Saturday, January 11, 2025

Senator Rausch Makes Important Additions to Health Care Cost Containment Legislation

Today (Jan 8, 2025), State Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) joined legislative colleagues, health advocates, and members of the administration as Governor Maura Healey signed into law a pair of critical health care cost control bills, one aimed at pharmaceuticals and the other providing major health care sector oversight to protect Massachusetts residents from soaring health care costs. 

The laws respond directly to the Steward Health Care collapse and will offer patients financial relief by capping the prices of certain drugs, erecting guardrails against private equity in health care, and giving the Attorney General and state health regulators more oversight authority.  

"This health care cost containment legislation will help hundreds of thousands of Bay Staters avoid the stress and uncertainty of rapidly rising health care costs," said Senator Becca Rausch, lead sponsor of several bills included in the final package. "More than 40% of Massachusetts residents have trouble paying for health care for themselves or their families. That is unacceptable. The strong oversight and reporting measures signed into law today will improve affordability and accessibility to Massachusetts' world-class health care. I'm so proud that my legislation to give the Health Policy Commission more tools in its cost oversight toolkit was part and parcel of this package. I am truly grateful to Senate President Karen Spilka, Senator Cindy Friedman, and our partners in the House for persevering on this legislation until it crossed the finish line, and to Governor Healey for signing these two bills into law."  

The Health Policy Commission (HPC) is an independent state agency that monitors health care spending growth annually and sets a reasonable target for that growth. Senator Rausch's language allows HPC to exercise its oversight authority if a provider's total health care expenditures grow at a faster rate than the benchmark and streamlines the oversight of providers who significantly expand their scope of care. Providers will have to issue advance notice of material changes, including mergers and acquisitions, so HPC can assess whether they may substantially impact health care spending.  

Additionally, the suite of bills that became law today expand the scope of data collection and public review of health care and related transactions by regulators, increase visibility and accountability for transactions involving private owners of health care resources, enhance data sharing requirements to improve transparency around health care entities and their ownership, and begins the process of improving access to primary care statewide. Today's legislation reemphasizes the Commonwealth's commitment to prioritizing patients over profits. 

Gov Healey "signed two bills to cut prescription drug costs and make sure patients always come before profit"
Gov Healey "signed two bills to cut prescription drug costs and make sure patients always come before profit"

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