Recent bills in the state’s House and Senate sought to support struggling community hospitals by taxing larger systems and insurers. The proposals drew criticism from a number of key industry stakeholders. Though the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission exists to perform legislative reviews, there is no protocol forcing lawmakers to submit bills to this organization.
Dr. McDonough writes that state legislators should adopt the Congressional Budget Office’s model and perform analyses for all healthcare proposals to ensure people understand their potential effects.
“I suggest that in their adoption of joint rules for the 2019-20 legislative session, the House and Senate include that any major health legislation produced by either the House or Senate should be ‘scored’ by the Health Policy Commission,” Dr. McDonough writes. “Healthcare is deviously complex, important, costly, and notoriously prone to unintended consequences. A benchmark analysis would help legislators, the administration, interest groups, and citizens to understand the consequences of major system changes.”
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