower Health Care Cost Growth for Massachusetts Employees and Employers

This report by Jonathan Gruber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology models the potential benefits to the economy if health care costs were to grow more slowly than projected. In the face of rising health insurance costs, studies find, employers tend to reduce or blunt the rise of employee wages as well as offer less generous insurance coverage. But employers cannot pass along all the increased costs of health insurance as decreased wages and benefits. Any additional costs must be offset either by cutting jobs or by accepting lower business profits.

The Interactive Guide to Chapter 288

An online, interactive guide to Chapter 288 of the Acts of 2010, Massachusetts' most recent health care cost containment law. This online tool includes full, up-to-date text, section-by-section summaries and links to relevant reports, commissions, state agencies and final regulations.

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The Governor's House 2 Budget Proposal for FY2013

This budget brief describing the Governor's Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) budget proposal for MassHealth (Medicaid) and other health care programs is the first in a series of fact sheets that will be published by the Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute (MMPI) and produced by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center in partnership with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. MMPI will be publishing budget fact sheets at each stage in the FY 2013 budget process, as budget proposals move through the legislature.

Stabilizing MassHealth Funding: Options to Break the Recurring Cycle of Expansion and Contraction

Stabilizing MassHealth Funding: Options to Break the Recurring Cycle of Expansion and Contraction, written by Beth Waldman of Bailit Health Purchasing, Robert Seifert of the Center for Health Law and Economics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Kate Nordahl of MMPI, discusses the challenges and implications of the counter-cyclical nature of the Medicaid program and options to reduce the reactive swings in MassHealth funding and scope of services that can come with downturns in the economy.

Health Reform in Massachusetts: An Update as of Fall 2010

This report is the latest in a series by the Urban Institute analyzing the impact of the Massachusetts health reform law. Findings show that despite the state's economic recession Massachusetts has maintained record low levels of uninsured and access to needed health care has improved. This report is based on the 2010 Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS), which has tracked the impact of the law annually since 2006.

Innovations in Medicaid: Considerations for MassHealth

Report summarizing the results of a series of interviews conducted by the Center for Health Care Strategies with key Medicaid stakeholders from across the country on cutting-edge Medicaid strategies including: purchasing strategies to optimize delivery systems; payment strategies to leverage existing funds; integrated models of care to improve services for complex populations; and opportunities for improved organizational capacity.

Beyond Parity: Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder under Payment and Delivery System Reform in Massachusetts

This report by Colleen Barry of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health explores opportunities and issues around integrating behavioral health care and primary care under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and payment and delivery system reforms in Massachusetts. The report provides preliminary recommendations on how these major policy changes might be implemented with the goal of improving the coordination, quality and outcomes of mental health and addiction care in the Commonwealth.