Massachusetts lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick (D) legislated that per-capita healthcare cost increases fall at or below the state’s economic growth, expected to be 3.6 percent this year. However, three current market factors are building skepticism that costs can stay below that mark, according to the report.
Those factors include multiple major hospital mergers and affiliations, federal subsidies breaking the buying power of health insurance cooperatives and an anticipated 6 to 12 percent rise in the price and volume of medical services that could double or even quadruple the rate the state economy grows.
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