Massachusetts lawmakers are debating a bill House and Senate negotiators say will save up to $200 billion in health care costs over the next 15 years.
In 2006, Massachusetts was the first state to pass a universal coverage law. With this bill, Massachusetts will become the first state in the nation to set a firm cap on its health care spending.
Sen. Richard Moore of Uxbridge is a lead author of the measure.
"With this bill we’ll continue the leadership of Massachusetts in the forefront of health care reform across the nation and will be a model other states will look to," he said. Those states might not directly copy the bill, he said, "because they have their own cultures and their own establishments and organizations … but they may find some inspiration and leadership in points of this bill."
The proposal would cap health care costs to grow at the same rate as the gross state product from 2013 to 2017. Then for the next 5 years, the growth rate would fall even lower. But there are no penalties in the bill for hospitals that don’t meet these spending targets.
The 340-page bill just came out of committee on the night of July 30 and is expected to be passed on July 31, the final day of the Legislative session.
