A commission assembled to address hospital price disparities in Massachusetts has recommended giving the Division of Insurance power to oversee hospital-insurer contracts, including the amount hospitals can increase rates annually, The Boston Globe reports.
The controversial proposal to boost state regulatory power comes after Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) included a similar plan to cap hospital rates in his annual budget proposal, issued last month.
Debate at the commission meeting Tuesday — attended by state officials, academics, employers and representatives of the hospital and insurance industries — moved from regulation to price control. Discussion became heated as members addressed factors that warranted some hospitals to charge higher prices.
David Torchiana, MD, CEO of Partners HealthCare in Boston, said hospitals should be able to charge more if they have high patient satisfaction and quality scores.
"Brand insofar as it is simply identified as name and history and perhaps marketing of an institution and size ... are not considered warranted reasons for price variation," Dr. Torchiana said, according to The Boston Globe. "However, insofar as reputation represents a quality measure and is indicative of exemplary quality, we did not think that should be erased."
The commission is due to submit a report on best ways to address price variation and reduce healthcare spending by March 15.