In response to pressure from the government, insurers, employers and patients over the high healthcare costs at Boston's Children's Hospital, hospital leaders have successfully managed to cut $90 million in the past year and a half, according to a Boston Globe news report.
Hospital officials said Boston's Children's was able to slash $90 million by rethinking hiring strategies and negotiating for better drug prices, among other initiatives. Boston's Children's also cut imaging and outpatient surgery prices by 20 percent at the hospital's three satellite locations.
As part of an agreement with insurers, Children's gets to pocket $10 million of the $90 million in cuts for two years. The money will go toward developing programs to cut down on unnecessary care and to improve quality, including an experiment to reduce the number of children with routine headaches referred to the Harvard teaching hospital for expensive MRIs and CT scans.
The hospital's hard work to cut down on healthcare costs comes in light of recent proposed legislation by Massachusett's Gov. Deval Patrick, who wants to re-work how hospitals and physicians are paid and create incentive programs that would encourage providers to reduce healthcare costs. Legislative leaders say it will most likely be a year before they reach a final decision on the proposed bill, according to the news report.
Read the news report about healthcare costs at Boston's Children's Hospital.
Read other coverage about healthcare costs:
- More Hospitals Publicizing Prices, Expanding Financial Counseling Services
- IOM Report Outlines Trends in Healthcare Cost
- Study: Physician Employment Improve Coordination But Could Lead to Increased Healthcare Costs
Hospital officials said Boston's Children's was able to slash $90 million by rethinking hiring strategies and negotiating for better drug prices, among other initiatives. Boston's Children's also cut imaging and outpatient surgery prices by 20 percent at the hospital's three satellite locations.
As part of an agreement with insurers, Children's gets to pocket $10 million of the $90 million in cuts for two years. The money will go toward developing programs to cut down on unnecessary care and to improve quality, including an experiment to reduce the number of children with routine headaches referred to the Harvard teaching hospital for expensive MRIs and CT scans.
The hospital's hard work to cut down on healthcare costs comes in light of recent proposed legislation by Massachusett's Gov. Deval Patrick, who wants to re-work how hospitals and physicians are paid and create incentive programs that would encourage providers to reduce healthcare costs. Legislative leaders say it will most likely be a year before they reach a final decision on the proposed bill, according to the news report.
Read the news report about healthcare costs at Boston's Children's Hospital.
Read other coverage about healthcare costs:
- More Hospitals Publicizing Prices, Expanding Financial Counseling Services
- IOM Report Outlines Trends in Healthcare Cost
- Study: Physician Employment Improve Coordination But Could Lead to Increased Healthcare Costs