SENATE DOCKET, NO. 875        FILED ON: 1/17/2013

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 572

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Daniel A. Wolf

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to ensure effective health care cost control.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Daniel A. Wolf

Cape and Islands

Michael J. Barrett

Third Middlesex

Tom Sannicandro

7th Middlesex

Martha M. Walz

8th Suffolk

Sal N. DiDomenico

Middlesex and Suffolk

William Smitty Pignatelli

4th Berkshire

Patricia D. Jehlen

Second Middlesex

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

Kenneth J. Donnelly

Fourth Middlesex

Sonia Chang-Diaz

Second Suffolk

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

Cynthia S. Creem

First Middlesex and Norfolk

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

Denise Andrews

2nd Franklin

John P. Fresolo

16th Worcester

Marc R. Pacheco

First Plymouth and Bristol

Michael F. Rush

Norfolk and Suffolk

Timothy R. Madden

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket

Byron Rushing

9th Suffolk

Chris Walsh

6th Middlesex


SENATE DOCKET, NO. 875        FILED ON: 1/17/2013

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 572

By Mr. Wolf, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 572) of Daniel A. Wolf, Michael Barrett, Tom Sannicandro, Martha M. Walz and other members of the General Court for legislation to ensure effective health care cost control.  Health Care Financing.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

_______________

 

An Act to ensure effective health care cost control.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1 of Chapter 12C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Self-insured group” the following definitions:-

“Single payer benchmark”, the estimated total costs of providing health care to all residents of Massachusetts under a single payer health care system in the previous year, as established in section 23.

“Single payer health care”, a system providing publicly financed, universal access to health care for the population through a unified public health care plan, simplifying administration and allowing the budgeting of health care spending.

Chapter 12C of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 22 the following:-

Section 23. (a) The center shall monitor, review, and evaluate reports related to single payer health care; provided, however, that the center shall also monitor the performance of single payer health care systems in other states and countries. (b) The center shall establish a single payer benchmark that shall be an estimate of the total cost of providing health care to all residents of Massachusetts under a single payer health care system during the previous year, provided that the single payer health care system offers continuous, comprehensive, affordable coverage for all Massachusetts residents regardless of income, assets, health status, or availability of other health coverage. (c) The center shall include in its annual report, as mandated by section 16 (a), a comparison of the single payer benchmark with the actual health care spending in the state for the previous year, indicating whether the state would have saved money while expanding access to care under a single payer health care system.

Chapter 6D of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 18 the following:-

Section 19. If at the outset of fiscal year 2016 the board determines that the single payer benchmark, as calculated by the Center for Health Information and Analysis under Section 23 of Chapter 12C, has outperformed the actual total health care spending and spending growth in the state, the commission shall, no later than June 30, 2017, submit a “Single Payer Health Care Implementation Plan” to the Legislature for consideration. The Implementation Plan will be developed after holding public hearings and meetings across the state, and will consist of legislation to implement a single payer health care system for Massachusetts, as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 12C, and that offers continuous, comprehensive, affordable coverage for all Massachusetts residents regardless of income, assets, health status, or availability of other health coverage.