The Cost Control Hearings Begin

Beginning on March 16, the State Division of Health Care Finance and Policy will hold legally-mandated hearings on how to control rising health care costs in the Commonwealth.

DHCFP Commissioner David Morales offers some thoughts on his blog today about the upcoming sessions, which will also address the question of why "the cost of health insurance has grown by approximately 7.5 percent each year (on average) for the last decade while gross domestic product (GDP) has only increased 3.8 percent per year during that same time period:"

The goal of the hearings will be to convene key health care stakeholders – health care providers, insurers, employers, consumers, and experts – in order to surface the factors driving health care costs and to identify solutions that will mitigate growth in health care spending in Massachusetts. The Division intends to build upon its earlier analyses on premium and medical costs trends as well as the work conducted by the Division of Insurance during and after their hearings on the small group insurance market, and the Attorney General’s Office, assembled through their civil investigatory demand process. These hearings will move the conversation on health care cost forward and culminate in a final report with action-oriented recommendations to mitigate cost growth and improve our health care delivery system.

The agenda for the hearings, which will be held for three days, March 16th, 18th and 19th, is now available, as are preliminary reports on health care delivery and spending in Massachusetts.