Those who expected the state with the first-in-the-nation initiative to cover the health care of all of its citizenry will have to hold their collective breaths a little longer. The plans for an overhaul on how physicians and hospitals are paid for quality delivery are on hold as major parties cannot come to an agreement on how this metric should be implemented. Perhaps the thought of examining Massachusetts’ negotiated payment system as a relatively straightforward exercise in healthcare economics was a bit shortsighted.

Combine the complexities of fee-for-service government reimbursements with the intricacies of funding for coordinated care systems; the possibilities of funding an accountable care commission of sorts as a payment governing body; and the simple inertia that current levels of healthcare spending have created in a wasteful state system — and you’ve got a recipe for an overwhelming stalemate. There is a glimmer of hope that one faction’s action will get the legislative ball rolling on this issue: some hospital systems in the state plan to release details on the creation of governance to oversee spending in their ranks. | LINK

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