Thursday, July 5, 2018
Healthare Access, Quality And Costs
Health care represents an increasing area of spending across all levels of government. This holds true in Massachusetts as well. Today, as part of my efforts as a member of the House-Senate Healthcare Conference Committee I met with Dr. Roberta Herman the Executive Director of the Group Insurance Commission.
The Commission is very important to these proceedings as they provide health coverage to more than 430,000 people with a budget of $2 billion. Our discussions also included Michael Berry, GIC’s Director of Legislative Affair as we explored options to secure increases in quality and decreases pressures in the growing costs of healthcare.
Massachusetts has been a pioneer throughout our history in advancing public health across the spectrum - from innovations in healthcare methods such as technology and pharmaceutical development and medical research to nation-leading public policies that promote good health and prevent disease and illness. Health care cost, access, and quality issues have such dramatic impacts on budgets both private and public that we need to explore every feasible option to address them.
