By Senate President Therese Murray
It comes as no surprise that when health care professionals think of Massachusetts, cutting edge hospitals and medical research come to mind. From Dr. Craig Mello and his Nobel Prize winning research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, to our plethora of teaching hospitals and research facilities, we continue to be a leader in the field.
We just want to make sure that the Commonwealth continues to build on this tradition by further utilizing our unique concentration of hospitals, higher education and research facilities to encourage an even stronger base of biotech industry and a workforce that will sustain us as a world leader.
Earlier this year, at Bio2007, at an international biotechnology conference in Boston, the Governor, the Speaker and I made a commitment to investing in biotechnology research, development and manufacturing, and we have wasted no time in rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.
Currently, the Legislature is reviewing a 10-year proposal put forth by the Governor that would invest $1 billion on encouraging life sciences and biotechnology companies to come to Massachusetts.
The proposal includes $250 million in appropriated research grant funding. The bill transfers $15 million from the General Fund to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund. Since there already is $10 million in this Fund, the total available funding for this fiscal year would be $25 million. While the proposal does not establish this investment beyond FY08, $25 million could be put into the Fund annually for 10 years.
The bill also provides for $250 million in tax incentives and exemptions. With the creation of a new Life Science Sector Investment Program, life sciences businesses will be able to apply to the Department of Business Development for certification as a "life sciences project." This would allow for one or more of seven tax incentives created through the bill.
Stem cell research also plays a big part in this economic development equation which is why we are looking at the proposed Massachusetts Stem Cell Bank to be housed at the University of Massachusetts. It would be the largest collection of stem cell lines in the world, which would be a major benefit to researchers.
These proposals just scratch the surface of the potential that Massachusetts has to offer in the area of medical research. However, it is important that we start to encourage this development now, not only for the economic health of our state, but for the well-being of our residents and every person around the world.
(Senator Murray, D-Plymouth/Upper Cape, is the first female President of the Senate in Massachusetts history.)
By Representative Cleon H. Turner
As we all know, nurses are vital caretakers for our loved ones in the hospitals. However nurses continue to be forced to care for too many patients at once and the patients suffer the consequences in the form of increased complications, hospital-acquired infections, preventable medical errors, longer hospital stays and readmissions. Bedside nurses, backed by the Coalition to Protect Massachusetts Patients, have come up with a solution to fight this growing problem. It is called The Patient Safety Act, House Bill 2059.
This bill requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to develop staffing limits based on scientific data and research, expert testimony, and Massachusetts patient-care data. At the same time the bill provides waivers for financially struggling hospitals and includes recruitment incentives to bring nurses into the profession. This would be of great benefit to the Cape as many registered nurses will return to the profession if there are safe staffing limits. Currently there are more than 100,000 registered nurses licensed in Massachusetts but only 45,000 are actually employed in hospitals and thousands only work part-time. That's because many nurses are burned out by high patient loads. Only enforceable limits on patient loads can bring them back. Increasing the level of registered nurse staffing in hospitals would pay for itself in fewer patient deaths, shorter hospital stays and fewer costly medical complications.
Opponents of the legislation suggest that hospitals will close due to the burdensome requirements of this bill. That concern is unfounded; California, which implemented a similar law four years ago, did not see a single hospital closure as a result of this legislation. Last legislative session the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 133-20 to pass the Patient Safety Act. That legislation represented true compromise between the nurses and the hospital industry. Even though it addressed every concern raised by the hospitals, the hospital industry still refused to support the compromise and the bill died in the Senate.
Hospital representatives had objected that the bill would negatively impact financially strapped hospitals even though this had been addressed by providing waivers for any struggling institutions as well as a lengthy ramp-up period.
Another concern had been a perceived need for more nurse recruitment. Once again this was addressed by incorporating all the nurse faculty, recruitment, and scholarship provisions put forth in the hospitals' own legislation. This included preservation of nursing faculty jobs at state colleges and universities and a nursing student scholarship as well as student-loan repayment program.
The Patient Safety Act affects all citizens, as everyone has to go to a hospital at some time or another. The Safe Staffing Bill is coming up again this year for vote in the House and Senate and I urge you to contact your state Representatives and Senators to express your support.
