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Yesterday,
along with my colleagues in the Senate, I introduced the second phase
of health care reform for the Commonwealth. This legislation will make Massachusetts
a national leader in the statewide adoption of electronic medical
records and the first in the country to impose an outright ban on
pharmaceutical marketing gifts of any value.
The
Senate bill, An Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and
Efficiency in the Delivery of Quality Health Care, also addresses the
critical areas of primary care access, transparency and efficient use
of resources and technology to drive down escalating costs in our
health care system.
The
bill requires statewide adoption and compatibility of electronic
medical records by 2015, backed by a public commitment of $25 million a
year to accelerate the program. Physicians would have to show
competency in the technology for medical board registration. It also
sets a deadline of 2012 for statewide adoption of Computerized
Physician Order Entry systems (CPOE). After this date, the use of CPOE
would be required for hospital licensure.
These
initiatives will modernize the health care system, reduce waste and
inefficiencies, and most importantly, save lives.
The
gift-ban measure prohibits pharmaceutical agents from offering gifts
and physicians from accepting gifts of any kind. The ban extends to
physicians' staff and family members. The legislation allows
distribution of drug samples to doctors for the exclusive use of their
patients.
This
legislation represents a defining moment for the Commonwealth. These
efforts are crucial to the future vitality of our health care system
and our economy. This bill makes good on the promise I made in October
to propose bold measures to ensure the success of health care reform in
Massachusetts.
Other
highlights of the bill include:
·
An increase in the workforce capacity of nurses and
primary care physicians through loan forgiveness programs and expanded
enrollment at the state medical school. The bill also allows patients
to choose nurse practitioners as their primary care providers.
·
A public-hearing requirement for hospitals and insurance
companies to justify consumer costs and make cost-reduction
recommendations. The legislation also authorizes public review of any
insurance company submitting rate increases above 7 percent.
·
A statewide standard for uniform billing and coding among
health care providers and insurance companies to reduce operational
expenses of claims processing.
·
An enhanced "determination of need" process to
help maintain standards of quality and ensure the efficient and
equitable deployment of health care resources across the Commonwealth,
avoiding the costly duplication of services.
·
A Purchasing Reform initiative to coordinate public and
private "pay-for-performance" efforts to drive quality and
efficiency in the market.
·
Authorization of the Department of Insurance to
investigate the costs of medical malpractice coverage for health care
providers.
A
comprehensive summary of the legislation can be found at www.ThereseMurray.com. The
legislation can be found on www.mass.gov/legis.
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