A panel of healthcare leaders convened to speak in response to data from Governor Deval Patrick’s administration and Attorney General Martha Coakley’s staff, which showed high prices paid to healthcare providers with market power are contributing to increasing healthcare costs.
The only individual who did not support governmental controls on healthcare prices was Gary Gottlieb, MD, chief executive of Partners HealthCare in Boston. Those who did support government control believe temporary regulation could balance how much healthcare providers are being paid.
Andrei Soran, chief executive of MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Mass., is one of the hospital leaders who voiced support for temporary government controls. He raised questions about how underpaid hospitals like MetroWest would stack up against highly compensated hospitals in recruiting physicians and attracting patients, according to the news report.
Partners HealthCare, which includes Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has some of the highest healthcare costs. “I cannot speak to price variation very well,” Dr. Gottlieb said in the report. “We don’t focus on other people’s negotiations, we focus on how we can achieve our mission.”
Read the news report about healthcare prices in Massachusetts.
Related Articles on Healthcare Costs:
Massachusetts Attorney General Recommends Caps on Hospital, Physician Prices
Wide Variation in Service Price Between Hospitals Despite Similar Quality
As Employee Medical Costs Rise, Hospitals Expected to Increase Transparency
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