Massachusetts Health Care Most Costly In U.S., World, Report Says

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 28 Jun 2006 - 20:00 PDT

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Massachusetts has the "world's costliest health care," with average, per-person spending of more than $7,000 annually, according to a report by researchers at Boston University's School of Public Health, the Boston Globe reports. The researchers based their findings on a state-by-state analysis released by CMS last month that measured hospital, physician and other provider billings. According to CMS, per-person costs in Massachusetts in 2004 were $7,075, compared with a national average of $5,313. The BU researchers compared CMS' findings to health care costs elsewhere in the world and determined that Massachusetts' health care was the world's most expensive. Alan Sager, co-author of the study and a professor at BUSPH, said high spending in Massachusetts is caused by an overabundance of physicians and reliance on costly teaching hospitals. The report also said the state's plan to expand health coverage to uninsured residents could be jeopardized by high costs. State health officials said they could not comment on the report because they had not seen it and added that the new Massachusetts health care law includes pay-for-performance measures and also authorizes the creation of restricted provider networks to hold down costs. Joe Kirkpatrick, vice president of health care finance for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, said, "Massachusetts health care is not only the most expensive, it's the best." He added that Massachusetts hospitals are pursuing quality and cost-control initiatives. Massachusetts Medical Society President Kenneth Peele said it was misleading to say that the state has too many doctors because many of the state's 25,000 doctors do not practice medicine or practice infrequently. Peele said that doctors do not have enough incentives to hold down costs but that "[i]t is happening" (Rowland, Boston Globe, 6/22).

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