Massachusetts lawmakers ready for another try on healthcare bill

Massachusetts lawmakers are preparing to tackle healthcare again after they failed to agree on a bill in July, according to a report from State House News Service published on MassLive.com.

The state House and Senate have worked on legislation to provide financial stability for community hospitals and contain healthcare costs.

The state House on June 19 approved a bill that raised funds for community hospitals by imposing $247.5 million in assessments on insurers and $90 million on large hospitals. The bill also included new assessments on urgent care centers, retail clinics and surgery centers.

In the state Senate, lawmakers passed a bill  last November that called for a "rate floor" for insurer payments to hospitals at a minimum of 90 percent of the average service price, according to The Boston Globe.

This week, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said that "no one is more disappointed than am I" that both chambers did not agree on and pass a consensus bill, but he said the House's previous work on legislation will lay groundwork for the upcoming session, according to the report on MassLive.com.

"This coming legislative session, the House will try again," he said. "Despite our success at slowing spending growth, we know that patients are still forgoing care due to costs. Our community hospitals and our health centers are still struggling to survive."

Over the summer, Senate President Karen Spilka said the Senate would "regroup and start again" addressing healthcare issues, according to the report on MassLive.com.

"We look forward to doing this work next session," Ms. Spilka said this week.

The new legislative sessions are scheduled to begin in January.

Morgan Haefner contributed to this report. 

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