(Representative Turner, D-Dennis, is a member of the Legislature's Joint Public Health Committee.)
By Senator Rob O'Leary
Massachusetts' Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) has announced awards of $37.5 million in grants from the state's Essential Community Provider Trust Fund to 71 hospitals and community health centers across the Commonwealth. The state plans to distribute the funds to the providers beginning this month.
I am pleased to announce that six Cape and Island community health centers and Cape Cod Hospital will receive state funding, The demand for free care has expanded dramatically on the Cape and with it comes a loss of revenue for the hospital and community health centers. This funding in the budget is crucial in helping the hospital close the revenue gap.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby explained that "ensuring equal access to both preventive and acute care is a critical part of the Patrick Administration's health care reform agenda. The Essential Community Provider Trust Fund gives needed financial support to hospitals and community health centers on the front lines of patient care."
The goal of the Essential Community Provider Trust Fund is to improve providers' abilities to serve populations in need more effectively and efficiently through community-based care; clinical support; disease management; primary care; care coordination; and pharmacy management services.
This announcement marks the conclusion of a highly competitive application and evaluation process. In July, the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy mailed letters, grant funding applications and instructions to all of the state's hospitals and community health centers And 83 providers across the state submitted applications for funding that totaled $110 million.
In evaluating grant applications and determining award amounts for FY08, EOHHS evaluated the role each provider plays in the Commonwealth's health delivery system in order to maintain equitable access to key services, particularly in areas of geographic isolation. The state also prioritized supporting the financial viability of critical health care providers, using three years of data to determine financial needs of acute, non-acute and community health providers. Finally, EOHHS also emphasized the importance of protecting access to critical behavioral health services for all citizens of the Commonwealth.
| City/Town | Provider | FY 2008 Grant |
| Mashpee | Cape Cod Free Clinic and Community Health Center | $50,000 |
| Barnstable | Cape Cod Hospital | $800,000 |
| Hyannis | Duffy Health Center | $100,000 |
| Hyannis | Mid Upper Cape | $100,000 |
| West Tisbury | Island Health Care | $50,000 |
| Eastham | Outer Cape Health Services | $75,000 |
(Senator O'Leary, D-Cummaquid, represents the Mid and Lower Cape and Islands and is a member of the Legislature's Joint Public Health Committee.)
By Gary Sheehan
New legislation in Congress that would institute a process called National Competitive Bidding (NCB) threatens to impair community access to medical equipment and services. Searching for necessary future savings, Medicare has turned its sights to providers of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Respiratory Care; two areas that require extensive patient interaction, excessive investment in a delivery model, and numerous regulatory compliance issues.However, this legislation also contains the risk of putting thousands of providers across the country out of business and leaving the patients and professionals they serve only able to turn to the "lowest bidder" for their needs.
DME accounts for less than three percent of overall spending under Medicare; yet proper use of this equipment can greatly reduce hospitalizations by providing beneficiaries with critical equipment and services in their home.
Under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 two demonstration projects to examine the effects of competitive bidding on the market were conducted in Florida and Texas. Although there were savings, hundreds of community based DME providers were forced to close their doors when they did not win bids. Access to high quality care and service was compromised.
And Medicare has yet to comment on repeated requests for the net value of this experiment.
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 further called for expansion of the NCB program into 10 of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's) and this process, long delayed, is nearing completion. It should be ready for implementation next year. Providers in these selected areas, who lose the ability to bill Medicare for services and work with Medicare beneficiaries, will be forced to close their doors. And the greatest loss will be to the patients who had benefited from these services.
The term "competitive bidding" is something of a misnomer, as it amounts to restrictive contracting if the end goal is simply to drive down prices.
A more equitable method would be for Medicare just to establish a price floor, as they have so many times in the past.
With contracts going only to the lowest bidders, there will no longer be an incentive for providers to compete on service. An unintended consequence could be increased hospitalizations, which certainly would negate any of those initial savings. Cape Cod and Massachusetts are not a part of the early round of trials, but we all eventually could feel the effects if this process gains a national foothold.
(Mr. Sheehan is President/CEO of Cape Medical Supply, Inc., 1-800-339-3322 or gsheehan@capemedical.net,)