Paul Levy

This has to be a very difficult time for insurance companies in Massachusetts. Notwithstanding that they are non-profits, they are under a lot of scrutiny with regard to reserve margins and profitability. Much of this is unfair, but I think that is just a sign of the times. Hospitals face a similar issue, too. Doctors are certainly next in line.

My suggestion last year that Massachusetts move away from the "free market" approach it uses to set hospital reimbursement rates was not well received by the hospital world. But, this year, as people notice that their rates are being set by insurance companies in an unaccountable and unreviewable fashion, more and more are saying, "Well, maybe. What would it look like?"

In this long season of forced reorganization how are you facing complexity? Are you reducing or increasing your ability to make good decisions?

Rob Weisman and Liz Kowalczyk report in today's Boston Globe that the US Justice Department is investigating possible antitrust violations against Partners Healthcare System, the dominant hospital and physician provider group in Massachusetts.

Each year, US News and World Report publishes its list of the top 50 hospitals in various specialties. Now, an article has been published suggesting that one aspect of the methodology used by the magazine is flawed.

If we have a desire, which I support, to provide greater access to health care, let's consider it a national priority and pay for it directly. But a fear of using the dreaded "T" word -- taxes -- is causing the executive and legislative branches to force cuts in services.